All roads lead to Super Bowl XLIX

All roads lead to Super Bowl XLIX
By DAN LADD
Another great NFL season is in the
books and there’s but one game left
to play: the Super Bowl. On Feb.
1 more households in America will
tune in to NBC late Sunday afternoon
(on the East Coast) to catch the
Super Bowl and all the fanfare that
surrounds it. That, of course, includes
the entertaining commercials and this
year’s Halftime show by Katy Perry.
The Super Bowl remains the world’s
third largest sporting event and
the biggest on the North American
Continent. But that wasn’t always the
case.
In the 1960s the NFL was popular,
but not as popular as baseball. And,
the league was fending off yet another
competitor in the form of the American
Football League. In 1966 the two
leagues reached an agreement to
merge by 1970, but would play
an AFL-NFL World Championship
football game at the culmination of
the upcoming season. The Green Bay
Packers of the NFL won those first two
World Championships and by the time
the third game came around the game
was now commonly referred to as the
Super Bowl.
At first it seemed like the NFL
teams would dominate the game.
Then the New York Jets and Kansas
City Chiefs won the next two Super
Bowls. When the merger finally took
place, the Baltimore Colts, Pittsburgh
Steelers and Cleveland Browns
of the NFL joined the American
Football Conference with former AFL
teams, which is still known today as
the American Football Conference,
or AFC. The National Football
Conference, or NFC, was made up of
NFL teams.
The Colts won Super Bowl V in
1971 as an AFC team, beating the
Dallas Cowboys of the NFC, who
would win Super Bowl VI a year later.
Other than the Cowboys, the Super
Bowl winners for the remainder of
the decade would be AFC teams.
This included two championships
by the Miami Dolphins and four by
the Pittsburgh Steelers. AFL/NFL
comparison became a moot point.
By the 1980s the Super Bowl was
such a successful television product
that it was now moved to the early
Sunday evening prime-time slot,
where it would be subject to the most
viewers. The NFL was now the most
popular sports league in America and
cashed in on television revenue like
never before. Those who paid little
attention to football during the regular
season tuned in to the Super Bowl to
watch the game and the commercials
and often host parties around the big
game. Super Bowl Sunday is now
second only to Thanksgiving for single
day food consumption.
For the most part, the 1980s
belonged to two teams from
California: the Oakland/Los Angeles
Raiders, who won two Super Bowls
early in the decade, and the San
Francisco 49ers who won four. Along
with 49ers victories, a string of wins
by other NFC teams in the 1980s that
included the Washington Redskins,
New York Giants and Chicago Bears
resulted in a 17-year NFC winning
streak that began in 1985 when the
49ers won Super Bowl XIX.
In the 1990s the Dallas Cowboys
would win three Super Bowls in four
years and Green Bay would return
to former glory before John Elway’s
Denver Broncos finally ended the NFC
winning streak in 1998. Some say the
Cowboys would’ve won more titles if
the NFL hadn’t induced free agency
and a salary cap. These began a new
era for the NFL that is still in place
today and has changed the way
teams operate.
Still, teams like the New England
Patriots, New York Giants and
Pittsburgh Steelers have won multiple
© 2015 Courtesy of Gracenote
titles in the past decade-and-a-half.
That’s not to say that parity hasn’t
reared its head as it seems like the
Super Bowl has become a revolving
door of surprise teams. Today’s NFL
rewards consistency and is a league
that requires teams to have solid
management, good coaching and most
of all, a good quarterback.
The two teams about to square off
in Super Bowl XLIX certainly fit this
mold. For the Seattle Seahawks, it
is their second straight trip to the
Super Bowl. Since hiring coach Pete
Carroll in 2010 the Seahawks have
only missed one Postseason. They hit
it big when they drafted quarterback
Russell Wilson in the third round of
the 2012 NFL draft. They haven’t
looked back since.
On the other side of the scrimmage
line is Tom Brady and the New England
Patriots. Brady, and coach Bill Belichick
are the epitome of a successful coachquarterback combination. One way or
another, they are always in the hunt;
this time with the usual bend-but-don’tbreak style of defense, a respectable
running game and Brady’s arm.
