Ugh, Some People · 11:26pm Feb 6th, 2017
Make no mistake; last night's game was the most exciting Super Bowl that I have ever watched. I didn't have a horse in this race, so I didn't care who wins. And this is one of the biggest cases for "It's not over until it's over."
And then came the comments on social media afterward, and it tripped a wire with me.
"NFL is rigged and scripted!"
It's just really disappointing that we have so many people that grew up with participation trophies, who really believe that incredible comebacks can't happen, and if things don't go your way, it must be rigged against you.
Get on your feet, look in the fucking mirror, and come to the realization that sometimes, you're not good enough, sometimes your favorite team makes incredibly stupid moves, and sometimes you just plain fucking LOSE.
/soapbox
Thing is, miles, I LIVE in Atlanta. The ones pissing and moaning about the game being "rigged" are the ones who aren't Falcons fans, but Patriots haters. We real Atlanta folk are upset and sad that yet ANOTHER championship game was lost to us, but we aren't protesting the results and there certainly aren't riots going on here.
So do me a huge favor and don't lump in the Twitter tw@s with those who are with Falcons Nation.
We will grieve. We will dust ourselves off. And I promise you, PROMISE YOU... we. Will. RISE.
4411990 agreed
Also, patriots rule
And falcons rule
I like both teams
So the bookies, managers, and other varying scumbags aren't really pulling the strings on who wins and who loses these games? Nobody's intimidated into throwing the game because their knees are going to be broken if they don't? Nobody's families are threatened if performance isn't up to snuff?
Yes, I love a good conspiracy theory. And where there's millions of dollars at stake, there's reason to ask if organized crime is involved.
Just for the record, I don't like either team, so I didn't care who won or lost. But if there's something below the surface, that's when things get interesting to me.
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Both teams came out in the second half as completely different teams.
Brady, who had been pressured and sacked the entire first half, suddenly had forever and a day to throw multiple times. Not to mention that amazing miracle catch by Edelman.
And the Falcons had more than one opportunity to make it an 11-point game with a field goal.
That was one of the worst chokes I've seen in professional sports, that will haunt Atlanta for some time, but the Patriots took advantage of every opportunity they got, and undoubtedly earned that victory through one stunning comeback.
4412078 I agree. The Falcons made plenty of mistakes in the forth quarter that will be remembered for a long time. But as one saw from how they played the rest of the year and most of the game, if you take the Falcons lightly it will bite you on the ass, and that very nearly happened to the Patriots. After all, can't deny our great plays, turnovers/interceptions and that great "thread the needle" catch Julio Jones made that only got overshadowed due to Edleman's admittedly miraculous catch. Anyone who says that the Falcons got to the Super Bowl by a fluke will just have to watch out in the future.
With that said, I am going to have to correct you on just one thing: This wasn't a choke. Super Bowl LI was a series of unfortunate events for the Falcons, true... but not a choke. A real choke in Super Bowl history goes to the Seattle Seahawks back in XLIV when what should've been a game winning rush at the opposition's goal was made into a boneheaded pass instead that turned into an interception by the Patriots.
To say that Atlanta choked isn't just demeaning to the Falcons, but to New England's Patriots as well. I will leave you this link from Fox News sporting team to explain it better than I could. Hope you and anyone else who reads it will get a good understanding of the differences between a real choke and a perceived one.
4412350 So more of a comeback than a choke.
Yeah I can agree with that.
4412358 Eeyup. Hell, calling it a choke was the only reason I downvoted your previous post. Everything else was facts and I ain't one to downvote someone over facts not agreeing with what I'd prefer, especially when I saw those facts unfolding before my eyes lol (something I wish politicians on BOTH sides of the aisle would get through their noggins).
4412382 I just didn't know what else to call it. The Falcons contributed to the end result as much as New England did.
If they ran the ball to eat the clock, or, yeah, gotta bring up the astounding lack of field goal attempts again, they would've had it bagged.
4412382 And congrats.
That is the most I have ever talked about a sports game.
Ever.
4412382 Further, i began to know that the Falcons were done for when they challenged that Edelman catch. I knew their last timeout was going to be gone.
Then of course Brady (my fiance, not the Patriot) pointed out that the coaching staff doesn't have access to the instant replays that viewers get, and that the challenge made sense from the sideline view.
4412388 Well now you know what to call it, and knowing is half the battle...
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*Checks behind the curtain to find nothing but cobwebs* Huh, apparently I don't have the budget to afford the old G.I.Joe meme. Think being a child of the 80s who watched and bought the toys I'd at least have a few "milages" built up.
4412389 Awesome! This is also the longest eithe of us haven't talked about video games either. Two records!
4412395 Yeah, it was shock inducing but it was a fair catch and call. Though I will only call "BS" on two calls in the game against Atlanta: the first was when we got penalized for holding yet clearly in a replay you can see our receiver getting face masked by the Pats in that same play (so I think they should've canceled one another out). And the second was the second 2 point conversion where they were given the points because we were offsides; I think they should've just halved the distance instead of just giving it to them (certainly we didn't get free field goal points when that one punt got interfered with by the Pats when they went offsides). The latter probably still would've ended in 2 points for the Pats (as I doubted we'd be able to push the receiver/runner back a second time in mere moments after the first attempt) but that's just my opinion.
4412409 Yeah, don't understand why refs don't penalize via replay footage.
And I've also seen people complaining about the sudden death nature of overtime play.
If it wasn't sudden death and teams continued answering touchdowns with touchdowns, then you've got the issue of serious exhaustion, and games that go waay over their allotted time.
4412409 I will also say that aside from that facemask, that was a pretty decently called game.
With things like the Edelman catch, and the final overtime touchdown; I have NO fucking clue how refs determine those in real-time.
4412429 Snap descisions based on what they think they see. Not a perfect system (hence replays), but they do have to go through intense training for eyesight and reaction timing, which is why a lot of the times they are more accurately called than not. That and while there will be a head ref (the one you see who announces the calls), there are other refs there to spread the workload and allow them to focus on different locations at once.
I think Brady just took enough hits to the head after being sacked over and over again that he remembered he was supposed to throw the ball to HIS team, not the ground or the Falcons.
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Us Northerners are still waitin' for you Johnny Rebs to show up again.
4413154 Hardy har har.