Come on now, you can admit it.
I wasn't the only one who saw the writing on the wall.
Down 28-3 in the third quarter, it was over for New England. No team had never rallied from that far down to win the Super Bowl. Like millions of others, I surely didn't see the Patriots doing it.
I had a friendly wager with my son, who picked New England over Atlanta in the Super Bowl. I chose the Falcons and text him the third quarter score, allowing him an opportunity to "opt out" of the bet if he wanted.
It was a no-brainer for him. He agreed to call off the bet, believing the Falcons were about to soar to a victory.
Even die-hard Patriot fans had to be scratching their heads, wondering what was wrong with the most successful team in NFL history.
Truth be told, the Patriots themselves had to have some doubts as to if they could come back.
I learned some time ago that a comeback is not a comeback unless you win.
According to Wikipedia, "Comeback (sports) or come-from-behind is an occurrence of an athlete or sports team engaged in a competition overcoming a substantial disadvantage in points or position, particularly if this results in the disadvantaged team winning. It has been described as the single greatest aspect of competition that most embodies the spirit of what makes sport extraordinary.”
What the Patriots did was a comeback in every sense of the word. Had they loss, it would have been a great effort in battling back.
Late-night comedian Jimmy Fallon had some interesting things to say about the record-setting comeback when he had Patriots' coach Bill Belichick on his show.
Fallon said there was some significance in the numbers 3 and 1.
Not only did he make reference to New England rallying with 31 unanswered points, but focused on the last NBA Finals and MLB World Series.
The Cavaliers came from being down three (3) games to (1) to beat the record-setting Warriors in NBA Finals. That helped Cleveland erase a 52-year championship drought and become the only team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the finals.
And, there's the Chicago Cubs and what they did. They came back from a "3-1" deficit to win their first World Series in over 100 years. It was stated that less than 12 percent of the teams to fall behind 3-1 in a best-of-seven World Series have rallied back to win the title.
Though 3-1 wasn't in the equation, a couple of other comebacks came to mind.
The Clemson Tigers were down by 10 before knocking off powerful Alabama in the final seconds of the NCAA Football Championships.
And, how about my Razorbacks? They were up 24-0 at half-time in the Belk Bowl before losing. In the regular-season finale, the Hogs blew a 24-7 lead to Missouri and lost 28-24.
I love watching teams rally from huge deficits and win. Though I was pulling for Atlanta, this year's Super Bowl was certainly the greatest come-from-behind victory of all time.
Just another lesson in not giving up, no matter how bad things look.
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Speaking of coming from behind, there will be some very talented athletes capable of doing just for their teams in the Class 5A State Basketball Tournament in Magnolia.
Little Rock Mills' Darious Hall and Little Rock Parkview's Khalil Garland are just two of them. Both stand 6-foot-6, average nearly 16 points per game and have already signed with Mike Anderson's Arkansas Razorbacks.
La. Tech signee Exavian Christon of Hot Springs, Tremont Robinson of Maumelle, Javon Franklin of Parkview, Jeremiah Toney of Mills and several others will be in town.
Area basketball fans wanting to see some great high school athletes and teams, should make their way to Panther Arena Feb. 28 through March 4.
(Chris Gilliam is Sports Editor at the Banner-News. Email him at [email protected]).