It’s fitting that the two best teams
at the end of the regular season are
playing for a title. Sit back, and tune
in. This should be a good one.
Page New England Patriots
Tom
Brady
Jamie
Rob
Gronkowski Collins
Regular Season Record: 12-4
Seed: 1
Playoff Victories: Baltimore (35-31); Indianapolis, (45-7)
Coach: Bill Belichick
Key Players: Tom Brady (QB); Rob Gronkowski (TE);
Jamie Collins (LB)
Offensive Rank: 11th (Pass, 9th, Rush, 18th)
Defensive Rank: 13th (Pass, 17th; Rush, 9th)
Road to Victory: The Patriots put together a solid regular season by
taking care of business on all sides of the ball. The late-season acquisition of
Bill
Belichick
running back LeGarrette Blount solidified the offense which was already rolling
thanks to a healthy Rob Gronkowski. The Pats looked to be in trouble early on
in their divisional round playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens, but with
the help of some trickery they pulled it out before manhandling the Indianapolis
Colts in the AFC Championship.
This will be the Pats sixth trip to the Super Bowl but they haven’t won one
since Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005. The key to beating Seattle will be protecting
quarterback Tom Brady from the Seahawks’ aggressive defense, which they can
do by running the ball. On defense, the Pats will have to contain quarterback
Russell Wilson who proved in the NFC Championship game that his team is
never out of it.
Address: 1 Cardinals Drive Glendale, Arizona
Construction Costs: $455 million
Primary Tenants: Arizona Cardinals
Unique Designs: Retractable roof, expandable
seating, no obstructed views
Seating Capacity: 63,400
Executive Suites: 88
Parking: 14,000
Playing Surface: Tifway 419 Hybrid Bermuda Grass
Year Opened: 2006
Notable Previous Events: Fiesta Bowl (2007present); BCS National Championship Game (2007,
2011); Super Bowl XLII (2008)
Future Events: 2017 NCAA Basketball Final Four in 2017
University of Phoenix Stadium
Page SUPER BOWL XLIX PREVIEW
Seattle Seahawks
Pete
Carroll
Marshawn Byron
Maxwell
Lynch
Regular Season Record: 12-4
Seed: 1
Playoff Victories: Carolina (31-17); Green Bay (28-22)
Coach: Pete Carroll
Key Players: Russell Wilson (QB): Marshawn Lynch (RB);
Byron Maxwell (CB)
Offensive Rank: 9th (Pass, 27th, Rush, 1st)
Defensive Rank: 1st (Pass, 1st, Rush, 3rd)
Road to Victory: The Seahawks found out quickly this season how hard
it is to repeat as champions. Yet, here they are. Their dramatic comeback win
Russell
Wilson
over Green Bay in the NFC Championship game was reflective of a regular
season in which they lost a few games they should’ve won early on, and then
put the defensive clamps down on opponents later in the season. The offense
has been sluggish at times, but is always capable of striking back as was
evident in the NFC Championship.
Seattle matches up well with New England. Their defense is exactly the type
that can give Tom Brady fits by providing tight coverage on their receivers
while putting pressure on the veteran quarterback. However, Russell Wilson
and the offense will have to do their jobs against the Patriots for Seattle to
win. If they turn the ball over and don’t convert on third down, the Pats will
make them pay.
Super Bowl records held by quarterbacks*
Passer Rating: 127.8, Joe
Montana, San Francisco 49ers
in 4 games
Touchdowns/Career: 11, Joe
Montana, San Francisco 49ers
in 4 games
*Source: NFL
Longest Pass Completion:
85 yards (TD), Jake
Delhomme, Carolina Panthers
in Super Bowl XXXVIII
Highest Completion
Percentage: 70% (56 of 80),
Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys
in 3 games
Passing Yards/Game: 414,
Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams in
Super Bowl XXXIV
Touchdowns/Game: 6, Steve
Young, San Francisco 49ers in
Super Bowl XXIX
Passing Yards/Career:
1,277, Tom Brady, New
England Patriots in 5 games
Completions/Game: 32,
Tom Brady, New England
Patriots, Super Bowl XXXVIII
Completions/Career: 127
by Tom Brady, New England
Patriots in 5 games
© 2015 Courtesy of Gracenote
Page Katy Perry adds
fuel to Super Bowl
By JAY BOBBIN
Don’t be surprised if this year’s Super Bowl
halftime show ends up resembling a giant firework.
