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Super Bowl XLIX: Super Necessary For The NFL

Jodee Sullivan |
January 28, 2015 | 5:10 p.m. PST

Staff Reporter

A competitive duel between Wilson and Brady is necessary for the NFL (Flickr/Creative Commons).
A competitive duel between Wilson and Brady is necessary for the NFL (Flickr/Creative Commons).
Domestic violence, child abuse, internal investigation, deflation. Those really aren't buzzwords immediately associated with the NFL, but that was more often than the case than not this season.

The NFL is looking to surpass and suppress the controversy—mainly off the field—and escape the consequential criticism that plagued the league for the front half of the season. It was controversy that deterred some from even turning on the TV to catch a game (this never really caught on, but some tried).

For the majority of the preseason, everyone—even those not in sports media—couldn’t stop talking about how the NFL improperly handled the Ray Rice elevator incident and the controversy surrounding Roger Goodell’s management of the situation. 

The NFL did not have a good reputation to kick off the season, and almost everyone who could critique the NFL did. There were angry fans and impassioned media; almost everyone had an opinion on what exactly it was that the NFL did wrong. 

Now, the NFL did improve as the season went along. They headed up the movement to produce the NO MORE commercials to spread awareness of the issue of domestic violence and sexual assault. The commercials—released periodically throughout the season—highlighted the difficulty when it comes to speaking about the violence and assault.

As the season progressed, everyone became less focused on the controversy that surrounded the NFL early on, and the focus turned back on the X’s and O’s on the field. 

It’s more than fitting, considering everything that has happened, that heading into the Super Bowl, there’s even more uncertainty and criticism in the NFL—Deflategate. Granted, it’s not about the entirety of the NFL—mainly just focused on the Patriots—but Ballghazi consumed the majority of the media up until the official Super Bowl Media Day on Tuesday. 

Even in the face off all of the controversy, it’s not like the NFL is dying or losing popularity. So in essence it doesn’t need to be saved, but it needs a big pick-me-up as it heads into the offseason.

There will be no football until it kicks off again in September, and as the nation’s most popular sport’s season on TV - 202.3 million unique viewers representing 80% of all television homes in 2014 - the Super Bowl will need to meet up to all of its hype and then some.

In terms of “saving” the NFL, this year’s Super Bowl could be what pulls the NFL out of the hole that it more or less dug for itself during the early part of the season. A legendary game will hush the controversy of the past season.

The matchup between the Patriots and the Seahawks should no doubt be competitive and close. Granted, that’s similar to how everyone predicted last year’s game to end up, and most can remember how that turned out. For Seahawks fans, it was glorious; for Broncos fans, undesirable. 

However, let’s not dwell on the past. This year’s game is going to be exciting and fun, regardless of which team pulls out the win. 

Will Gronk and the Patriots' postseaon-dominant offensive be able to handle the Legion of Boom? (Flickr/Creative Commons)
Will Gronk and the Patriots' postseaon-dominant offensive be able to handle the Legion of Boom? (Flickr/Creative Commons)
It’s the epitome of killer matchups: the top team from the NFC versus the top team from the AFC, the Seahawks and the Patriots, respectively. This game has the makings to be a Super Bowl to remember for countless years to come.

Old vs. new. Russell Wilson vs. Tom Brady. Legion of Boom vs. Gronk, Vereen, Gray, and Edelman. Beast Mode vs. Blount Force. The Seahawks’ “in it until they win it” postseason mindset vs. the Patriots’ postseason dominance. Creating a new Seahawks legacy vs. solidifying an old Patriots one. Of course, Good vs. evil—depending on your alliance—when it comes to Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick.

SEE ALSO: Carroll vs. Belichick: A Battle Of Good vs. Evi

If all of the above follows through this Sunday, then the game will “save” the NFL. More so than just saving the NFL, what this Super Bowl needs to do is just live up to the hype and be an intense, competitive, memorable game.  

Granted, it’s the last game of the season, so it is super necessary for this Sunday’s game to be a memorable showdown so that it will satisfy the nation’s football fans until September.

Contact Staff Reporter Jodee Sullivan here and on Twitter here.



 

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