Super Bowl LX Preview. Part II

Yesterday the Sportsfreak NFL crew – Hamish Girvan, Jonathan Paterson, Ryan Nixon, Stephen Gallagher, and Scott MacLean – started their look at Monday’s (NZT) Super Bowl LX.

Today, we wrap that up.

3. Bad Bunny has the halftime show this year. On the 1-10 scale, how excited are you for it?

HG: 0. Bad Bunny is a music streaming phenomenon but musical wise I have zero interest. Green Day pre-game will be the one I will watch.

JP: Nine. Not because I’m a fan of his per se, but for the ongoing discourse around it. Loving the middle-aged American meltdowns.

RN: Probably like a 2. I just don’t listen to his music, and understand I’m probably not the target audience. Which is fine. But he could totally sway me by playing a cover of Benny and, well, the Jets.

SG: The only thing I know about Bad Bunny is that he was in Happy Gilmore 2. And he was pretty funny! He’s at the height of his fame right now from my understanding, but it’s not exactly a show I will be watching at half-time. I’m giving Bad Bunny a 2.

SM: Zero. Can’t even say I’ve even heard one of his songs. But I’ll definitely be finding Green Day before kickoff and hope to hear them do American Idiot. Because of you-know-who.

4. First prediction time. What’s the craziest thing that happens during the game?

HG: Prediction – first points a safety from Darnold getting sacked in the end zone by the punishing Patriots defence. Craziest thing to happen – broadcast commentator Cris Collinsworth to reference his obsessions with both Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes at least 10 times during the broadcast.

JP: Gary Russell comes out of retirement and scores the first TD of the game.

But my genuine crazy prediction, in honour of the great Gary Russell, is that George Holani scores a TD, which is paying around $5.

RN: The pre-match flyover is delayed, causing kickoff to be moved back, by Donald Trump wanting to paint his face on, well, the Jets.

SG: Stefon Diggs to get a woman pregnant in the stands. That man has some great swimmers.

SM: One of my favourite segments is “Big Man Ballin’” on NFL Live, fronted by former Cowboys defensive end Marcus Spears that pays tribute to the 300lb fellas like himself. So I’m going with at least one “Big Man” coming up with a game-changing fumble or interception.

5. And lastly, who wins, score, and who’s the MVP?

HG: Seattle by 10 and Jaxon Smith-Njigba to win MVP for his 2 touchdowns.

JP: I have had a horrific run of gambling over these playoffs, so much so that I decided to delete Betcha and start chucking money into safer things like crypto and precious metals every time I felt the compulsion to wager. Do your own research on how these have fared over the last couple of weeks.

With that in mind, I am going to predict a Patriots win by 6-2, with Christian Barmore winning the MVP vote.

RN: Seattle, 27-13, Sam Darnold. And in his thank you speech, he doesn’t thank, well, the Jets.

SG: Seattle Seahawks win. Their defence is too good. They will always be compared to the Legion Of Boom defence that once haunted all the other teams in the NFC West for years, and I think they aren’t quite there, but I wouldn’t argue if you think they are as good or better.

We saw the Eagles defence wreak havoc on Patrick Mahomes last year, I think there’s going to be something similar for Drake Maye. 27-10 is the final score, and Sam Darnold will have the MVP next to his name.

SM: Seahawks do what they did to Peyton Manning in their only Super Bowl win and completely throttle the Patriots. I’m going with 38-9, and like 40 years ago when the dominant Chicago Bears won, a defensive player – in this case linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence – gets the MVP.

Thanks for reading!

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