Pundits and predictors were forced to re-live Election Night on Sunday evening, as Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots completed an improbable comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons.
After a disastrous first half for the Patriots, the Falcons jumped out to a 28-3 lead early in the second half. At that point, the oddsmakers said there was virtually no chance New England could recover.
The Falcons now have a 91.6% chance of winning Super Bowl LI. Live analysis: https://t.co/mk4bqHgeQr
— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 6, 2017
There was more than a tinge of delight in some of the predictions, as Brady and Belichick are well-known supporters of President Donald Trump. One the eve of Election Day, at a late-night rally in New Hampshire, Trump read a letter of support from Belichick and informed the crowd that Brady had voted early for him. At the time, journalists mocked Trump’s claims. Super Bowl Sunday looked like an opportunity for revenge — at first.
Atlanta has a 99.3% chance of winning, per ESPN. That’s where we had Trump’s chances in Pennsylvania at 1:10AM on Election Night
— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) February 6, 2017
Sean Spicer gets crushed by Super Bowl jokes, one night after “SNL” takedown https://t.co/MJfPAQsjJo
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 6, 2017
That time that John Lewis’s team smashed Trump’s team in the Super Bowl.
— Touré (@Toure) February 6, 2017
But then Brady found his groove. Despite Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan — the league’s Most Valuable Player this season — being on track to set an NFL record for passer rating in the Super Bowl, the New England veteran found a will, and a way, to win.
And suddenly… it was déjà vu, all over again.
My God. It’s election night all over again.
— Gavin Purcell (@gavinpurcell) February 6, 2017
The first overtime in history. The greatest comeback in Super Bowl history. The greatest quarterback in history.
There are certainly Trump voters among Falcons fans, who are feeling the pain of defeat.
But CNN is based in… Atlanta.
And those who, like the Washington Post, spent the earlier part of the evening spiking the football…
Patriots claw back from record deficit to win in first overtime of Super Bowl history https://t.co/jJjlQsU2lU
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 6, 2017
Perhaps they have learned: patriots never quit.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. His new book, How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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