Patriots Capture Sixth Super Bowl Win
Super Bowl LIII took place in Atlanta, Georgia this past Sunday between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams. In a fourth quarter rally, the Patriots secured their 6th championship in the Tom Brady Era with a final score of 13-3. This cemented their status as one the best teams of all time. Both teams displayed their strong defenses early and the game ended up being the lowest-scoring Super Bowl to date. Many characterized the game as the least entertaining game of the year—“the most exciting thing about the game was the food we had from our Super Bowl party,” upper Jinwoo Kang said.
“I thought that Adam Levine was trying way too hard to pull off a Freddy Mercury or David Bowie vibe,” Smyth said.
The Rams’ elite offense was shut down by the Patriot’s defense in the first eight drives of the game. This came as a surprise after the Rams averaged 421.1 yards per game in the regular season. As the offense struggled, the viewers’ attention turned to Sam Hekker, the punter for the Rams, as he established key highlights during the game. His third quarter punt that backed the Patriots to the two-yard line was the longest in Super Bowl history. It was also the Rams’ only highlight from the third quarter. The weak performance led to much disappointment from the many who watched the Super Bowl, especially the fans who were only watching to see the Patriots lose. Lower Max Tan remarked, “being from New York, seeing the Pats win so much makes me sad.”
While the Super Bowl marks the biggest football game of the year, many of the over 100 million viewers watched for other reasons. As Kang put it, “I watched the Super Bowl because it is a dorm tradition.” Senior Jenny Yang also tuned in because other Exonians were invested in the game. “Rooting for the Patriots is a part of the Exeter culture,” she said. In addition, Yang appreciates viewing the advertisements that air during the Super Bowl—especially their hilarity.
To others, the much-anticipated annual Super Bowl ads seemed lackluster in comparison to previous years. Upper Maggie Smyth and Senior Julianna Merullo noted that almost all of them were disappointing. Still, there were a few ads that they considered entertaining. “My favorite this year was [the ad showing] the NFL banquet with all the legendary players,” Smyth said. Merullo cited the Doritos advertisement featuring Chance The Rapper and The Backstreet Boys, as well as Amazon’s advertisements, as her two favorites.
The Halftime Show also disappointed Smyth and Merullo. “I thought that Adam Levine was trying way too hard to pull off a Freddy Mercury or David Bowie vibe,” Smyth said regarding the moment Maroon 5’s lead singer took off his shirt during his performance.
The NFL continues to receive a lot of attention stemming from the controversial moment 49er’s quarterback Colin Kaepernick first opted to sit for the pre-game playing of the National Anthem during the team’s third preseason game in 2016. Kaepernick’s movement to raise awareness around systematic racial injustice in the United States gave rise to polarizing standpoints on First Amendment rights and patriotism.
As a result, some Exonians, faculty and student alike, participated in the nationwide boycott of the NFL. “I understand and respect anyone’s decision to not watch the Super Bowl,” said Merullo. “I personally continue to watch not because I agree with [the NFL], but because I love the Patriots and the game of football. I have separated [the Kaepernick controversy and the sport] so far, but it is getting harder and harder to do the longer the controversy continues and [Kaepernick] continues to be ostracized.”
Another cause for controversy were the calls made by the referees leading up to the Super Bowl in the NFC Championship game, where the Rams faced off against the New Orlean Saints. The missed pass interference and helmet-to-helmet calls late in the fourth quarter angered many Saints fans. Upper Venkat Vellanki expressed his anger, commenting, “Roger is a joke of a commissioner for lying to the entire nation during the Super Bowl pregame conference,” and labeled the missed call as “one of the most atrocious missed calls in football history.” The New Orlean Saints’ anger was compounded by the spiritless performance of the Rams.
This Super Bowl marked the continual success of the Patriots franchise in the past two decades and additionally strengthened the rivalry between the East and West coasts, especially the cities of LA and Boston. This past year, the Boston Red Sox dueled the LA Dodgers in the World Series and Boston also came out victorious. In the end, Super Bowl LIII was memorable for some and boring for others. While fans battled over controversial calls and missing shirts during the halftime show, the legacy of football was carried forth, with a repeat champion leading the way.