Super Bowl LIII: An uneventful part of the history books

Brian Allen

Brady hoists the Lombardi trophy after the Patriots’ Super Bowl LI victory against the Atlanta Falcons.

Landon DeBoer, Sports Editor

Super Bowl LIII wrapped up Sunday night with yet another New England Patriots Super Bowl win. Wow… is anyone surprised?

The Patriots’ victory over the Los Angeles Rams marked their sixth Super Bowl victory in franchise history, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most ever. Although the Patriots were able to claim victory and make history, the game was relatively uneventful.

Through the first half, there was only one score: a Stephen Gostkowski field goal. Other than the field goal, viewers were “entertained” by a barrage of punts by the two teams, a missed field goal by Gostkowski and an interception thrown by Tom Brady.

Due to rejections by multiple other artists to perform at the Super Bowl because of issues with the NFL in regards to the Colin Kaepernick situation, Maroon 5 played at the halftime show. Although the band has many popular hit songs such as “Moves like Jagger,” “Payphone,” “Sugar,” etc., many were disappointed with the performance put on by the group.

Many took to Twitter to voice their displeasure towards the fact they did not include the beloved cartoon character Spongebob Squarepants and the song “Sweet Victory” sung by David Glen Eisley as portrayed in a 2001 episode of the show in the group’s performance, as previously hoped for. Spongebob fans petitioned to include the song in remembrance of Stephen Hillenburg (the creator of the show) and they gained over 1.2 million signatures on change.org. Maroon 5 hinted of the inclusion of such a song and appearance by a character in a trailer, but fans were disappointed to only catch a few seconds of the popular cartoon character in the show.

“I was forced to witness Adam Levine stripping on stage just in hopes of seeing them perform ‘Sweet Victory’ and they don’t even deliver,” said one displeased viewer of the halftime show on Twitter.

After the underwhelming halftime show, both teams looked to change the tempo of the game and get scores on the board. However, the only scoring done early in the first half was a field goal by Rams kicker, Greg Zuerlein. After the field goal, the game would come to a 3-3 standstill until the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, however, Brady was able to switch the entire course of the game in his team’s favor. With one drive, Brady was able to complete crucial passes to multiple different receivers in order to drive his team to a score. None of Brady’s completions was more impressive than the 29-yard strike he had to tight end Rob Gronkowski, which led the Patriots inside the five-yard line of the Rams. Rookie running back, Sony Michel, was able to cap off the drive with a touchdown and give the Patriots a seven-point lead.

After the Patriots scored the touchdown, the game seemed all but over. However, Rams rookie quarterback Jared Goff looked poised to make a statement and bring his team back into the game. Goff drove his team down the field into Patriots territory where it looked like they may have a chance to win, but on a play where the Patriots brought a blitz, Goff threw the ball up for grabs and Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore came down with it for the interception.

After a few big runs by Michel and Rex Burkhead, the Patriots drove the ball down and kicked a field goal to send the game out of reach. Neither team seemed their normal selves on the offensive side of things as they both could not find their groove.

The MVP of the game was Julian Edelman, who was Brady’s top target of the game. Edelman showed up in the right moments to help the Patriots gain crucial yards. In total, Edelman had 10 receptions for 141 yards, according to ESPN.

Although Goff and Rams head coach Sean McVay looked out of sorts at times, expect them to be back to the big game. With other young talents such as defensive tackle Aaron Donald and running back Todd Gurley, the Rams are filled with future stars of the league. But for the Patriots, this is just another reminder to never count them out. Please though, can we see some more scoring in the Super Bowl next year?