Iconic quarterback Tom Brady didn’t shake his opposite number Nick Foles’ hand after losing yesterday’s Super Bowl at Minneapolis.
The Philadelphia Eagles soared over the white-hot favourite New England Patriots 41-33 in a thriller to win their first Super Bowl.
The catalyst was the 29-year-old Foles, who became the first player in 52 years of Super Bowl history to throw for and catch a touchdown.
In the process, debutant Foles totally outplayed the 40-year-old Brady, who was playing his eighth Super Bowl, five of which have netted him a ring.
Revered by a sporting nation, Brady did himself irreparable damage by not seeking out Foles for a handshake at game’s end.
A vastly different story for Foles.
Two years ago, he contemplated retirement after being dumped by the St Louis Rams. But head coach Doug Pederson saw there were hidden talents that could benefit the Eagles.
Yesterday was surface day with Foles romping away with the coveted Most Valuable Player Award.
How he found a narrow channel with his pinpoint throws for two of the Eagles’ touchdowns will be talked about for years.
And so will the Brady snub, unbecoming of a household name as the only player to win five Super Bowls with the same franchise in the biggest annual one-day sporting event in the USA.
Bad call.
And so is the tradition of dumping a barrel of cold soft drink on the winning coach when he’s not looking.
So Pederson spent one of the biggest moments of his life drenched from head to toe at the presentation as one of only four to win Super Bowls as player and coach after Mike Ditka, Tom Flores, and Tony Dungy.
The irony of Pederson’s Super Bowl double was his win as a player came with the New England Patriots 30 years ago as back-up quarterback.
Just as well the state-of-the-art US Bank Stadium is equipped with a roof, with the temperature outside a teeth-chattering minus-17 degrees.
And how did the Philadelphians celebrate their historic victory?
By overturning cars and starting fires in the city, amid other general mayhem.
That’s when the inmates have taken over the asylum.
The Super Bowl deserves better than that.
Leonard
Guest
Loved (and 99% agree with) your points of contrast between Favre and Brady; in many ways it's like PMs Hawke and Keating, or Test cricket captains Taylor and Clark. Favre to me was what in Australian Football is called a "footballer's footballer" - Adelaide's captain, 300-gamer and premiership player Mark Ricciuto is a fine exemplar of what I mean, and every sport would have and every team should have them; and, no I am not a Crows fan. (Would one of the problems G Ablett Jnr had at Gold Coast be that, despite his evident onfield skills and achievements, he is not seen as one?)
Buddy
Guest
Its the reliance on statistics that gets in the way here. Most player comparisons in US Football are made on the basisof statistics to prove the point. So it is no of completions, attempts, td’s etc. That is the accepted way, tried and trusted. However, looking back at the game I see critical points in the play, what happened and who drove or led the play. At that level I thought Foles came out on top as his decision making and clinical throws kept the side moving at times when the game could have slipped away. Besides, it is far more fun to argue subjectively and passionately. I would choose Brett Favre over Tom Brady as my starting QB as I always admired the way he could get out of tight situations and still throw outstanding passes. I have seen Brady do the samebut perhaps with better protection. I just prefer the style, the grit and determination of Brett Favre whilst recognizing that Brady is right up there as one of the best ever.
express34texas
Guest
Brady had excellent protection for almost the entire game. How many times is an O-line going to keep keep the defense from getting to the QB at least once in a game? QBs are usually going to get sacked at least 1-2x/game. That's no excuse for Brady to cough up the ball, especially when the defender was right in front of him, and not from his blindside. He needs to be stronger with the ball. The PHI defense fnally made a play, yes, but Brady also messed up big time, also true. Yes, on paper the Philly defense was stronger, but games aren't played on paper, and that's not what happened in the game. Both defenses stunk in the Super Bowl.
Jeremy
Guest
Fair enough. Both qbs played exceptionally well. But I would argue that Foles out played Brady by a hair and have his D a chance to win the game. Brady was shaky early and couldn't get anything going at the death.
piru
Roar Rookie
Interesting that the big problem people have is not that Brady stormed off without shaking hands, but that someone suggested Foles had a better game than he.
Tom
Guest
The turnover was more on the O line than Brady. The Philly defence that Brady went up against is at least on paper vastly superior to the Pats defence that Foles was up against. Both QBs played outstandingly well - the difference was Philly being able to make a massive play when it counted.
Londoner
Guest
Agreed! This is Accurate. Lord writes decent articles on Union, however NFL is not something he appears to know much about. As said above Brady played well, just his offensive line could not get enough 1st downs with running hence all the passing yards, and the Defense were not able to stop the Philly running game. Those 5 yard RB thru the line plays are always vital at some point of a game. PS, Lord could also stop bashing Argentina being in the RC.....
express34texas
Guest
Sounds good to me, can't really argue with any of it.
monday QB
Guest
+1. Jeremy might be related to David!!
Joel Erickson
Roar Guru
This may be a worse summation of the game than the article.
Jeremy
Guest
Foles put up more points than Brady. His interception was not his fault. Brady lost the crucial turnover of the game. Foles was more clutch and outplayed Brady.
Jeremy
Guest
Foles was the better QB on the day. Forget the yards statistic. Yards don't win games, points do. Foles, whether passing or receiving, put up more points and his team won. When the Eagles were down in the 4th, Foles got them a score. When Brady had a chance to win the game, he floundered. Foles was the better QB. Brady should have went straight to Foles after the game and shook his hand. "Well done. You beat me today."
Tom
Guest
To be fair, his takes on cricket and league aren't much better. I despise Brady, but he couldn't have done more to keep the Pats in that game.
piru
Roar Rookie
What's to find out? He left the field without congratulating his opponent. That would be unacceptable at club level
Leonard
Guest
Well, Lord's article was an example of 'putting yourself out there', if nothing else. Fine example of 'vox pop' having its say - some of our self-censoring mainstream media should read it.
joe
Guest
This is a garbage article, is this guy a real writer ? Brady caused "irreparable damage" to himself by not shaking Foles' hand after the game? And Brady was completely outplayed by Nick Foles? Foles played exceptionally well, but Brady was even better. An NFL playoff record 500+ yds passing,a higher QB rating. This is an awfully inaccurate article by a guy who should cover test cricket or something, he is clueless on American sports.
John
Guest
David, I hope you read this ........ Your articles remind me of a phrase we used to use at work "You're not completely useless, you can always serve as a bad example" Seriously - retire old man. Just retire.
John
Guest
500 yards passing 3 touchdowns No intercepts Yep - totally outplayed Foles' play is matched only by David's senility ..........
Worlds Biggest
Guest
Against the Patriots, ironic hey ?
Marshall
Guest
Was this article missing a 'HA' graphic next to it?