Before Sunday February 5th, 2017, no team had overcome a lead of more than ten points in the Super Bowl, which this same New England Patriots achieved in Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks. On this day, the Patriots came back from an even further margin, miraculously coming back from a 21-3 deficit against the Atlanta Falcons on the biggest stage.

The first half of the game was an ugly one for the Patriots, as Tom Brady was repeatedly on his back due to a stingy Atlanta pass rush. The only managed to get a field goal as Atlanta was clicking on all cylinders, making plays on both sides of the field. Grady Jarrett, who had only four career sacks before the Super Bowl had three sacks alone in the game, frustrating Brady. It looked as if the Falcons would coast to their first Super Bowl win in franchise history, defeating arguably the best team in the NFL while making them look terrible.

After half time, the game completely changed. Atlanta was having trouble containing the Patriots receivers. In total, six Patriots receivers had at least 57 yards. Tom Brady threw for 43 completions, 466 yards, and two touchdowns, which was one of the best Super Bowl performances ever. James White also had himself a game, leading the team with 14 receptions, 110 receiving yards, 29 rushing yards, and three touchdowns in total. This is all despite being White being a running back that was primarily used on passing plays. The Falcons couldn’t find a way to stop the shifty running back, whether it was running or catching the ball.

It looked as if the game was over, as Julio Jones had a beautiful catch along the sideline inside the Patriots 50 yard line with a lead and very little time. Somehow, the Falcons managed to get pushed back far enough to put them out of field goal range and give the Patriots the ball yet again. The Patriots had complete momentum of the game coming out of half time. Viewers of the game witnessed one of the biggest comebacks of all time, and Tom Brady cemented himself as not only the greatest quarterback, but arguably the best player in NFL history. He gained his fourth Super Bowl MVP award.

Josh Miller, a junior, commented, “This game was unbelievable. It looked like the Falcons were going to win a blowout of a game, but somehow the Patriots came back from a huge deficit and won. This game was one of the best Super Bowls of recent memory, as it came down to the first overtime in Super Bowl history to decide the game.”

The WHHS student body was divided on who they wanted to win. It was almost a 50-50 split, with 51% of voters choosing the Falcons over 49% of the voters choosing the Patriots.

The Falcons may have had some bad luck even before starting the game. In fact, some statistics show that in the last nine Super Bowls, the team that has worn their white jersey has won eight times. The Falcons wore red in this game and the Patriots wore their white jerseys. In addition to this, the past seven players who have won the MVP award, as Matt Ryan did the night before the Super Bowl, have gone on to lose the Super Bowl. These statistics make people question if superstitions in sports are a real factor into the result of the game or not. The fact that the Falcons blew a huge lead and had an MVP on their team while playing against a team playing in a white jersey certainly will fuel the claim of superstitions being a real thing.