The two teams that squared off in Super Bowl LV meet tonight in Florida when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Kansas City Chiefs.
When they met two seasons ago, the Chiefs were slight favorites on the point spread, and the Buccaneers were a definitive winner on the field, 31-9. Tonight, the Buccaneers are coming off a loss at home while the Chiefs are coming off a loss on the road.
Kansas City was upset by the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday, 20-17, and lost to the Buccaneers in their most recent encounter in the Super Bowl.
I read that as an advantage for the Chiefs, when you know what I’m looking for. I’m looking for a team that thinks they have to play their best and it might not be enough to win. The problem with the Chiefs is that they know if they play their best they will win.
Which brings us to the Buccaneers, led on the field by a man closer to social security than any player in the league. He is one hit away from legally parking in the handicap zone. I’m talking about Tom Brady, and I have nothing but acknowledgement for the proven GOAT that entered the league as a sixth round draft choice.
While saluting Brady, I also am aware of physics and the equation that at some point age plays a role in performance. I got to work with George Blanda for three seasons, and he was the old man of football and an occasional emergency quarterback, but primarily a kicker. The fact that Blanda played into his mid forties was something to marvel at in 1975.
Today, we are not talking about a kicker in his mid-forties still able to split the uprights, but rather the field general directing traffic against defenses bent on burying him. For the past two decades Brady under 45 won, I’m not sure we can expect the same from Brady 45 and older.
So, take the Chiefs tonight?
Not so fast.
Neither of these teams are on a path that would promise future success, so the question becomes which one will falter first?
If I was a betting man, and in the words of a good friend, I might be, I would bet that Brady meets his Waterloo tonight and the Chiefs pick up a road win.
While I may be a gambling man, when it comes to football, I’m all business. Betting against Brady and the Buccaneers tonight is too easy, and expecting the Chiefs to rebound on the road following a road setback is not a high percentage play.
In the gambling world, I love the Chiefs. From an investment perspective, I have no recommendation.