In American culture, the Super Bowl is more than just a game, and Super Bowl Sunday is more than just a cold winter’s day. The game itself can sometimes be overshadowed by the spectacle surrounding it, including the halftime show (recall Janet Jackson) and whatever is the current scandal or controversy (hi, “Deflategate”). There are also parties to attend and hot wings to eat, and, of course, lots of shiny new commercials to watch.
But ultimately it all comes down to the action on the field, and in Super Bowl XLIX we have a dream matchup between the league’s most recent dynasties, New England and Seattle. And for the second straight year, we have the top seeds from both the AFC and the NFC in the big game. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the five key storylines and subplots to keep an eye on this Sunday.
LEGACIES
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Sherman, for his part, has voiced his displeasure with the league not taking action against the Pats for “Deflategate.” “Will they be punished? Probably not,” Sherman said on Sunday. “Not as long as Robert Kraft and Roger Goodell are still taking pictures at their respective homes. You talk about conflict of interest. As long as that happens, it won’t affect them at all. Nothing will stop them.”
On top of all that, of course, it was during a 2012 Seahawks-Patriots game that Sherman’s now-infamous utterance — “You mad, bro?” — was coined, when Seattle overcame a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit at home to beat the Pats 24-23. Thirteen points may not seem like much when we consider Seattle’s most recent performance, but that occasion marked the first time a lot of Americans had ever heard of Wilson or Sherman. The fact that it came at Brady’s expense and culminated in an instantly quotable verbal exchange adds yet more drama to a game already thick with it.
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