Super Bowl LII: A game of historic significance in the NFL
Hunter McIntyre
Staff Writer
The New England Patriots will face the Philadelphia Eagles for Super Bowl LII on February 4. Each team has the opportunity to make history this year.
The teams are two of the most hated and loved franchises in the NFL. This year is especially noteworthy because of the significance of their history with the Super Bowl.
If the Patriots win, the team will be the only other team besides the Pittsburgh Steelers to have won six super bowls. However, if the Eagles win, it will be the first superbowl win in franchise history.
The Eagles are coming off a NFC Conference Championship game against the Minnesota Vikings. The Eagles claimed the win, 38-7. By default, the seems impressive. However, what made it even more striking is that the Vikings defense was ranked second best in the NFL.
The Eagles backup quarterback Nick Foles threw for 352 yards and 3 touchdowns, an impressive feat for any quarterback in the league. The Patriots conference matchup was against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Patriots defeated the Jaguars 24-20 in a thriller that came down to the last few minutes. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady also had an impressive game against a top ranked defense amassing 290 yards and 2 touchdowns.
This will not be the first time these two teams have met in the superbowl. At Super Bowl XXXIX, the Patriots defeated the Eagles 24-21. That was the most recent Super Bowl trip for the Eagles. They certainly don’t wish to repeat the outcome.
The Patriots, on the other hand, find themselves in a very similar position to Super Bowl LXXXIX. If the Patriots win, they would repeat as Super Bowl champions just like they did in Super Bowl 38 and 39. It would also be the Patriots 3rd Super Bowl win in 4 years.
Students on campus had some interesting perspectives on the upcoming Super Bowl.
When asked who would win the Super Bowl, a majority of Hudson Valley students believed the Patriots would win the historic game.
Charles, a forensic science major said, “I want to say the patriots just because it is really hard to bet against Tom Brady.”
When asked whether Rob Gronkowski wouldn’t play due to his injury, Charles said, “He’s probably Tom Brady’s best target right now and can always get a lot of yards when they need him to. From watching a few pats game, he appears to be playing a bigger role in the offense and losing him could be a big challenge for the patriots.”
Chris, a paramedicine student said that he thought the Patriots would win.
Chris said, “Can I say the Patriots because of the refs or is that not allowed?”
Computer science student Paul said that he thought the patriots would win. “I think the patriots are just a more skilled team in general,” said Paul.
This years superbowl will undoubtedly be a historic game. This years super bowl has the potential to become one of the iconic games in american sports history.