The Super Bowl… and the Super Bad
The Super Bowl, to be played Sunday is about football, of course.
The Super Bad is about what’s going on in our country.
First, the fun stuff. This is the week fans are asking each other, “Who do you like in the big game?” You will get convincing arguments for both the Patriots and the Falcons. Naturally, the most convincing comes from Patriots supporters, and why not?
How can you go against a franchise which has dominated the sport. A head coach, who, when you give him two weeks to prepare will find what your strengths are, and take them away. He and his staff will discover your weaknesses and take advantage of them.
A quarterback who has four Super Bowl rings and is probably the greatest at his position of all time. A team that has interchangeable parts and can beat you because they simply play the game in a fundamentally sound way, and just do their jobs.
A team that is trained in situational football and doesn’t make mental mistakes.
Imagine how well New England has done in the light of losing Tom Brady for the first month of the season and losing Rob Gronkowski in the last month of the season including the playoffs.
I won’t spend time on the endless matchups and statistical comparisons, and historical references. You can find them easily.
We all know turnovers at a critical time in the game and in a key spot on the field usually decides these games.
We all know there are always those three or four plays that make the ultimate difference.
To me, it’s about a feeling. A hunch. Based on instinct.
My instinct tells me to pick the Atlanta Falcons to capture the Lombardi Trophy.
It is about team speed, particularly on defense where the Falcons, sparked by their young and up-and-coming stellar playmakers, have raised their game the past few weeks.
It is about a dedication and togetherness I have seen in this team that I never saw before from an Atlanta club.
Most of all, it’s about a prolific offensive machine which has so many ways to score. QB Matt Ryan is the Most Valuable Player in the league this year in my view and isn’t afraid to get everybody in the act. I just don’t feel a defense, even as opportunistic as the Patriots, can effectively slow them down.
So the Falcons are my choice. My post-season record is 7-3.
But you’re only as good as your last game. And this one is really the only one that matters.
On to the Super Bad. A more serious topic.
What’s happening to our great nation?
I have voted for Presidential candidates from both parties in my lifetime. When my guy lost, I accepted the voice of the people and let things play out. I might have disagreed vehemently but I was all about the great system that has marked our country.
Here is what I feel and you can go along or reject it.
Donald Trump was elected President. Actually by a wide margin in our wonderful electoral college which gives ALL states a true voice. In fact, if you take California of the mix, he won by a landslide in the popular vote as well.
The people voted for him because he promised more jobs, increased security from the scary existence of terrorism and a plan to reverse what has been unsatisfactory trade deals which affect America’s economy.
He is cut from a different cloth than perhaps any previous President.
He is a businessman who has hired people to do a job. He is not a politician who has ridden the Washington gravy train seemingly forever and want to survive to win another term of office. This goes for both parties, by the way.
But he has been faced with strong opposition from the losers who simply cannot believe their ineffectual, weak candidate, who had NO plan and lacked the energy of President, lost. Plain and simple.
Like it or not, Donald Trump, and most people DO like it, was victorious every step of the way despite daily bashing by the media, protests (which also interrupted his own campaign rallies) and the constant manner in which his critics would spin everything in a totally false way.
Since his election, the protests have often turned into looting. The practice of actors and entertainers ripping him, and the media continuing their biased attacks have been like a broken record spinning round and round beneath a dull needle!
What does it all mean?
To me it is not affecting anything the President does.
He has a plan that he began to implement on day one. He is fulfilling his campaign promises (unlike past elected officials) that he made to the American people.
The vast majority of our nation is turned off by the negativity and seem to support him more. The attitude of the media and the show biz world do not reach anyone but themselves.
It is embarrassing how inept the media and the entertainers have been.
They didn’t resonate with citizens before, and they don’t now.
Here is what America is all about… A President is elected every four years. If he does the job he is elected again.
If the people disapprove of his performance, someone else is elected.
It’s as simple as that. I am just a voice in support of the man who is in office.
My suggestion to the opposition is to start looking in the mirror and clean up their own house. It doesn’t look like they are.
That’s their problem, and its unfortunate.
In sports, losing teams go back to the drawing board to get better.
That’s the only way to truly contend.
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“Keep an eye out for my podcast, “Stockton!” We’ll take a different perspective on the world of sports and share stories I’ve collected from my unique front-row seat. To learn more and sign up to be notified when it launches, visit www.StocktonPodcast.com.”
Sincerely,
Dick Stockton
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