Bush steals spotlight with on-field coin flip
By halftime, Super Bowl LI sent Fox play-by-play announcer Joe Buck scrambling for every possible comeback statistic related to the New England Patriots.
“Tom Brady has rallied to lead the Patriots from a 21-0 deficit three times in his career, so stay tuned,” Buck said as the Falcons rolled to a big early lead that ended up 21-3 at the half.
Four-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Terry Bradshaw predicted that New England would abandon the run game in the second half and you’d see Brady “at his best.”
Other than the surprise of Atlanta’s first-half domination, the game broadcast was rather straightforward.
The pregame show was consumed by sappy themes that touched on patriotism and coming together amid political division and uncertainty without explicitly delving into the issues surrounding President Trump’s first two weeks in office and the nationwide protests his actions have sparked.
Perhaps the most poignant moment was former president George H.W. Bush, now 92 and recently out of the hospital, coming out for the coin toss along with wife Barbara.
The former president and Houston resident, who is confined to a wheelchair, received a touching ovation from fans, players and coaches as he was brought to midfield. NASA-THEMED PREGAME NASA was a major theme of the pregame show, given that Houston, nicknamed Space City, is famous for having the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
In fact, one of the cooler features of the show was a live interview with two astronauts with rooting interests in the Super Bowl from the International Space Station while traveling at 17,500 mph.
Peggy Whitson, the flight engineer, wore a Patriots jersey, while flight commander Shane Kimbrough wore an Atlanta Falcons jersey.
“Almost all my sports information comes from my son,” said Kimbrough, who has been in space for 109 days.
“I do get a few sports shows sent up to me, and they keep me updated by email.”
Kimbrough did a zero-gravity somersault, mimicking his planned celebration in the event of a Falcons victory. BRADY NOT GOING AWAY Patriots quarterback Tom Brady emphatically said on Fox’s pregame show he would not retire if he wins his fifth Super Bowl at 39.
“Hell no. There’s no way,” Brady told Bradshaw, who entered the day sharing the honor of winningest Super Bowl quarterback with four titles. “I’m having too much fun now. This is the time to capitalize.
“I’ve worked too hard to get to this point.” TRUMP PICKS PATRIOTS President Trump predicted the Patriots would win by eight points in an interview on the pregame show, citing his friendship with quarterback Tom Brady and owner Bob Kraft.
“You have to stick up for your friends, right?” Trump said. “There’s less pressure on the Patriots because they’ve been there. Once you’ve done it, there’s a lot less pressure. So we’ll see what happens.”
It wasn’t completely clear if the president knew who the Patriots were playing, as he referred to the Falcons as “the other team” and quarterback Matt Ryan, crowned as the NFL’s MVP, as “a good quarterback.” CONTROVERSIAL SPONSOR Turkish Airlines’ highly visible sponsorship of Fox’s pregame show raised eyebrows on social media, given both the current political climate in the USA and the situation in Turkey, where authoritarian policies and a crackdown on free speech over the last two years have drawn criticism from the West.
Turkish Airlines, which is partly privatized but remains largely a state-owned company, has dab- bled in American sport sponsorships before and had an endorsement deal with Kobe Bryant.
But the advertisements drew significant attention Sunday, particularly given Trump’s executive order two weekends ago that targeted travel from seven Muslimmajority countries. (Turkey was not one of them.)
The Super Bowl sponsorship was part of a larger marketing tiein for Turkish Airlines, which was making the Super Bowl broadcast available Sunday on all flights that had an Internet connection. The deal to sponsor the Super Bowl was signed in early 2016 as part of a global strategy for Turkish Airlines aimed at major sporting events.
“We not only carry our guests to the most countries worldwide, but we also aim to organize a flight that offers the best passenger experience at the highest level,” Turkish Airlines chief marketing officer Ahmet Olmustur said in a news release. “We are excited to offer American football experience with Super Bowl to our passengers at thousands of feet of elevation and also debut our new commercial video on this broadcast.” RYAN KEEPS SECRET Ryan learned he had won the MVP award last week before the team arrived in Houston for the Super Bowl, according to Fox’s Erin Andrews on the pregame show.
Ryan kept the secret to himself, Andrews said, as the team did not want it to get out on social media.
Andrews was reporting from the Falcons team hotel as the early bus left for NRG Stadium carrying offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and some players, including running back Devonta Freeman.