Better Luck Next Time, Patriots! Super Bowl 60 & My Memories of Super Bowl 50

Angel Noire
Feb 12
5 min read

Yep we know - a very rare sports post on Nostalgia Pie. We're shocked too! But whether you have a love of sports or not, it's a little bit hard not to get caught up in the whirlwind of Super Bowl fever, which this year was held at Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California, and is now over for another year. And this year's Super Bowl was my first as a new American, so I had no choice but to get into the spirit of things. Well that and the fact that my regional team, the New England Patriots, had made it to the Super Bowl... where they sadly went on to lose to the Seattle Seahawks. The city of Seattle is no doubt still on a high. The region of New England... Not so much!

Everyone who knows me knows that I'm really not much of a sports fan, and I'll be honest - I still don't know much about American football. I don't even know much about the football I grew up with (I refuse to call it soccer. Well I try not to anyway!) But nevertheless I was still delighted when I found out that New England - the place I now call home - had made it to Super Bowl 60, and I was so sure they were going to be victorious.

Oh dear!

But it did take me back to Super Bowl 50 which took place almost a month after we arrived in the States to start our new life here...

I'll be honest even though I know I'll be the subject of much ridicule. But when I first arrived here ten years ago, I knew very little about American football and the Super Bowl other than the half-time show and commercials are usually unmissable. And for those of us who aren't sports mad, that's the part of the event we talk about the most. As I'm married to an American who is also an avid sports fan, I had absolutely no excuse! Yeah, I know - shame on me! As the years went by and I saw Super Bowl fever go off the scale, I realized that the Super Bowl was to American football fans what the World Cup final is to those who love football (soccer!) And maybe not even just sports fanatics, but anybody and everybody who like to get behind their regional/national team during major sporting tournaments - as my mum and I (the only two non-sporting people in our family) do!

Super Bowl 50

Back in 2016, New England didn't make it to the Super Bowl which was a shame and obviously did not go down well with New Englanders. And it disappointed me too, as having just arrived here, I would have loved to have seen them make it to the final (even though I knew virtually nothing about it!) But football fever was definitely in the air and it's hard not to get caught up in it all. The USA, like my home country, is a place that takes its sports very seriously.

And watching my first ever Super Bowl proved to be very memorable – and not just any Super Bowl either but Super Bowl 50 no less – where the Carolina Panthers took on the Denver Broncos – and lost! I was glad (sorry Panthers!) because I believed that it would be the Broncos who romped home victorious - which they did! Too bad I didn't place any money on that! Although admittedly, of course, I didn’t know which was the better of the two teams. I just got lucky!

Super Bowl Weekend Since Then...

Every year, The Mister and I stop everything for the biggest sporting event in the country. Him for the game. Me for the halftime show. Both of us for the food! If you're starting a healthy eating plan, you can forget all about that when the Super Bowl is on because traditional fare consists of fast food and pub grub - and not much else! This year, two types of pizza and chicken wings were on the menu, while across the pond, my uncle, who has always been a huge American football fan was feasting on the most divine-sounding, slow-cooked ribs!

But food aside, we were just delighted that the Patriots had made it into the Super Bowl and we were getting ready to cheer them on. Since coming here, I've always associated the Patriots with the legendary Tom Brady, who for me, is to The New England Patriots what David Beckham is to Man United. Or for my brother, what Alan Shearer is to Newcastle United. Had Tom still being playing for the Patriots, I would have said it was in the bag and victory is ours (actually, come to think of it, I did say that! mind you, I say exactly the same thing about England in the World Cup - and look what happens there!) However Tom has since happily retired, so wasn't playing of course - but I was still so sure that the Patriots would come out champions.

Bad Bunny's Performance

Bad Bunny

And in other news, the 'highly controversial' Bad Bunny performed the coveted half-time show in what has been, rightly or wrongly, the most talked about, highly anticipated half-time show ever. And in a nice surprise (well it was a surprise for me anyway!) Bad Bunny was joined on stage by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. It's a shame (and more so than New England losing) that what was meant to be a fun and entertaining performance became a subject of needless political debate. People, it's entertainment, lighten up - it's really not that deep! In a world where there's always less and less to enjoy, let's just enjoy it for what it is and not turn everything into a political statement. And great job, guys.

Kenneth Walker III

But last weekend, it was the Seattle Seahawks who lifted the trophy with Kenneth Walker III winning MVP honours. To mark my ten years of being here, I would have loved for it to have been the Patriots but it wasn't to be. And I have to admit that the Seahawks played one heck of a game. It was clear to see how badly they wanted this. So I guess despite the disappointment, the better team won. Well done, Seahawks!

So all in all, my first Super Bowl (as an American) turned out to be a lot more interesting than I thought it was going to be - even if we didn't get the desired outcome. And all these years later, I still didn't have the foggiest as to what was going on despite The Mister doing his best to teach me how the game was played! Seriously, Mister - don't bother! New England may have lost but old England will be playing in the World Cup later this year, in my new adopted country and at our local stadium to boot (pun intended!) Hopefully this time, we'll be walking away with the trophy