Randy Smith
I hate to make Super Bowl picks. I've never been good at it. College football picks? Yes......Super Bowl choices? Probably less than 50-50. In fact I've written many times about my less than perfect predictions of the world's most popular single sporting event. This year, I have renewed interest in the two teams that are playing for the Lombardi Trophy. I absolutely despise the New England Patriots, while I have been a closet Atlanta Falcons' fan for years.
I remember when the Falcons' came to Atlanta in 1966.
They were so bad it was tough to watch them play. They always had one or two good players who you could really like. Linebacker Tommy Nobis was one, and center Jeff Van Note was another. When Leaman Bennett became their coach in the 1980's they suddenly began to win. Making the NFL playoffs was common place for the Falcons for a few years but alas they returned to their pitiful ways. They made one Super Bowl appearance back in 1999, but they came up short losing to the Denver Broncos. They haven't returned to the world's biggest stage since....until this year.
The 2016-17 version of the Atlanta Falcons is perhaps the best team in franchise history. They have arguably the best receiver in the NFL in Julio Jones, arguably the best quarterback in Matt Ryan and a rock solid defense which they will desperately need against the New England Patriots. We all know which team is picked to win the game by most of the other so-called experts. The Patriots are playing in a record ninth Super Bowl and, with the combination of Coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, why wouldn't they be tabbed to win it all?
I've written many times about my dislike of Tom Brady. I would imagine it was based upon my love for Peyton Manning, who was Brady's biggest rival for the title, "Greatest of all Time." In recent years, Manning owned Brady and the Patriots, most recently beating them in the 2016 AFC Championship Game. But Peyton has retired and, while the debate will go on forever as to who the best of all time is, I've finally come to realize that Brady most definitely belongs in any conversation. Heck, I may even be swayed to consider him to be the real "Goat" in a few years, but that really has nothing to do at all with Super Bowl 51.
Brady is seeking his fifth Super Bowl ring, which will place him all alone at the top. No other quarterback has ever won five times in the Super Bowl. That is truly impressive especially when you throw out the "spy-gate and "deflate-gate" cheating accusations against New England. Brady wants to prove a real point in this year's Super Bowl. That four-game suspension that he served at the beginning of the season for his role in "deflate-gate" left a sour taste in his mouth and the rest of the Patriot family. (Though I really wonder about that missing Falcons play book from earlier this week)
Nevertheless, it should be a great game on Sunday evening. I will pull for the Falcons as will the rest of my family. I will hope that the Falcons don't choke the way they did back in 1999. I hope that Coach Dan Quinn can do what no other coach has ever done......and that's bring a Super Bowl Title to Atlanta. I'm picking Atlanta to win 34-31. And if that pick comes to fruition, I most certainly hope that someone doesn't break out in the "Dirty Bird" victory dance.
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Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for 30 years. He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga Television for more than a quarter-century. In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, (Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith.) They have five grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, Mattingly, DellaMae, and CoraLee.