One game left and oh, so many possibilities for the HSBT participants as they attempt to wrestle the coveted trophy from Re-Pete the Terp.  Who will be the next one to proudly display the trophy on their mantle for the upcoming year?  After you have successfully made your picks in a timely manner on Sunday (or earlier), kick back in your favorite chair or sofa with the usual “Super Bowl health food” menu (total consumption not to be less than 15,000 calories – but be sure to eat at least 1 stalk of celery with Ranch dressing on those Buffalo Wings) and a few (well, maybe one more..) adult beverages and get ready to watch 2018 Winner capture the 30^th Anniversary HSBT Trophy.  Whoa!  Did The Commish make that bold prediction?

Let’s take a little deeper look at the HSBT before jumping into The Commish’s expert analysis and prediction for Super Bowl 52.

HSBT Facts

• Greg the Great sits atop the leaderboard with 864 points, the most all-time at this stage of the competition. Will he eclipse Pete the Terp’s record of 1,322 points for the season?  A win this Sunday and he will be the 1^st to have captured the trophy 7 times
• The largest comeback to win the trophy on Super Bowl Sunday is 226 points from – Comeback Kid in 1993. Right now, he’s 473 points behind Greg the Great, so it will take a very special comeback for him to win his 6^th trophy
• There are only 2 participants with a winning record – the last time we were so bad at picking the winning teams this deep in the playoffs was 2008
• The smallest winning margin is 9 points (2011 Winner). This year could set a new record, with 2018 Winner and JTB (the Ohio contingent) in 2^nd and 3^rd place at the moment
• A Patriots win gives the Super Bowl Bonus of 100 points to Buffalo Bill, Greg the Great, Pete the Terp and 2018 Winner

REMEMBER, your game score is due before the 6:30pm kickoff.  With 1 exception (I won’t mention names so as not to point any fingers at Ben the Butler…) everyone has been on time with their picks for the entire playoffs.  I will be looking for some very interesting picks as everyone tries to jockey for 1^st place.  In his 6 trophy wins, Greg the Great has not relinquished the lead when ahead after the Conference Championship games.  Pete the Terp, do you have his mailing address?

A Few Super Bowl Facts

• The last time the Eagles and Patriots met for the title was in 2005. To get to the Super Bowl, the Eagles had to beat the Falcons and Vikings in the playoffs.  Sound familiar?
• If the Patriots win on Sunday, New England QB Tom Brady will be the first ever QB to win a Super Bowl and also lead the NFL in passing yards in the same season
• Tom Brady has played in 7 Super Bowls. The entire Eagles 53-man roster has combined 7 games of Super Bowl experience
• Both teams leader in receiving yards is their Tight End
• During the regular season, the Patriots scored 458 points and Eagles scored 457. Defensively, the Eagles allowed 295 points and the Patriots allowed 296
• Seats can be purchased for Sunday’s game. You, too, can be there for a cool $4,250 per seat (plus the usual Ticketmaster fee).  It will cost you more to actually get a good seat.
• If you go, please let The Commish know so we all can see you when the camera pans the stadium
• And if you go – be sure to try out the stadium food specials:
  • 612 (Minneapolis Area Code) Burger – brisket/chuck blend, sriracha mayo, sharp American cheese, peppadew and a gherkin (burp…)
  • Sota Dog – all-beef hot dog, tater tots, chive sour cream, and paprika on a poppy seed bun. Slop on the ketchup for those tots
  • Walleye Chowder (it’s near the U.P., so that is Walleye Heaven – right Buffalo Bill?) – potatoes, wild rice, vermouth (save some for your SoCo Manhattan), and dill along with a sourdough roll
  • Kramarczuk’s Wild Rice Bratwurst – with carmelized onions and lingonberry chutney
  • For the Patriots fan – New England Clam Roll (made with Kettle-chip encrusted fried clams)
  • For the Eagles fan – South Philly Roast Pork Sandwich (includes sautéed broccoli rabe for a health food kick)
  • For the Bills fan (yep) – enjoy the “2-Minute Drill Dog.” Served with bacon, buffalo ketchup (presumably has Ted’s Hot Sauce), blue cheese, diced celery (for the health-conscious) and Ranch dressing – it will remind every Bills fan of a menu item at the Anchor Bar downtown or the Bar Bill in East Aurora.  Bring your own Buffalo Wings to the stadium and enjoy
  • If all of that seems to be too many calories, you can opt for something lighter – like the Mac N Cheese. It has Chipotle chicken (I’m sure they have removed the skin), 3 cheeses (hey, Wisconsin is nearby so it must be good), Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and Cool Ranch Doritos.  Maybe you can get a discount for 2 orders…  Caloric content has to be under 7,500, right?
  • If dessert is all you seek, go for Blue Unicorn. A simply light and elegant after meal treat with Blue Moon ice cream (is it made with their beer?), Fruity Pebbles, strawberries, sprinkles, bubble gum sauce and whipped cream.  All majestically served by a vendor called Bubble Waffles.  Maybe you need to get 2, as I’m not sure you will not find that elsewhere in the US.  If you ask, they might add some chocolate sauce on top to satisfy the most demanding sugar palette.  You can find them in Section 111.
• This will be the 2^nd SB played in Minneapolis. The 1^st was in 1992, when the Redskins defeated the Bills (their 2^nd of 4 consecutive trips to the Big Game), 37-24.  The ‘Skins and QB Mark Rypien jumped out to a 24-0 lead and the Bills (featuring the “K Gun” offense, with Jim Kelly at the controls and 2,000+ yards from scrimmage RB Thurman Thomas) just couldn’t recover against the league’s #4 D.  Bad trip down memory lane that is sure to bring up some of that over-indulged food from the above menu…

