Super Bowl LI – Official Sportsfreak preview with Hamish Girvan

New England Patriots vs Atlanta Falcons – Houston, Texas 12.30pm Monday NZ time

So here we are – in Houston we head – for the New England Patriots versus the Atlanta Falcons for the biggest prize in USA sport.

The season started on September 11th with the Patriots quarterback Tom Brady banned from attending or playing any games for the first four weeks due to a deflated ball two seasons before. And in Atlanta the Falcons were not seen as anywhere near a Superbowl contender by the experts

The Patriots survived without Tom for a month whilst the Falcons started their offensive Juggernaught in the NFC.

And after some of the most one sided playoff games for a long time (an average win margin of 16 points across 10 games) both teams enter as deserved contenders

The Falcons have been one of the most under exposed teams this season. No one talked about them with pundits always awaiting their usual choke. The Falcons are in a rare position of never having won a Superbowl in their history – and they have had one appearance – 1998 – where they lost to the Denver Broncos. This year though they have been flying high. Matty “Ice” Ryan who was drafted no. 3 overall out of Boston College in 2008 has hit his straps with his power arm. Their defence has also stood up. After being beaten by the Kansas City chiefs in early December they have not looked back

The Patriots are one of the more storied franchises on the NFL in the 2000’s with a creditable four Super Bowls to their name and this will be their 9th appearance. Coach Bill Belichick is the most successful coach in NFL history and has built his team around one player – Tom Brady. Players have come and gone however Brady is never in doubt. At the age of 39 he’s at the top of his game and has shown no signs of decline. Scary for next season in the NFL.

The betting line opened at the Patriots getting a 2.5 pint start which has crept to 3 in some markets – basically a field goal. A team on a vendetta against the NFL over the Brady ban they on a mission. The point start looks a good bet as it could be a blow out.

The multitude of prop bets options get larger by the year. The standard one “will the half time act expose an intimate part of their body” (in this case Lady Gaga) is always a gem however with the conservative NFL that’s a safe bet not to happen at $1.07.

In the climate in the USA today maybe the over of more than 1.5 times of President Trump being mentioned during the broadcast is a decent over to take. Trump is a fan of the Patriots by association of having the public support of both Belichick and Brady. No doubt Trump will fire out some tweets pre game .

Which team do you really think most of the liberal Americans want to win though ?

Hamish is active on Twitter so give him a follow.