9 Facts About The Superbowl LI Matchup | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Sports

9 Facts About The Superbowl LI Matchup

This is one for the books.

17
9 Facts About The Superbowl LI Matchup

Besides tonight being a night that football fans around America wait for every year, the Falcons and the Patriots matchup has some things you must know!

  1. The Atlanta Falcons star wide receiver Taylor Gabriel was cut by the Cleveland Browns. In 2016, they were ranked as the worst team in football. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Browns in 2014 and cut before the 2016 season. He was picked up by the Falcons in September and has been a huge help for them as the season progressed.
  2. Falcon's quarterback Matt Ryan was from the Philadelphia area and grew up an Eagles fan. He went to William Penn Charter School in center city and commited to Boston College during his junior year of high school.
  3. Wide receiver Chris Hogan only played one year of college football at Monmouth University (and three years of college lacrosse) before entering the NFL. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the San Francisco 49ers in 2011 and has jumped around a few times before becoming a huge staple in the New England Patriots' offense.
  4. The Falcons had four starting rookies on the defensive line for Superbowl LI. Linebackers Deion Jones and De'Vondre Campbell, safety Keanu Neal, and cornerback Brian Poole, who all made a huge difference in the game against the Patriots. It is known that it is a stretch starting four rookies on any defensive line, but these four have proven themselves to be powerful.
  5. More people bet on the Cleveland Browns to win this Superbowl than they did the Falcons. Only the Tennessee Titans had less bets than the Falcons.
  6. The Cleveland Browns made another weird appearance tonight and they had five former players make an appearance at the Superbowl. Taylor Gabriel (wide receiver) and Alex Mack (center) appeared on the Falcons side while Barkevious Mingo (linebacker), Jabaal Sheard (defensive end), and Dion Lewis (running back) appeared on the Patriots side.
  7. Tom Brady has more experience in a Superbowl than the entire Falcons team combined. Brady has appeared in six Superbowls while the Falcons as a team and four other players have had made appearances. Those four players are Dwight Freeney (with the Indianapolis Colts in Superbowl XLI), Dashon Goldson (with the San Francisco 49ers in Superbowl XLVII), Courtney Upshaw (with the Baltimore Ravens in Superbowl XLVII), and Philip Wheeler (with the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV) and the Falcons as a team in Superbowl XXXIII.
  8. Matt Bryant, the Falcon's punter, was the oldest player in today's matchup at age 41. Tom Brady was a close second at age 39.
  9. And to top it off, Superbowl LI was the first Superbowl ever to reach overtime.
Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
campus
CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

1355
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

914
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 20 Thoughts College Students Have During Finals

The ultimate list and gif guide to a college student's brain during finals.

176
winter

Thanksgiving break is over and Christmas is just around the corner and that means, for most college students, one hellish thing — finals week. It's the one time of year in which the library becomes over populated and mental breakdowns are most frequent. There is no way to avoid it or a cure for the pain that it brings. All we can do is hunker down with our books, order some Dominos, and pray that it will all be over soon. Luckily, we are not alone in this suffering. To prove it, here are just a few of the many deranged thoughts that go through a college student's mind during finals week.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

1561
group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments