Super Bowl LIII(E), or should we just call it VI? A Right-Wing Goodell Special

If I'm a liberal in a big city right now, especially Los Angeles, I'm getting scared for the next 18 months.

The entire situation in LA may be about to go up, as evidenced by tonight's complete short-circuit of the LA Experiment and Title #6 for the Republican Trumpian Right Wing Propaganda machine out of New England.

To tell you how implausible this whole thing is, some facts:

• The Super Bowl itself is a big-money pro-corporate event.  So it should, then, be no surprise that the Atlanta crowd tonight was HEAVILY pro-New England.  I don't even know how much of it was anti-Rams for the basis of the call two weeks ago, but I do know that, from the rip, the crowd was making it clear they wanted the White Right team to win.
• To show you how much this narrative was pulled completely another direction, pretty much since Shutdown 1.0...  11-5 this year, the first time since 2009 the Patriots lost more than four games.  Also, 3-5 on the road, and all five losses were to teams who did NOT make the playoffs.
• To pull the narrative yet further another direction:  The sixteen points, in a year in which "POINTS!!" ruled much of the narrative, and New England #2 in the AFC in scoring and the Rams #1 in the NFC...  THE LOWEST SCORING SUPER BOWL IN HISTORY. SIXTEEN POINTS.

• Only once in Super Bowl history (Super Bowl VII) has even the winning team had less than 16 points -- Miami had 14, so New England's 13 is also a Super Bowl record.  16 has been matched by the winner twice (Super Bowl IX and the infamous Super Bowl III).
• Brian Tuohy has a potential line of thinking that Sean McVay may have been a participant in this year's rig-job...

Is Todd Gurley this year's Malcolm Butler?

— Brian Tuohy (@TheFixIsInTuohy) February 4, 2019

Gurley did play, but there was significant talk that his knee was not healthy.  McVay said to CBS before the game he was fine -- but he was either lying or something was up.  10 carries, 35 yards.

• Looked like possible magnet-tampering on two different field goal attempts (the Zeurlein make for 3-3 and the Gostkowski miss to keep the game scoreless).
• And another interesting thought by Brian, especially given that Julian Edelman has ties to the TB12 doctor...

Wasn't Edelman suspended for the first 4 games of the year for violating the NFL's PED policy? I guess we shouldn't mention that now, right?

— Brian Tuohy (@TheFixIsInTuohy) February 4, 2019

So what actually happened in the game?

Plenty.  And almost all for New England...

• Should've realized the narrative at 9:14 in the first, when Nickell Robey-Coleman was flagged for helmet on defenseless receiver (the call was correct!) to prevent a 3rd and 18.

Why do I mention this after the fact?  Because if that call was correctly made two weeks ago, it's New Orleans playing New England.

That led to the aforementioned Gostkowski miss, which you should've seen coming when CBS mentioned the perfect record of field-goal kickers in the new Space Station in Atlanta.

• All sorts of holding against the offensive lines, except for one key call I will get to.
• First play of the second quarter is negated by a false start on the Rams -- at which point Jared Goff is unnecessarily nearly-clotheslined to the ground by a New England pass rusher.  No call.
• Just after CBS reported the pro-Patriot crowd, two no-calls benefitted New England on the next Rams drive -- a facemask on 1st down at the LA 45, and then a blatant pass-interference bump on third down from the 49.  Punt.  Still 3-0, 8 or so minutes to go second quarter.
• 4th and 1 for New England, 32 yard line, late in the first half, and the incomplete pass which resulted was identified by Tony Romo as a pick play -- as he said as much on the air!!!
• Then, a bit of a headscratcher to end the half.  Punt is downed at the 2 with 16 seconds left.  Brady takes a knee to the 1.  Why doesn't LA use at least one of their two timeouts to force Brady to run another play (or even two) to perhaps force a defensive score, if even two points?
• Another PI no-call benefiting the Patriots stalls the first drive of the second half for the Rams about midfield.

Then, the fourth quarter, tied 3-3, and the fun starts...

• After three Rams first downs to get the ball to their 44 from their 7, Todd Gurley busts through for a run into Patriots territory for 13 yards -- except a holding call on John Sullivan of the Rams, one, given a lot of the tackling at the line, especially pro-New England, I was seeing no-called all day, and it was less than some of what New England got away with...

This call was big. Somehow Rams center Sullivan got a hold on this play. pic.twitter.com/AnDtRqynZU

— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) February 4, 2019

Show me where that's a hold, given some of what New England got away with on the line.

Drive scuttled, punt, and here's the game-winner:

• Brady for 18
• Brady for 14
• Brady for 7
• Brady for 29
• Michel runs it in from 2 yards out for 10-3.

But the big one that seals it:

• 4:24 to go in the fourth, three quick first downs for the Rams and it looks like they are finally getting it going.  Then, a pass to Brandin Cooks in the corner of the end zone, and the replay says it all....

Whether pass interference or not, Brandin Cooks has to make this play. @NFL @RamsNFL #BrandinCooks #SuperBowl53 @Patriots pic.twitter.com/Ndr258j1vq

— Joe Pequeno (@JoePequenoTV) February 4, 2019

Joe, I don't give a rat fuck if he "has to make that play", the fact is that Jason McCourty got his hand in on the bicep of Cooks before the ball gets there.  Blatant PI, and now he's taking social-media heat for dropping two possible touchdowns, that being one.

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But, back to the initial point to close this post:

A lot of the power players in this country do get together.

Someone has a dire vision of LA in the next 18 months for Brady to get #6 here.

I think it's about to be on in our big cities with Shutdown 2.0...