I must confess, I, like many of those I have talked to since Sunday, are still recovering from this year’s SuperBowl, not from the bevies, but from the fact that one of the top offensive teams the past two seasons only touchdown they scored was when their plane landed in Atlanta.
Many I talked to felt it was the worst Super Bowl they had seen as a result, which they shared and agree with in part but felt it was not …
… because the Patriots, under Bill Belichick and the ageless wonder Tom Brady, winning their 6th Super Bowl together in 9 tries since they became the tandem that turned the Patriots into one of the all-time dynasties in the NFL
… because CBS, Tony Romo, and Jim Vance were chosen to be the commentators for the game vs. Fox, Joe Buck, and Troy Aikman as had been the case for many years prior
… because the Halftime Show was “Just OK” from one of the top pop bands in music today, Maroon 5, which one of the only highlights was the drones with balloons forming the shape of words Love and One, but two different rap artists intertwined where one had to have several profanities omitted in the live broadcast. Even Adam Levine tried to play the part of Rap artist with the heavy chains around his neck, and showing off all of his tats when he removed his shirt (What was up with that?)
… because it was shared after the fact that Maroon 5 was a last minute replacement for other musical acts turned the offer to do so from the NFL, Rhianna and Carbi B, due to the ongoing controversy pertaining to Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling at the anthem to protest inequality in the USA towards black and other minority groups and resulting lawsuit filed by Kaepernick for exclusion since he last played in 2017.
… because Jim and Tony joked at one point that one of the plays of the game that people will be talking about was not one of what should have been numerous TD’s, field goals with two of the NFL’s top offences matching up in the NFL but instead a 65 yard punt of the multiple the Rams Kicker was forced to make as their offense was shut down by the Patriots Defence.
… because the perceived underdog according to Tom Brady and company was in fact the Patriots and relished the role even though the Vegas bets were heavily in their favour.
… because we finally were able to see all of the infamous Super Bowl Commercials live in Canada during the game vs. being replaced with Canadian Content but none I felt were on par with past ones that people talked about for days, weeks after the game.
… because after 3 quarters of play, the score was 3-3, the equivalent of what happened last night as does in many NFL games and the winner of the 4th quarter or OT (if it had gone there) would win the game.
Like many others, the 4th quarter Tom Brady did what he has done for years, took control and threw short passes to MVP winner Edelman, the long bomb to Gronk to set up the game-winning touchdown.
… because my son, who is not a fan of football, actually sat and watched the game from start to finish with me for the first time EVER and it left him with such a sour taste in his mouth he probably will never watching another Super Bowl (although a D-Man in Hockey, does not appreciate that defense wins championships in Football).
… because the announcement of the NFL player who received the most prestigious award amongst players, the Walter Payton Award, for their contributions not only to the game but their community involvement away from the game that was awarded to Philadelphia Eagles player Chris Long did not permit him to say a few words to the crowd humbling accepting for the amazing work he does off the field.
This not only included Founding Waterboys to provide safe drinking water for kids in Tanzania 4 years ago and donating his salary for an entire season to funding scholarships and literacy programs, the epitome of giving back.
Below is induction for the award and his full acceptance speech.
I suspect his Dad, NFL Hall of famer and now Fox commentator Howie Long, was a very proud Daddy for all the great work Chris is doing off the field.
It was because of the news articles and interviews up to and after the game focused on how Tom Brady and company were the underdogs and how much adversity they had over come this season to get to the game, how much it meant to Tom Brady more than the past 5 and so on.
In lieu of it being touted as underdogs (one could argue Rams were due to how Vegas laid down the bets) for me it was a battle of the old guard (Belichick and Brady) vs. the new guard (McVay and Goff) and it truly was disappointing to me that Sean and company could pull it off with the offense they built to get the needle to swing in their favour
For me, the Superbowl happened early in the season, when the Chiefs and league MVP Patrick Mahomes dueled it out with the Rams (what I was hoping to be the Super Bowl Match-up) for the total opposite, 54 (Rams) to 51 (Chiefs) where it truly showed the offensive upside of both teams and lack of defense.
This was the epitome of the amazing transformation that Sean McVay had done since he became the youngest NFL head coach of all time at 31 years of age.
In just the two years under his watch, he has taken the Rams with much of the same nucleus of players who were coached by long term Jeff Fischer in 2016-17, from 4-12 record to reach the playoffs in the first time with a record of 11-5 in 2017-18 losing to Matt Ryan and the Falcons in the Wild Card Round, to 13-3 and getting a bye then wins against the Cowboys and Saints to reach the Superbowl this year.
As a result of making the playoffs last year with the Rams, Sean McVay was awarded the coach of the year award in just his FIRST year as a head coach in the NFL.
How then, has he transformed the Rams?
Be developing a culture of excellence with what has become known as the 4 McVayism’s that are now posted in the Rams Dressing Room.
In essence, his key standards/rules like John Wooden and other great coaches have implemented with their teams to develop their own cultures of excellence.
What do they mean?
- The Standard is the Standard = the players set the bar for themselves and there are no excuses, the accept ownership for how they perform on the field.
2. Situational masters – meaning the players capitalize on the opportunities as they present themselves in games, whether it be creating turnovers or fighting for that extra inch to get that first down
3. We not me – equates to the there is no I in team, under Sean McVay, it is all about the team, not the achievements of individual players. The same analogy holds true when you play for the crest in front of your jersey, not the name on the back.
- Our Rule – be on time – this is very similar to one of John Wooden’s top 3 rules, his first of three, was be on time. He, like Sean, and many other coaches that have developed cultures of excellence on their teams believe in the importance of starting practices on time, ending on time, being on time for any team events so that they can accomplish everything set out in practice and game plans. I learned the expression for a coach years back that I share with all of my colleagues, staff all the time – If you are not early, you are late.
Another thing that Sean has done has incorporated in the team is shared ownership, in lieu of old school coaches at times being dictators (AKA my way or the highway), he believes in an open door policy and communication and input from all players on the team how they (as a team) can become better so everyone shares in the success or in this case the misfortune of losing and having to got back to the drawing board.
Although the current rendition of the Rams struggled in the Super Bowl 53, under Sean McVay I don’t suspect they will be back, I KNOW they will be back, possibly as early as next season as Sean has now gone back to the drawing board to make the necessary adjustments not just during half time but throughout games as those in the Old Guard have shown can do time after time.
I suspect he and his coaching staff are already started to brainstorm how they can continue to improve their culture of excellence and build on the 4 McVayisms in the dressing room.
As the old cliché goes, 3 times a charm, in year 3 under the leadership of Sean McVay I am picking the Rams to not just make it to the Super Bowl, but be holding that trophy at the end of the game and hope like many others, that there truly will be a change of the guard in the AFC for someone other than the Patriots for them to face, the Kansas City Chiefs.
