At the end of Super Bowl week last year in Miami, our preview piece began with a not-so-subtle jab at the weekly slog, which, for the cynic, feels like surviving a hundred-hour commercial for not just football but also deodorant, insurance and neon-colored sports drinks.
How we miss all that now! Here in the Northeast, buried under two feet of snow as both teams finish their preparation, also from home, what we wouldn’t give for a circus. The smell of mass Old Spice body spray giveaways. The taste of some kind of miracle protein-laced beef jerky handed out as a promotion for some nebulous snack-subscription-box company looking to attract free publicity as thousands of tourists pass by. Ahh, memories.
As someone who covers football for a living though, what I miss most is the . My colleague, Jenny Vrentas, and I spoke about this on a recent Weak-Side podcast episode. Before the Broncos-Panthers Super Bowl, you could feel a palpable tightness with Carolina; a sense that the moment was too big. Jenny noted that, before San Francisco-Kansas City last year, there was a heightened paranoia among the 49ers. And looking at Jared Goff on the field before he faced the Patriots seemed to tell us something fortuitous was in store for New England.
All those opportunities for extra info have gone by the wayside for now as our country continues to grapple with a pandemic. So we’re forced to rely more heavily on what we’ve already seen, even though that can be a fool’s errand for someone like Andy Reid, Tom Brady or even Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, all of whom have revealed creative shapeshifts prior to some of their biggest games. As we settle in for a final preview, keep in mind the sheer level of play-calling talent and genius at work here. Two coaches with more than a century of institutional knowledge. greatest preparation quarterback in NFL history against the greatest avatar for bending offensive norms in NFL history.
Here’s what we’re looking for in Super Bowl LV …
