SUPER BOWL LII
NBC, 6:00 p.m. ET
Speaking of underdogs, the statistics in the accompanying photo refer to the respective 53-man rosters of the returning Super Bowl-champion New England Patriots and the significantly less favored Philadelphia Eagles. I’m rooting for the Eagles anyway, and not only because I’ve lived in or outside Philly for the past 35 years. I’ve also been a Miami Dolphins fan all my life – and if you love the Dolphins, as I do, you have to hate the Patriots. At least coach Bill Belichick and QB Tom Brady, who are no strangers to Super Bowl pressures – or victories. Brady not only won the Super Bowl last year, but was the MVP. He also was the MVP in the Pats’ Super Bowl victories in 2015, 2004, and 2002. And while Brady didn’t get the MVP honors in 2005, the Patriots won that year’s Super Bowl as well – against the Eagles, who haven’t been back since until today. And they’re not the only Super Bowl returnees today from that earlier era: In 2004, the year before that last Patriots-Eagles match-up, the Super Bowl halftime show featured Justin Timberlake, who is today’s halftime headliner. Back then, he was a featured player, with Janet Jackson as the star, and they collaborated on a surprise finish that remains the most infamous moment in Super Bowl halftime history, and the most widely reported and repeated. For every time it was mentioned or shown by the media, if I had a nipple...