Brady and Belichick Made the Super Bowl Better

It’s tough to explain to millennials how terrible the Super Bowl used to be.

It was always the signature sporting event on the calendar growing up as a kid of the 80’s and 90’s, yet game almost always sucked.

With the exception of Bills/Giants and Broncos/Packers, every Super Bowl before I went away to college was lame. I remember being so excited that the Steelers even gave the Cowboys a game during Super Bowl 30 in early 1996. No lie, I thought I had watched one of the greatest Super Bowls of all-time. In reality, it was never really close.

Things got so bad in the 1990’s that the Super Bowl wasn’t a shoo-in to be the most-watched program of the year. In May 1998, 76 million people watched the Seinfeld finale. In January 1999, a mere 83 million watched the Super Bowl. Think about how insane it is, only 20 years later, to think that any program could get within 10 million viewers of the Super Bowl. I’ve previously argued that John Elway’s two winning Super Bowls actually saved the Super Bowl brand by ending the NFC’s insane run of dominance.

Today’s ratings dominance is due in part to the fracturing of audiences with streaming and cable, in addition to the increased emphasis on live events and appointment television. Still, there’s a reason Super Bowl ratings have continued to soar during an era when nearly every other program on television - sports or otherwise - is going in the other direction.

That reason is Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.

Entertain Me and I’ll Keep Watching

As a Jets fan, it pains me to credit Brady and Belichick with anything. Still, it’s hard to deny their positive impact on the Super Bowl, starting with their first.

It’s hard to overstate how little me and my college friends were excited for the first Rams/Patriots Super Bowl. With the exception of our lone friend from Massachusetts, we were prepared for another blowout. The Greatest Show on Turf Rams were massive favorites and our Super Bowl party was designed to keep us entertained. We had lots of beer. We had lots of food. We had a prop bet game setup. We anticipated the Playboy Fear Factor episode at halftime being the biggest source of entertainment.

Then something crazy happened - the Patriots dominated the Rams. For three quarters, it was boring in the other direction, as the Pats squeezed the life out of Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk. The Rams sprung to life in the fourth quarter. They roared back to tie the game with under two minutes left.

It was at this very moment that the Super Bowl changed forever. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick did not play for overtime, as everyone in the world - and in the Fox booth - assumed they would. They marched down the field. Adam Vinatieri hit a winning field goal as time expired and our little apartment exploded in joy.

Now, this is a Super Bowl!

Good Games Become the Norm

Though the following year’s Bucs/Raiders Super Bowl was easily the least interesting in history, the Patriots returned the following year to face the Panthers and another all-time classic unfolded.

During the Pats unreal run of dominance, the Super Bowl has become not only the nation’s signature sporting event, it has become the nation’s best performing big event. While other finals have been overwrought with blowouts and lame contests, the Super Bowl has seemingly delivered every year and that is due almost exclusively to the Patriots.

Just look at the results since 2001. The Patriots have played 8 Super Bowls and 7 of them were undecided in the final minute. Only their victory over the Eagles wasn’t really in doubt in the final minute, though the Eagles still were in range for the entire game.

The Super Bowl, in turn, changed.

Yes, the extracurriculars still dominated coverage and sucked in the average fan, or even those who don’t like football. But those like me, who enjoy football, no longer dreaded the Super Bowl. Instead of worrying if the game would even be close at halftime, it became a football fan’s paradise for the biggest game of the year to be the best game of the year.

In looking over the Pats’ Super Bowl run, there have played in at least 5 games that were better than every Super Bowl I watched as a kid, with the possible exception of that Bills/Giants Super Bowl. I was 8 when Scott Norwood’s kick went wide right, so I don’t remember if the game was that legendary or the ending just blew out my little brain.

As we get ready for the latest installment of the Patriots’ Super Bowl run, there is understandably fatigue. I was rooting for the Chiefs as hard as anyone last week.

Regardless, another go for Brady and Belichick doesn't annoy me as much as maybe it should. I know the NFL is happy, as Brady and Belichick have sent the Super Bowl ratings into the orbit, with 100+ million now expected.

As a fan, though, I’m happy too. I have a clear rooting interest -- Go Rams! -- and a pretty good feeling that the game will be entertaining. After sitting through years and years of blowouts, there will be no complaints from me.

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