137 Super Bowl LII

Super Bowl LII

Where did January go? Good grief! It’s Super Bowl Sunday. Dear faithful blog readers know I have very mixed emotions about football--its aggression and its intensity, its number of concussive plays. BUT, you also may remember that something about the physics and the agility of the players is appealing. I also like that its winner-take-all game.

The Lombardi trophy--from

 Tiffany & Co. no less!

With that off my chest, a website called Neporent says that 1.3 billion chicken wings, 3 million pounds of nuts, 8.2 million pounds of tortilla chips and 139 million pounds of avocados will be consumed during the Super Bowl. 

And if you don’t really enjoy football, you probably could find a party (or hold one) and wait for the commercials costing at an average of $5 million for a 30-second spot (says Sports Illustrated). Uh, readers, that’s $166,667 per SECOND.

Or if you are a Justin Timberlake fan, he’s back for his third-time show. Hmm, remember the costume malfunction? And Pink said she was thrilled to be asked to sing the Star Spangled Banner. Stars will be in the stands, on the field, and at the mics.

I do believe that that Super Bowl Sunday is a new national holiday. It is the most watched single day sporting event in the world, broadcast to more than 170 countries and with 112 million viewers (Stevenson, Price, Kissell).

A great read about this match of the Eagles and the Patriots is Danny Kelly’s article in The Ringer (Jan 30, 6:10 a.m.) titled “The Super Bowl Rematch that Isn’t.” Recommended by son-in-law Paul, this is a really readable article embedded with video clips. Not only does Kelly give you the fun facts about the 13-year-ago game with the same teams, but he knows his football stats and informed information like the I-formation going away and the increase in shotgun snaps. (I learned a lot.)

And the ring! The coveted ring. Yes, made by the same Jostens as your high school ring. This edition apparently cost about $35,000. The following paragraph is from a Jostens’ press release. 

The Super Bowl LI Championship Ring features the iconic Patriots logo made from a custom-cut created corundum sapphire and ruby. An additional corundum sapphire in the background proudly surrounds the Patriots logo and five iconic Vince Lombardi Trophies. Each trophy features a marquise-cut diamond and then is pavé-set with brilliant round diamonds. Surrounding the custom sapphire corundum is another perimeter row of diamonds bringing the total on the top of the ring to 270 round diamonds. The title WORLD CHAMPIONS surrounds the sides contributing to the ring’s unique shape and size.

The oddsmakers and I agree on a very close game. If money is a deciding factor Tom Brady makes a salary of $14 million vs. Nick Foles at only $5.5 million--after taking over for the ACL-injured Wentz. Predictions are a Brady win. USAToday reports $4.6 BILLION in bets in the U.S on this game. The great Electronic Arts “Madden” game as well as Oddsshark and the Bleacher report all see New England as the favorite. How did you do?

Sunday night, 6:30 p.m. Eastern time on NBC at the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis with Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth reporting. How many chicken wings did you eat? Any dip left?

And just for fun, here is the “edited” version of the Lombardi trophy made just for New England.

Until next time, stay warm. 

Savvy Glenne