Super Bowl 52: Odds/Shock/Diary

[Abishai100]

It's been a wild NFL Season 52, which saw some terrific streaks and surges by talented NFC teams such as the LA Rams, the New Orleans Saints, the Minnesota Vikings, and, oh yes, the gritty-scrappy Philadelphia Eagles(!).

If the AFC titan New England Patriots (led by Goliath-like QB Tom Brady) is the undoubted 'Super Bowl Team of the New Millennium' (having won a whopping 5 Super Bowl titles and appearing in 7 Super Bowl games!), then the NCF gritty-scrappy Philadelphia Eagles team is the undoubted 'Underdog Team of the New Millennium' (having appeared in a whopping 6 NFC Championship games since 2000!).

Unfortunately, the Eagles lost their phenom-QB Carson Wentz late this season to a torn-ACL injury, forcing the Eagles coach to sub-in the albeit talented but much more pressured young QB Nick Foles to take his place. Now, Foles has certainly surprised everyone and held his own, having pulled off tight and gritty late-season (and psychologically important!) victories over the LA Rams and Eli Manning led NY Giants (Manning is the only NFL QB to have defeated Brady in the Super Bowl --- and he did it twice!) as well as holding off the always tough Atlanta Falcons (Super Bowl contenders just last year!) 15-10 in the NFC playoffs.

However, Foles will need to pull out more 'miracles' to get past the very mighty Minnesota Vikings and then even dream of downing the 'Metal Machine' Brady-led New England Patriots in Super Bowl 52 (since the Patriots will most-likely defeat the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship game).

So many sports-fans are asking, "Do we want a mighty Vikings team to face the Patriots in Super Bowl 52 and increase our chances of FINALLY seeing the Patriots lose; or do we want the gritty-scrappy Foles-led Eagles to pull out two final shocking victories to cap off an otherwise nifty NFL Season 52?"

This is the kind of 'locker-room sweat' that makes me feel glad about being a Chicago Cubs (MLB) fan (since it's always comforting to have a professional sports-team to sit back with when it seems like a Goliath-like 'bully' like the Patriots are making their sports-league simply...unpatriotic!).


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ANDY REID: I coached the Eagles before coming to Kansas City!
MIKE BELICHICK: Did you enjoy coaching the Eagles?
ANDY REID: Eagles have always been and will always be...scrappy.
MIKE BELICHICK: Eagles have been gritty this year; though Wentz is gone.
ANDY REID: Even Foles will miss Wentz now; they have a mountain to climb.
MIKE BELICHICK: Getting past the Vikings is what is needed to face us.
ANDY REID: I'm sure your Patriots can handle the Jaguars.
MIKE BELICHICK: We're pretty confident, but we want to keep everything tight.
ANDY REID: That's good. I wonder what Eagles fans really think of Foles...
MIKE BELICHICK: I imagine they think he's some kind of 'working-man hero.'
ANDY REID: Let's hope he is, if the Eagles want to give audiences a good show!
MIKE BELICHICK: I'd rather face the stronger Vikings in Super Bowl 52.
ANDY REID: Taking it one game-at-a-time --- it'd be nice to see the Eagles win.
MIKE BELICHICK: We faced the Eagles in Super Bowl 39 (and almost lost!).
ANDY REID: Find posts on Topix --- "Eagles/Vikings vs. Patriots!" (who cares which?)!
MIKE BELICHICK: I think we can expect 'lazy chuckles' on Topix or something!

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[Abishai100]

The Great Escape


Now that the Eagles have done the impossible --- maintained a solid season-ending after losing their phenom starting QB Carson Wentz and pulling off psychologically important victories (with satisfying backup QB Nick Foles!) over the Rams and Giants before 'upsetting' the Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings in the NFL playoffs, they might have all the momentum available heading into the Super Bowl against Brady's 'Metal Machine' New England Patriots.

I've always been an Eagles fan, so seeing them once again on the big-stage (their first Super Bowl appearance since 2004) having to face Belichick's Patriots gives me 'fan-jitters.' I'm disappearing into the shadows and claiming a fair-stake in general sports fanfare by relying on my tried-and-true other 'underdog-spirit' pro-sports team, Argentina national soccer team.

