Ain't That a Kick in the Head

I remember the Super Bowl as traditionally being a lousy game. And for about 20 years, most of them were. 55-10. 52-16. 38-9. But three of the last five have been terrific games, settled on the last play of the game, all seemingly destined for overtime.

Actually, this one would have gone into overtime if John Fox, a fine coach the whole year, hadn't tried to go for two two-point conversions. The Panthers' two failures cost them two points. And had they just kicked those points, by the time New England scored their last touchdown, the score would have been 27-24, giving them no reason to go for two. At that point, the score would have been 28-24, rather than 29-22. A Panther touchdown, and a New England field goal would have left the game tied, and heading into overtime.

Usually, it's dangerous to project out "what-ifs" because the game situation would have been substantially different. That's why we can't really tell what the effect of the two Vinatieri field goal misses early on would have been. But it seems to me that the game situation after each presumptive 1-point conversion would have been pretty much the same as after each failed two-pointer.

Still, after such a great game, complaining that it didn't go into overtime seems a little petty, doesn't it?