Free Republic

President Trump almost perfectly predicted the Super Bowl outcome. During his pre-Super Bowl interview with Fox News's Bill O'Reilly, Trump predicted the New England Patriots would win. "By how many points?" O'Reilly asked. "By eight points," Trump replied. The final outcome -- which for the first Super Bowl was decided in a sudden death overtime -- was Patriots 34, the Falcons 28. 

Last night, the New England Patriots launched a stunning comeback and defeated the Atlanta Falcons in overtime to win their fifth Super Bowl. The game seemed all but over, and some people got a bit smug during halftime gloating over the Patriots' imminent demise. Many people took the opportunity to blame Donald Trump for the Patriots' uncharacteristically horrible play during the first half.

Fox Television's broadcast of Super Bowl LI on Sunday night drew a 48.8 overnight rating, according to Nielsen data released by the network, lower than the previous two Super Bowls. (Snip) Last year's Super Bowl drew a 49.0 overnight rating, while the Patriots' previous title game appearance in 2015 helped Comcast Corp's NBC television draw a 49.7 rating, the highest overnight rating on record.

Yes natural talent, divine luck all come into play but the lessons we learn on the field can apply to the greater "games" at work in life and the world. What are some political takeaways from tonight's game? For starters: "It's not over till it's over." "The defense was tired."

Many of the Super Bowl ads seemed to be sporting an anti-President Trump theme.  The Budweiser ad, the 84 Lumber ad, the It's A 10 (hair-product company, not the formidable ground attack aircraft) ad, the Coca-Cola ad, for examples. In the Trumpian states, the best ad was probably the Hyundai ad.  A Youtube of it is linked above. An ad from a major corporation from a country that would not exist, except for the U.S. military... You have to watch the 30 second ad to understand.    ©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice...

Super Bowl LI on Sunday night was as close to a politics-free experience as a football fan could have hoped for, with even halftime performer Lady Gaga eschewing political talk in favor of high-energy showmanship — but several big-name brands couldn’t help but include overt political messaging in their Big Game advertising.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told FOX News on Sunday that he is hopeful his friend, new president Donald Trump, can assist him in getting back a Super Bowl ring that wound up on the hands of Russian president Vladimir Putin. “I do have an emotional attachment to that ring,” Kraft said Sunday of the $25,000 piece of jewelry the owner allowed to Putin to try on after he admired it during a 2005 meeting.

Matt Ryan Pulls A Hillary Clinton While Tom Brady Trumps The Falcons In 2017 Super Bowl! ***WARNING LANGUAGE** (Tommy give his post-Super Bowl commentary)

President Trump, a New England Patriots fan because of his many personal connections to the team, is hosting the first Super Bowl party of his presidency at Trump International Golf Club in Florida. Judging by how the first half is going for his Patriots, the party probably hasn’t picked up steam yet. [A guilt-free way for Patriots fans to cheer for the team] It’s a good thing that the commander-in-chief is not tweeting because, well, social media is being unkind, what with the Patriots trailing and all.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick endorsed Republican Donald Trump for president in November. Today in his pregame interview with Bill O’Reilly President Trump picked the Patriots to win the Super Bowl over the Atlanta Falcons. Trump predicted the Patriots would win by 8 points. The Patriots were down by 25 points early in the second half. The Patriots won by six points in overtime. Trump was right.

.....Falcons owner Arthur Blank expressed concern about Trump because on Holocaust Remembrance Day, Trump’s commemorating statement did not specifically mention the six million Jews who were killed during World War II. Blank himself is Jewish. “I’m troubled by anything directionally in our country that separates people,” Blank told Newsday. “America started without any of us, other than Native American Indians. This country was built on inclusion and diversity, on celebration of those differences, supporting those differences...

That's all I'm seeing online on social media. The liberals think that Tom Brady won because he's "white", etc, etc. What the hell is going on in this country?

Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump · 25m25 minutes ago What an amazing comeback and win by the Patriots. Tom Brady, Bob Kraft and Coach B are total winners. Wow!

For the first time, a Super Bowl needed overtime, and for the fifth time, the New England Patriots are Super Bowl champions. This time, it took the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history to do it, defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 at NRG Stadium in Houston in Super Bowl LI. Atlanta had a 28-3 lead midway through the third quarter. But a costly Atlanta fumble by quarterback Matt Ryan with 8:31 left in the fourth quarter helped set up the Patriots to come all the way back. It was the first time the Falcons had turned the ball over in...

It was 21-0 Falcons.It is now 28 all in Overtime.Missed extra point by Pats.They now have the ball.

Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, watched the Super Bowl at the Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach, Florida. The gathering was held in a large ball room. Trump and Melania sat at a table that included Chief of Staff Reince Priebus: Donald Trump is well known for his ties to the New England Patriots. He has long-lasting friendships with Patriots owner Robert Kraft, coach Bill Belichick, and star quarterback, Tom Brady. Belichick even wrote a letter to Trump praising him effusively after Trump was elected, Kraft attended the inauguration, and Brady had a “Make America Great Again” hat...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Look out, Lady Gaga. The pope is joining the Super Bowl frenzy. Pope Francis has recorded a video message that will be shown during Sunday's Super Bowl game between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons. A Vatican spokesman says the message is expected to be played on the screen at NRG Stadium in Houston either before the game or during the first quarter. In the message, the pope says he hopes the Super Bowl will be "a sign of peace, friendship and solidarity for the world." Francis is an avid sports fan who often...

Falcons owner Arthur Blank expressed concern about Trump because on Holocaust Remembrance Day, Trump’s commemorating statement did not specifically mention the six million Jews who were killed during World War II. Blank himself is Jewish.

Supporters/ Protestors in Houston outside the NRG stadium with their signs/ shirts everywhere. Opinions abound. You can't go to a football game without seeing people upset about President Trump, don't you know. They even brought live snakes to this protest. You can't make this stuff up, folks.

Better safe than sorry — especially if you want to avoid another "Nipplegate." Fox Sports will employ a five-second tape delay during its pregame and halftime coverage of Super Bowl 51, spokesman Eddie Motl confirmed to Sporting News.