Author | Daniel Wright |
The Super Bowl is the biggest game of the NFL season. Thirty-two teams set out at the beginning of the NFL season with hopes of winning the Super Bowl. Only 12 of those 32 make it into the postseason, and only 2 make it into the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is played each year on the first Sunday of February. Tens of millions of Americans gather at friend’s houses, churches, and restaurants to watch the biggest game of the year. Every year, Americans consume an average of 28,000,000 pounds of chips, 1.25 billion chicken wings, and 8,000,000 pounds of guacamole. Many pizza chains like Dominoes and Papa Johns see their orders double on Super Bowl Sunday. Nearly 60% of takeout business is pizza. On average, each American spends $75 on team merchandise, food, and decorations. In total, $14.1 billion was spent on Super Bowl LII. The average cost of a 30 second commercial this year was $7.7 million. Tickets sold for well over $5,000 this year.
This year, the two lucky teams in the Super Bowl are the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Patriots are making their 5th Super Bowl appearance in the past 10 years. The Eagles are making their first appearance since 2004, when they lost to none other than the New England Patriots. In this game, the Eagles were the obvious underdogs. Tom Brady and the Patriots, an NFL powerhouse, beat the Atlanta Falcons after being down 25 points to win 34-28 in overtime during Super Bowl LI in 2017. Trust me when I say that every Atlanta Falcons fan will remember that loss for years to come. Nick Foles and the Eagles were getting ready for a fight, and a tough one at that. The Patriots are quite possibly the hardest team to play in the NFL during the regular season, let alone the Super Bowl.
When the day finally came for the Patriots and Eagles to face off, some people were hopeful, others were dreading the game, and still others didn’t care who won. It was definitely a game to remember. In the first quarter, the Eagles came out swinging. They pushed down the field, hoping for a touchdown, but had to settle for a field goal. The Patriots had to settle for the same thing after driving down the field. At the end of the first quarter, the Eagles had a 9-3 lead, and it would only increase. After receiving the ball on their own 35 yard line with 7:24 left in the half, the Eagles scored a touchdown on a 21 yard run by running back LeGarrette Blount. In the 3rd quarter, the Patriots outscored the Eagles 14-7, but Philly still held the lead by 3. The fourth quarter saw the Eagles come out and score a touchdown, but the Patriots answered that with a touchdown of their own. That would be their last score of the game, whereas the Eagles would go on to score 9 more, in the form of a touchdown+extra point and a field goal. The final score would stand at 41-33 with the Eagles winning their first ever Super Bowl, and in the process keeping Tom Brady from winning a 6th Super Bowl ring.