Super Bowl Analysis and Prediction
For the 52^nd consecutive time, neither team is playing the Super Bowl on their home field.  Almost, Vikes.

While most pundits have been filling the winter air with obscure and irrelevant oral diarrhea, the primary moving air at NFL headquarters is from the fans that keep our computers cool and humming.  The analyst’s predictions are completed and ready to share.  While this communication is being sent a little earlier than normal, I wanted to provide all Participants with as much time as possible to make their key Super Bowl game predictions.

Without further adieu (drum roll, please), here is the scoop on how Sunday’s game will play out:

Background
The G.O.A.T. vs. The (Under) Dog.  Nobody has been better in the Super Bowl than Tom Brady.  Period.  And nobody gave the continually underdog Eagles a shot at winning a playoff game this season.  Yet, here they are.  The last time these 2 teams met in the Super Bowl (2005 in Super Bowl 39), the Pats prevailed in part (mostly) due to Eagle QB Donovan McNabb’s mismanagement of the game clock during a crucial drive in the 4^th quarter.  Being unable to get into FG range and then tossing an errant pick, spelled doom for the Eagles, who came out on the short end, 24-21.

This is Giselle’s husband’s 8^th Super Bowl.  He is the last QB to start the season as a backup and win the Super Bowl (in 2001, when he replaced the injured Drew Bledsoe, who went on to the lead the Buffalo Bills to – a higher draft pick the next season), which is very good news for the Eagles Nick Foles – except he is playing against…  Tom Brady

Eagles Strategy to Win

• First, they must terrorize QB Tom all day (night) long. Can the best front 7 in the league do it?
• Second, QB Nick Foles must play like he did in that romp over the Vikings in the NFC Championship Game. Keep in mind he has played in the past like Blake Bortles in the Jags win vs. Buffalo earlier in the playoffs
• Third – get at least 100 combined yards from scrimmage by RB’s Jay Ajayi and LeGarrette Blount. When that happens, they are 7-0 this season (including the playoffs)
• Lastly – they need something big from their special team corps. And, will RB LeGarrette Blount (18 TD’s last year in New England) make the Patriots wish they had not let him go?  He may score 3 TD’s on Sunday…

Patriots Strategy to Win

• Now that we are officially over Thumb Mania – it never reached –gate status (which the Patriots have made famous in the NFL), is all the Pats need to do to win is show up on game day?
• Which New England RB is going to romp, like James White did last year (3 TD’s, including the game winner)? You can bet there will be a player under the radar who does something big
• Gronk is back (until he gets whacked again…) and there isn’t a DB in the league that can stop him for an entire game
• Don’t overlook the Eagles. None of the Patriots prior 7 SB opponents boasted both a top 5 scoring offense and top 5 scoring D, as the Eagles do

Game Prediction
First, Justin Timberlake’s halftime show should not contain a wardrobe malfunction (who can forget the last one with Janet Jackson?).  Let’s also hope that all players can avoid the flu bug.

As for THE Game,

One for the other Thumb, as the Pats make their customary adjustments when they fall behind 10-0 in the 1^st quarter (how about that 1^st play from scrimmage for the Eagles, resulting in a TD?).  They steamroll their way to title #6 in the last 16 years.
New England 34, Philadelphia 16

Or…

Proving that the Underdog can still bark and bite, the Eagles win their 1^st Lombardi Trophy since beating (Packers Head Coach) Vince Lombardi for the NFL Championship in 1960 on the day after Christmas (and, yes, they were home underdogs in that game, too).  Did Pats K Gostkowski really miss that 4th quarter 52-yd FG attempt (in SB 52) with 00:52 on the clock?
Eagles 27, Patriots 24 (in an OT thriller!)

Be sure to stay up to date with the suspense of the HSBT Trophy by going to our “Standings” tab on the website.  The Commish will be updating point totals with each Super Bowl score.  As is customary, The Commish will also let all Participants know (via email) who the winner of the HSBT trophy is (much more valuable than the Vince Lombardi version) as soon as the game ends.  Next week you can expect to receive The Commish’s expert review of the game and an official salute to the winner of the 2018 HSBT Trophy.

Best of luck with your picks and enjoy the game!!

I remain,
~~ The Commish