That would be in keeping not only with the
occasion, but also with the star of the show. Katy
Perry will follow in the recent footsteps of such
artists as Bruno Mars, Beyoncé, Madonna and the
Black Eyed Peas as the halftime headliner for the
big game at the University of Phoenix Stadium on
Sunday, Feb. 1.
It bears mention that Perry – who will have
Lenny Kravitz as her “special guest” – is doing
it her way, since the National Football League
initially had floated the idea of having the chosen
entertainer pay for the privilege. Perry was on the
short list, but her response at the time was, ”I’m not
the sort of girl who would pay to play the Super
Bowl” … and, indeed, she won’t be.
Ultimately, everyone involved is likely to win big.
NBC is sure to retain a huge viewership for the
approximately 14-minute show; Pepsi will get a big
return on its sponsorship of the performance; and
Perry herself will cement, if not increase (which is
quite probable), her fan base. Since she’s about to
continue her Prismatic World Tour overseas, she’s
clearly ready to take center stage at football’s top
event.
‘The Blacklist’ makes a Super (Bowl) return
James
Spader
Raymond “Red” Reddington isn’t someone who
ordinarily needs much help, but he’s getting a
major boost anyway.
“The Blacklist” resumes its second NBC season
Sunday, Feb. 1, as the show chosen to follow one
of the biggest events of any television year: the
Super Bowl. The special telecast also serves to
promote the suspense drama’s move to a different
night, since the episode will lead directly into the
series’ debut in its new slot the following Thursday.
“With the sort of landscape for programming
nowadays, we’ve been very lucky in that right from
the jump, we established a fairly faithful audience,”
says James Spader, alias ever-enigmatic informant
Reddington. “The network and the studio, obviously,
are always looking for a way to grow that if they
can … and trying to find ways to do that today is
difficult. I think the Super Bowl is a platform that
stands alone, and you just hope the game is good
enough that they don’t turn their TVs off.”
That doesn’t appear likely for the devotees
who helped make “The Blacklist” last season’s
top-rated new series. Megan Boone, who also
stars as FBI agent Liz Keen – Reddington’s main
interest in supplying information on the list of
elusive criminals and terrorists – promises “more
substantial feelings of friendship and care for
Reddington, who has proven to protect her at all
costs, and in a way that no one ever has before.
By JAY BOBBIN
She steps up to try to protect him when we come
back.”
Spader vows many more mysteries about
Reddington remain to be uncovered, particularly
about his link to Liz – which prompted him to warn
her deceptive and dangerous ex, Tom (Ryan Eggold),
to stay away from her in the closing moments of the
series’ November fall finale.
“I remember when I first read the pilot,” Spader
reflects, “which seems like a decade ago, but was
actually only two years ago. At that time, I remember
thinking that one of the things I responded to was that
possible paths the show could take were limitless.
“You at least had the framework for switched paths
and alternate routes … and you could find your
way back again. Something that just seems sort of
neat at the time can turn into something much more
significant than that later on.”
On a similar track, Boone is looking forward to
continuing to advance Liz, reasoning the character
has “become more autonomous in her decisionmaking and her actions. Certainly last year, she
was more reactionary because so much that was
happening was overwhelming to her, I think.
“The minute she made the decision to lie to Red
about (capturing and hiding) Tom, rather than him
being dead, everything changed,” adds Boone. “She
became a little nefarious, like some of the Blacklisters.
And like Red himself.”
Page SUPER BOWL XLIX PREVIEW