Sunday, February 5, 2017, is a day that almost every American counts down towards after the beginning of the New Year. This day is quite possibly the most exciting of the year in sports besides the Dayton 500 or the NCAA National Championship. Most people hosts parties with pizza, wings, and other appetizers ready along with beer or soda. Millions of people across America and other countries in the world will be counting down until 6:30 p.m. Some will tune in early to watch the endless hours of commercials that companies spend millions of dollars to air showing their products. This day is Super Bowl LI (51 in case you do not know Roman Numerals), the National Football League’s most anticipated day of the year and sadly the end of the professional season of football for six long and dark months. However, the playoffs just wrapped up and the championship games for the NFC and AFC are scheduled for the weekend of January 22nd. The Green Bay Packers will play the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome for the NFC Championship Game (Go Falcons but I am a diehard Panthers fan). The New England Patriots will host the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium for the AFC Championship Game (Go Steelers). The Steelers and the Packers played in the first round of the playoffs while the Patriots and Falcons had a bye week for their division.
The question that everyone is asking now is who is going to the Super Bowl in less than three weeks? The Packers beat one of the Super Bowl favorites, the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T stadium in Arlington Texas. The game was a close one but in the final seconds, Green Bay kicked the winning field goal to end Dak Prescott’s chance to be a rookie quarterback in the Super Bowl. Atlanta defeated the Seattle Seahawks by sixteen to earn their NFC championship spot. Seattle was another favorite to win it all but the twelfth man fell behind. The game between these two NFC powerhouses promises to be a nail-biter. I am hoping Atlanta can finish it and bring home the win to the NFC South division. The Steelers defeated the Miami Dolphins and then the Kansas City Chiefs in a close battle. The Patriots ended Houston’s season with a major blowout of a game, despite the problems the Texans gave the New England offense. The epic game that lies ahead for these two AFC top teams will be a stressful and long one. If any teams can make it to the Super Bowl, I have my money set on the Falcons and Steelers. The Steelers are battling for another trophy to come home (this could be their seventh one). However, things down south are hot and this could mean that Arthur Blank’s team might bring home their first Lombardi trophy. The Super Bowl undoubtedly will be one outstanding game this year. We are just waiting on the two champions to show up in Houston. For now, fantasy leagues and ESPN commentators will predict every possible outcome from teams to scores in the next three weeks. The remaining questions are: do you want Buffalo wings and are you ready for some football?
