Super Bowl woos rush hour crowd
At 39, Pats QB rallies troops to win historic fifth championship
As millions around the world settled onto couches and watched the Super Bowl on big-screen TVs on Sunday, fans in China watched the New England Patriots stun the Atlanta Falcons on mobile phones and tablets — on their way to work.
The National Football League is looking to score with viewers in China — where games often start during morning rush hour — via a push online. For the first time, the Super Bowl streamed live on messaging platform Sina Weibo.
The stakes are high for the league’s bid to tap the enormous potential of China’s 1.4 billion people.
US sports leagues and media companies are increasingly looking to China’s market for growth. World Wrestling Entertainment, for example, is training Chinese athletes in hopes of turning them into television sensations.
As the Patriots mounted a stirring comeback against the Falcons, a major hurdle was that when the game began on Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, it was 7:30 am on Monday in China.
“I watched the first half when stuck in a traffic jam,” one viewer wrote in the Weibo live stream forum. “For the second half, I had to be careful not to be caught by my boss at work.”
Just over 3 million people tuned in to the live stream to watch the game, according to a viewer count on the site. Others watched via platforms like Tencent and LeSports.
China’s interest in football, however, remains a challenge. The sport is still new to China, and the NFL is pushing to reach more television and online viewers, even at rush hour, said Richard Young, NFL China managing director.
“They watch (the games), they pause them. They get on and off the bus” and in and out of the taxi, Young said.
About 1.5 million people in China now watch live NFL games each week on digital platforms, Young said.
The New England Patriots looked old and outmanned on Sunday.
Their 39-year-old superstar quarterback was frazzled and their stingy defense was coming apart at the seams. Big deal. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots simply shrugged and did what they always seem to do: Win the Super Bowl.
Brady led one of the greatest comebacks in sports history — highlighted by a Julian Edelman catch that was almost beyond belief (see sidebar) — as the Patriots pulled themselves out of a 25-point hole to beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in the first NFL championship decided in overtime.
“There were a lot of plays coach talks about ... you never know which one is going to be the Super Bowl winner,” said Brady, who earned a record fourth MVP award and a fifth SuperBowlring,themostfora quarterback.
“There were probably 30 of those plays tonight and if any one of those were different, the outcome could have been different.”
Even trailing 28-3 in the third quarter?
“It’s hard to imagine us winning,” Brady said. “It took a lot of great plays ... and that’s why you play to the end.”
The Patriots scored 19 points in the final 15 minutes, including a pair of 2-point conversions, then marched relentlessly to James White’s two-yard touchdown run in OT after winning the coin toss.
White scored three TDs and a 2-pointer.
Brady guided the Patriots through a punishing Atlanta defense for fourth-quarter touchdowns on a six-yard pass to Danny Amendola and a one-yard run by White, which came with 57 seconds remaining in regulation.
Brady finished 43 for 62, the most attempts in Super Bowl history, for 466 yards, also a record, and two touchdowns.
Before the stunning rally — New England already held the record for the biggest comeback in the final period when it turned around a 10-point deficit to beat Seattle two yearsago—theFalconslooked set to take their first NFL championship in 51 seasons. But having never been in such a pressurized environment, their previously staunch pass rush disappeared, they stumbled on offense — and Brady tore them apart.
“There’s nothing you can really say,” said Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan. “It’s a tough loss, obviously very disappointing because we were veryclosetogettingdonewhat we wanted to get done.”
It was deja vu for Patriots owner Robert Kraft as he accepted the Lombardi Trophy from commissioner Roger Goodell, who naturally drew a flood of boos from New England fans.
“Two years ago, after we won our fourth Super Bowl down in Arizona, I told our fans that was the sweetest one of all,” Kraft said.
“But a lot has transpired over the last two years and I don’t think that needs any explanation.
“I want to say to our fans, our brilliant coaching staff, our amazing players who were so spectacular, this is unequivocally the sweetest.”
Brady and coach Bill Belichick each won their 25th postseason game, by far a record, and Belichick became the first coach with five Super Bowls.
The Patriots won the coin toss for overtime, and elected to receive. Brady completed six straight passes against an overmatched Falcons secondary, and an interference call took the ball to the two-yard line, where White scooted to his right and barely over the goal line.
In a game that started as a defensive struggle, the Falcons went sack-happy, getting two on the Patriots’ second drive in what would be a scoreless opening quarter.
It looked as if the Patriots would get on the board immediately in the second period as Brady and Edelman connected twice for 40 yards, but LeGarrette Blount’s fumble turned the momentum to the Falcons, who grabbed a 14-0 lead.
Then Brady was victimized by his own poor decision, a rarity for him on the big stage. From the Falcons’ 23, he tried to squeeze a throw to Danny Amendola. Robert Alford stepped in and sprinted 82 yards for the second-longest pick-6inSuperBowlhistory— and Brady’s first. Shockingly, it was 21-0. The Pats gathered their wits for a 52-yard drive to Stephen Gostkowski’s41-yardfieldgoal, but it was 21-3 when Lady Gaga took the stage to lead the halftime show.
There was still smoke hanging over the field when both teams had three-and-outs to open the third quarter. The Falcons looked in control when they marched 85 yards for another touchdown, but NewEnglandkeptcomingand the Falcons started to sputter.
It took less than 20 minutes of playing time for Brady and his buddies to complete the comeback and sew up their fifth Super Bowl title.
“We just played every play,” Edelman said. “We never quit.”