Game preview

The week of Super Bowl LI is officially upon us. The AFC Champion New England Patriots will face off against the NFC’s best in the Atlanta Falcons Sunday in Houston.

Many story lines surround the game. The Patriots are in the big game for the seventh time since drafting star quarterback Tom Brady in 2000, while Atlanta is playing in just its second Super Bowl in the its history. The “villainous” Patriots have made many enemies over the years, which adds (and in come cases, subtracts) intrigue from the game.

Both quarterbacks are MVP candidates. Brady, despite being suspended for the first four games, threw for 3,554 yards and 28 touchdowns, with only two interceptions. Atlanta gunslinger Matt Ryan threw for a whopping 4,944 yards with 38 touchdowns to only seven interceptions.

New England, playing without star tight end Rob Gronkowski, has had some less-than-heralded players step up. Former Monmouth lacrosse player Chris Hogan caught nine passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns in the AFC Championship win over Pittsburgh. Former outcast LeGarrette Blount has bolstered a Patriots rushing attack all the way to the league lead in rushing touchdowns.

Atlanta has done some of the same. Former Cleveland wide receiver Taylor Gabriel has played an integral part in the Falcons’ success, as has “backup” running back Tevin Coleman. Of course, the Atlanta offensive attack is spearheaded by superstar wide receiver Julio Jones, who many believe is the best wideout in all of the NFL.

As for the game itself, look for a shootout in a battle of the NFL’s top two offenses. While New England’s defense is significantly better than that of Atlanta, the Falcons hope to simply score more than the Patriots, rather than try and put all their energy into stopping Brady which simply is impossible.

Will we see another dramatic finish like that of 2015, or will it be a snoozefest like the year before? I’d put my money on the latter. This game has all the makings of a potential one-sided blowout, and in my opinion, the game will end up in New England’s favor. Roger Goodell will be forced to once again hand the Lombardi trophy to Brady, and all will be right in the world.

Prediction: New England defeats Atlanta 34-17

Advertising

Aside from the big game that is the season finale of a hard-fought year of football, Super Bowl viewers also know that the best-of-the-best commercials debut at night on the first Sunday of February.

In years past, it has been corporations like Budweiser, Doritos, and Volkswagen that dominate the advertising. But in today’s growing economy, unique first-timers like Mr. Clean and Fiji Water are looking to get in on the fun to make a statement when everyone is watching.

Even Mobile Strike, a free, online modern war game, has produced an ad to run in a commercial break during Super Bowl LI.

So if joining an elite group of Super Bowl ads is so trendy among companies these days, then why do we not see different products each year? Though the messages in the commercials are often funny or feel-good, the competition for air time is fierce and rather expensive.

In 1967, it would have cost $42,000 to run a 30-second commercial in the first Super Bowl. Today, Fox is charging desperate marketing teams roughly $175,000 per second.  

That is right. The costs of commercials have been jacked up 120 times as much as what they were from the first Super Bowl.

Albeit there has been a major shift in the value of money, we cannot ignore the fact that the competitiveness among these companies has contributed to the rise in prices.