This Sunday at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, sports fans everywhere will tune in for this year’s Super Bowl. The game kicks off at 5:30 p.m. CST and will most likely run for close to four hours. After last year’s spectacular comeback, the New England Patriots hope to emerge victorious yet again. On the other hand, for the third time in their history, the Philadelphia Eagles will get the chance to secure their first championship victory.
My Prediction: The Pats may have pulled off another comeback against the Jaguars in the AFC Championship, but their luck is due to run out. Tom Brady is battling through a hand injury (that he is keeping secret for some reason), and although tight end Rob Gronkowski has recently been cleared to play, his concussion has certainly played a major impact in his preparation so far.
Eagles Quarterback Nick Foles, on the other hand, is healthy and has thrown for 598 yards and has earned a QB rating of 122.1 in the postseason (this year, the average passer rating was 88.6). Foles will be throwing to former Bears receiver Alshon Jeffery, who grabbed two touchdowns against the Vikings a few weeks ago. Furthermore, Jay Ajayi will be sharing touches with LaGarrette Blount (former Patriots RB), and both of these running backs have rushed for over 400 yards this season. On the defensive front, Philly’s strong defensive line definitely needs to rise to the occasion, but veterans Fletcher Cox and Chris Long are certainly up to the challenge. A little pressure from these guys will force Brady to scramble outside the pocket and hopefully to make some mistakes.
EAGLES 30, PATRIOTS 24.
Justin Timberlake will be performing in this year’s halftime show. Expectations are high for the the ten-time Grammy winner, especially considering last year’s show (featuring Lady Gaga) was the most-watched musical event of all-time. Timberlake said, “We’re doing things with this halftime show that they’ve never quite done before. I’m excited to do that.” Janet Jackson will not be making an appearance.
Regarding the advertisements that will run during the Super Bowl, Skittles in particular has decided to take an extremely unorthodox approach to their commercial; they are showing their ad to only one person. David Schwimmer supposedly will star in the ad, even though a random teenager from California named Marcos Menendez will be the only one watching. Personally, I believe Skittles has more tricks up their sleeve than they are letting on. I’m not sure exactly how it all will play out, but there will most likely be some sort of a twist.
A lot of companies in recent years have decided to release their Super Bowl-specific ads online before the actual game, and although this does diminish the impact of watching it for the first time during the Super Bowl, it does create a sense of familiarity for the viewer. Taking a slightly modified approach to this method, Pepsi has released a teaser for their commercial, which features Cindy Crawford (the star of Pepsi’s 1992 Super Bowl ad). Junior Carter Horan also noted that, “Kyrie Irving tweeted out that there will be a new Pepsi commercial featuring Uncle Drew.” So we have that as well.
This year’s Super Bowl looks incredibly promising, so whether you’re there for the football, the concert, or the commercials, enjoy it.
