In the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, five words essentially summed up the beliefs of a good chunk of people. “Never bet against Tom Brady.” Once again, they were dead right.
In what was billed as a matchup between today’s best quarterback and yesterday’s best, let alone ever, this year’s Super Bowl proved to be more hype than excitement.
In the end, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 and further cemented the legacy of their grizzled leader, Tom Brady.
The game provided a number of surprises that seemed unlikely. For one, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were unable to score even one touchdown the entire game.
Mahomes was forced to scramble again and again and make wild throws.
His athleticism was on full display but the Bucs defense was too much to overcome as he ended up with 2 interceptions and perhaps his worst game in more than a season.
Brady, on the other hand, torched the Chiefs for 3 touchdown passes and hooked two of those times with his former Patriots buddy, Rob Gronkowski.
Also coming over from the AFC and turning back the clock for the Super Bowl along with Brady were Antonio Brown (5 catches, 1 TD), and Leonard Fournette (135 total yards, 1 TD).
The Bucs were also led by Bruce Arians, who now has the distinction as the oldest head coach to ever win a Super Bowl in the league’s history. This was Arians’ second season with the Bucs and first with Brady.
He was able to help navigate the Bucs past three tough games for a chance at a title in front of a limited crowd of 25,000 against the defending champion Chiefs.
The fact that the Bucs had a slight homefield advantage with the title game being played in their home stadium may have played a factor, though it was really the defense that stopped the potent Chiefs offense time and time again.
Brady took home the MVP yet again, but holding the Chiefs to just three field goals was the real miracle of the night.
The game also featured performances from country star Eric Church and R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan, who both sang the national anthem. The half-time show featured Canadian singer The Weeknd.
In other off the gridiron antics, a streaker made a fairly humorous spectacle during the fourth quarter after the game was pretty much out of hand.
But overall, this year’s Super Bowl was a back to the basics over spectacle with age over youth winning out.
The victory gives Brady a record 7 Super Bowl victories and a whopping 10 appearances.
In a year dominated by talk of who might be the GOAT in the NBA (LeBron or Michael), Brady may have put himself into another category as far as team sports is concerned.
The Bucs victory also marks the end of a busy year in Tampa Bay for professional sports teams. The NHL’s Lightning won the Stanley Cup last season, the Rays made it all the way to the World Series, and now the Bucs are Super Bowl champions.
It may not end there, as Brady says he is not done yet and should be in the mix for what would be an improbable back to back title in his 40’s with a franchise not in Boston.