Argentina has boasted the great talents Diego Maradona, Mario Kempes, Leo Messi, Pablo Aimar, Sergio Aguero, and Gabriel Batistuta! But, like the Eagles, they always compete but don't win continuously like the dynasty-teams. Maybe Argentina can pull off an 'upset-win' in the upcoming World Cup soccer tournament in Russia.

Here's a mock discussion about the Eagles in the Super Bowl between Argentine soccer-talent Hernan Crespo and French soccer-talent (now coach!) Zinedine Zidane. I'm using such 'pedestrian rhetoric' to hide in 'Argentine fanfare' and not have to face the terrible possible (and likely!) hangover I'll face when the Patriots win their whopping 6th Super Bowl title since 2000.

{NEVERTHELESS, I'LL STILL BE BETTING ON MY PHILLY EAGLES ON SUPER BOWL SUNDAY}


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CRESPO: The Philadelphia Eagles will win Super Bowl 52!!
ZIDANE: If they can quell Brady, it's possible...
CRESPO: Anything is possible!
ZIDANE: What about your 'famed Argentina' squad from World Cup 2002?
CRESPO: Oh yes, Ayala, me, Aimar, Veron, and Batistuta --- it was heartbreak.
ZIDANE: You were touted as the best Argentina-team...ever (and lost).
CRESPO: Argentina bounced back and won Olympic Gold in Athens 2004. Go Eagles!!
ZIDANE: You're rooting for the Eagles, since they are the prophetic 'underdogs.'
CRESPO: I bet there are many newfound comic book oriented fans of Eagles and Argentina.
ZIDANE: Sure. Let's see if Wonder Woman (DC Comics) pulls off more sales than Batman!

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[Abishai100]

The Race Rap(*)


Tryin' my hand at propaganda...




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The Eagles have boasted many ethnic-minority (e.g., African-American) talents including Randall Cunningham and Donovan McNabb. The City of Brotherly Love (Philadelphia) is, after all, a symbolic multiculturalism city! That's why for Super Bowl 52 (since the Eagles are such an underdog!), the Halftime Show will feature an African-American music-performance (Vanessa Williams and Brian McNight). If Philadelphians can't find a happy ending to NFL Season 52, at least we'd have meditated on what creates democratic fanfare in the first place. Besides, who isn't tired of seeing the Patriots win?

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[Abishai100]

The Tight Ship(?)

Ron Jaworski was the ambitious QB for the Philadelphia Eagles when they faced the Oakland Raiders in the Super Bowl (1980). Jaworski's Eagles started out with great tactics but then seemed to completely fizzle as the Raiders took over and won 27-10.

This year, we saw the Eagles have a soaring season thanks to phenom-QB Carson Wentz, but losing him to injury required backup QB Nick Foles to really step up...and he did(!). Foles managed important psychological late-season victories over the Rams and Giants and then marched the Eagles through the playoffs, taking down the tough Falcons and Vikings en-route to Super Bowl 52.

Super Bowl 52 is really about the Eagles avenging their loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl 39 (2004). The Patriots are stilled QB'd by the titan Tom Brady, and Foles will need miracles and magic to hold off the Patriots' 'Metal Machine.'

Foles has proven he has what it takes to make the Super Bowl at least entertaining; if Foles continues to capitalize on his strategic and tightly-played offense-coordination (while coach Pederson continues to provide prudent advice to his aspiring backup-QB), it is very possible that the Eagles pull off a 20-17 upset (I keep saying that!), which would be the upset of the millennium so far. The Patriots are the undoubted Super Bowl Team of the New Millennium (having won 5 titles), while the Eagles are the undoubted Underdog Team of the New Millennium (having reached 6 NFC Championship games!).

Basically, the Eagles will have to play like the '85 Chicago Bears in order to 'squeak' by the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 52, but this *possibility* mind you will make for very interesting betting-games for NFL fans.

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JAWORSKI: I think you guys have what it takes (honestly)!
PEDERSON: Ron, you've always been an optimist...
JAWORSKI: Foles simply has to keep everything very very tight.
PEDERSON: We'll need to play miraculously tight, Ron!
JAWORSKI: Well, your defensive coordinators will be put to the test.
PEDERSON: I know it. Foles helped get us here (at least).
JAWORSKI: Yes, he defeated the Rams, Giants, Falcons, Vikings.
PEDERSON: Very true, but what will the odds-experts say about Brady's will?

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{Jaworski's Eagles in 1980 and Foles' Eagles in 2018}