NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A few thoughts ahead of Super Bowl LV…
I’m a sucker for a good logo.
The NFL’s switch to a generic Super Bowl logo for the 2010 season was symbolic. It took the life and the essence out of the emblem of the game, making things generic rather than giving each its individual flavor.
Thankfully the game itself has avoided the cookie-cutter desires of Park Avenue.
But in time, are we ever going to see the logo for this year’s game and connect it with the big moment in this game?
Absolutely not. There is nothing distinct about it, that connects this silver number from the 10 silver Roman numeral logos with Lombardi Trophies before it.
Meanwhile, I see this logo (right) and boom, I see a young, clean-shaved Brett Farve running, helmet in his raised right hand, joyously running to join teammates in celebration.
Such a cold, corporate decision. There could have been no fan element to the thinking that went into that whatsoever.
A lot of sportswriters save their credentials for everything they attend, or at least the big events.
Early on I came to collect pins from events I covered and venues I worked in -- the 1994 World Cup, Super Bowls, March Madness, Army-Navy, the 1998 Orange Bowl as well as from other places I’ve visited – Parris Island, Lake Placid, Wrigley Field, Augusta National, Stamford Bridge, the Louvre. (When he was in Moscow in 1980, my dad brought me back several from the Olympics there wich retroactively became part of it.)
My radio row visits have promoted the pin purchase out of habit in recent years, but I’m not missing this year’s – which by the way looks like LIV, not LV because of the trophy placement.
Bets: I’ve done well, I think, to not get carried away, with my betting on FanDuel. But I do enjoy spending time on the app and playing around, though I often don’t hit the bet button.
If you haven’t joined yet, here’s an easy way to fund your account – just pick the winner of Sunday’s game.
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I’m not one to lean very heavily on other people’s advice, but perhaps you are? Here are props I think are really good:
Either team score 3 unanswered times: No +175
Back and forth game, no one is going to run away to the point they score three times without the other team having an offensive answer.
Tom Brady MVP: +200
If the Bucs win, it’ll be him. SOmeone else may be worthy. But it'll be him. And I'm thinking the Bucs win.
Third-down conversions: Bucs over 5.5 +110
They averaged 5.2 in the regular season and had six, eight and nine in their three playoff games.
Tied at any point after the first score: Yes -130
Again, envisioning back-and-forth, this seems inevitable.
Under 6.5 punts: -125
The Bucs punted an average of three times a game in their three playoff games. The Chiefs punted once in two playoff games. This is going to be a wide open game, right?
Super Bowl XXXIV: The Titans’ gut-wrenching loss in their lone Super Bowl appearance just turned 21 years old -- old enough to drink.
It’s sad that they’ve not made it back and fans are hoping desperately that 2019’s AFC Championship Game appearance is not as close as the current core is able to get. An 11-win, AFC South title team had some fantastic moments but wasted things with a terrible defense and a first-round loss to Baltimore.
After the loss, the Titans collected $33,000 as the runner up share.
This year, players on the losing team will get $62,000.
Does that seem like a big increase in 21 years or a relatively small one?
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