For most individuals who call themselves NFL fans, the Super Bowl is the ultimate game. I have watched all 51 previous games, although I have turned off many of them and watched reruns of anything else. There have been some horrible games. I will not be watching Super Bowl LII.

My personal favorite day of the year is Championship Sunday; last weekend. I was extremely disappointed in the NFC Championship Game. I hoped that it would be a close game, but it was apparent that the Minnesota Vikings’ defense missed the plane. I switched channels before halftime.

The game between the Jaguars and Patriots was another story. The Jaguars were prepared to win this game, and led at halftime. However, two major penalties fueled a comeback by the Patriots, as the Jaguars’ defense appeared to be MIA in the second half.

I have always claimed that Tom Brady and the Patriot team are treated differently by the officials. Unlike the overpaid ‘experts’ who analyze the games, I actually watch them. I have actually seen plays on which Brady was legally knocked to the ground, and the pass was incomplete. Brady looked at the official standing near him, and a late flag for ‘roughing the quarterback’ was thrown. It is no secret that Commissioner Roger Goodell’s closest friend is Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft.

If you are a true fan of the NFL, you are aware that a penalty could be called on every play. Somewhere on the field one player is being held by another, or some other infraction has ocurred. What bothered me last Sunday is that the Patriots were flagged only one time in 60 minutes for 10 yards. This is literally an impossibility unless they were receiving aid from the officials.

This is the reason I will be watching something on Amazon Prime or Netflix; I know who will win today. There is no way that the officials will not gift the Patriots with their sixth Super Bowl win.

Growing up in the 1950’s and 1960’s I loved all three major sports. I was what can only be called a “skinny kid.” I played basketball and baseball, but only watched football. I was a teenager when the Dodgers and Lakers moved to Los Angeles, and my life was good. However, as the rules began to change in the last 20+ years, I drifted away from baseball and eventually basketball.

Baseball lost its greatest quality; being a team sport. As I cheered for the Dodgers each year, I knew that at least 90 percent of the players would return the following year. With free agency, more than 50 percent of the players change each year today. In addition, the excitement of knowing that the pitchers could be 20 and possibly 30 game winners in a single season has disappeared. When I was a fan, there were four ‘starters’ who pitched every fourth game, unless they were injured. The length between starts is now five or more days, depending on the ‘pitch count’ of their previous outing.

Basketball lost my interest when dunking the ball became more important than teamwork and passing. It was no longer the game I grew up playing and loving. Defense disappeared as scoring took precedence over winning.

Football is quickly losing favor for me. The greatest teams in history are undoubtedly the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Dallas Cowboys, and the San Francisco 49ers. All three teams were built from the ground up by great, Hall of Fame coaches. Football is the one sport where mass personnel changes is an impossibility. Eleven players on both sides of the ball must work together.

The only reason why the Patriots have been successful is Bill Belichick. He has committed many violations during his tenure with New England, but he is the greatest mind in the game today. Tom Brady has been given the credit for the Patriots’ success, but the truth is that if he had any other coach, he would be nothing more than an average quarterback. No quarterback in history has been given as much time to find receivers as Brady, and his receivers have been given the ability to get open on every play with few exceptions.

I have no second thoughts about the game on February 4^th. I might record it, but not because of the game. I want to see Justin Timberlake’s performance at halftime.

Op-ed by James Turnage

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