Sports chick: Super Bermuda Sunday

When you think of Bermuda, you think of palm trees, pink sand and breathtaking beaches.

You certainly wouldn’t think it was where you’d find the craziest Super Bowl parties in the North Atlantic, right? Wrong…

Despite being 783 miles away from the action at Metlife Stadium and hosting a population less than the capacity of an average NFL stadium, Bermuda totally rocked it on Super Bowl Sunday. 

Every bar, hotel and beach on the island was completely revved and ready for game day.

One of the hottest venues was Outback Sports Pub at Flanagan’s.

The bar was filled to capacity, with many sporting jerseys of their favourite NFL team. The ‘fandemonium’ was so intense, it was hard to distinguish if the crowd was cheering for the Denver Broncos or jeering the Seattle Seahawks. It didn’t even matter to most.

From kick-off to commercials to an incredible half-time show to finally Russell Wilson hoisting the Lombardi, it was a terrific night.

Partying aside, the number of diehard and bona fide NFL fans in Bermuda is impressive. 

For newcomers to the island, it’s easy to be surprised by this passion on a tiny island that has back-to-back statutory holidays for a cricket match.

However, fans are extremely knowledgeable of the sport, the rules, the stats and the players.

 Such a hardcore fan base deserves to be recognized for their spirit and love for the game of NFL Football. 

So if anyone wants to celebrate Super Bowl #49 in paradise, Bermuda is the place to be.

Not-So Super Bowl

Super Bowl XLVIII was widely anticipated to be an epic battle between the league’s #1 offensive versus the #1 defence.

Well, it was epic alright — an epic blowout. 

Peyton Manning went from ‘Omaha’ to ‘NOmaha’ and the Seahawks capitalized on every single error made by the MVP-winning quarterback. 

After giving up a safety 12 seconds in, you knew the Broncos were in for a long night. It was obvious the Seahawks’ Legion of Boom (LOB) didn’t just come to play... they came to win.

They kept the Broncos off the board for three quarters and held them to just eight points. 

On the other side of the field, Russell Wilson and the Seahawks are probably the only folks thrilled the game did not live up to the hype. 

They dominated the entire game, racked up 43 points and blotted Peyton Manning’s record-setting year, although interestingly he still set the record for the most passes, 34, completed in a Super Bowl.

Seahawks’ prowess, though, ultimately resulted in their first Super Bowl Championship title in franchise history.  

What went wrong for the Broncos and right for Seahawks? Where do you start? 

It seemed Manning and the Broncos took the Seahawks for granted and suffered. They simply played flat and struggled to get out of neutral — much less first gear. They let the Seahawks get in their heads and forced them to make mistakes. 

From the get-go, Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks came at the Broncos with speed, physical force and mental endurance. They picked apart the Broncos’ defence and exploited their weaknesses, while the LOB did what they do best. Needless to say their sustained pressure attributed to their commanding victory over the Broncos. Interestingly, the most lopsided Super Bowl score before this was in 1990 when the San Francisco 49ers crushed the Broncos 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV.

Yet in spite of the crushing loss, the mighty Manning will not be fazed.

He will continue to make and break records and will no doubt return to the final dance, albeit with a different outcome.  

Follow Bobbi Singh on  Twitter (@sportschickca).