Bee Super Bowl Challenge returns

SANDPOINT — So Tom and Bill will play in the Super Bowl again, giving all but those die-hard New Englanders a team to root against in the Super Bowl.

Not many of us have a reason to root for the Falcons, other than it would be fun to see someone else win a Super Bowl for a change.

In Sandpoint, fervent Seahawks’ country, it would be nice to see the Falcons do what the Seahawks came within a bone-headed play of doing two years ago — beat the Pats in the Super Bowl.

Per usual, the Daily Bee will run the free annual Super Bowl Challenge, and chance to win $100 cash. Last year Sandpoint student Amy Clark won the challenge, and a crisp hundred dollar bill, by just missing on the final score of the Broncos win over the Panthers.

Once again, the Bee sports editor will make the first prediction, using a tried and true method of using a mishmash of criteria from the respective city of each team (Boston, in the case of New England) to arrive at a final score. To enter, see instructions at the bottom of this column.

n The Departed vs. Smokey and the Bandit.

Who doesn’t love a great Martin Scorsese gangster movie? The Departed, set in Boston, delivers with strong performances from native sons Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg, and of course a memorable turn from the venerable Jack Nicholson.

But how great was Sally Field, riding shotgun as Burt Reynolds eluded the great Jackie Gleason in his black Trans-Am, in the timeless Smokey and the Bandit? The movie spawned a lifelong crush on Field, so enough said.

Edge: Smokey and the Bandit. FALCONS 7, PATRIOTS 0.

n The Cars vs. CeeLo Green

A lot of teeth grinding occurred when Green changed the lyrics while covering John Lennon’s classic “Imagine” on New Year’s Eve in 2011. He took it upon himself to change the lyrics from “nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too” to “nothing to kill or die for, and all religion’s true.”

As a John Lennon and Beatles fan, it was blasphemous to see the meaning of the song completely turned on its ear on the whim of Green.

A much better New Year’s Eve selection would have been “Let the Good Times Roll” by the Boston-based band The Cars.

Edge: The Cars, with a two point conversion for emphasis. PATRIOTS 8, FALCONS 7.

n Edward Norton vs. Danny Glover

Norton has played a degenerate gambler (Rounders), egotistical actor (Birdman), sociopath (Primal Fear) and he even caught the memorable Hanibal Lecter (Red Dragon).

Glover gave us memorable turns in The Color Purple, Lethal Weapon, The Royal Tenenbaums and Lonesome Dove. This is a tough call, and since we don’t care much for the Pats . . .

Edge: Danny Glover. Falcons 10, Patriots 8.

n Lobster vs. Lobster mac and cheese

If you love lobster, there may be no better place to live than Boston, where they love them some seafood chowdah.

While the lobster may not be as fresh in Hotlanta, the people there are known for putting it in mac and cheese. Soul food beats seafood this time.

Edge: Lobster mac and cheese. FALCONS 17, PATRIOTS 8.

n Frost, Thoreau, Hawthorne vs. Margaret Mitchell.

Give Boston credit. Some historical monsters of literature hail from there. Limiting the list to just three authors was a tough task.

Conversely, a quick google search of famous Atlanta authors does not yield much in the way of name recognition. The biggest was Mitchell, of Gone with the Wind fame.

So when seemingly annoyed Pats coach Bill Belichick is spouting his usual bland and canned platitudes to the media, here’s hoping someone channels Rhett Butler and says “Frankly, coach, we don’t give a damn.”

Edge: Mitchell. FALCONS 24, PATRIOTS 8.

n Cheers vs. The Walking Dead

One is about a cast of regulars at a bar in Boston, the other a zombie apocalypse set outside of Atlanta. Cheers was full of classic comedy, which holds up today.

While the first season of the Walking Dead was great television, subsequent seasons of watching people stuff myriad objects through the craniums of zombie corpses began to tire, and the show jumped the shark.

Edge: Cheers. FALCONS 24, PATRIOTS 11.

n Yankees vs. Rebels.

Anyone with a cursory knowledge of U.S. history knows the North won the Civil War, helping to end slavery.

Edge: Yankees, with a two-point conversion. FALCONS 24, PATRIOTS 19.

n Babe Ruth vs. Hank Aaron

The Babe was the original masher, clouting home runs in an era when nobody else did, and ending with 714.

Hank Aaron was the model of consistency, clouting 30 and 40 home run seasons for nearly two consecutive decades en route to a whopping 755. Without chemical enhancements, at that.

Edge: Hammerin’ Hank. FALCONS 32, PATRIOTS 19.

n Dominique Wilkins vs. Larry Bird

Larry Legend was a classic. Big nose, blond mullet, a jumper as pure as the driven snow and a competitive fire that led to championships in Beantown.

But Nique was the Human Highlight Film for a reason. A quick Youtube search will reveal arguably the greatest in-game dunker in NBA history, with a couple of his best ever over the top of Bird.

Edge: Nique. FALCONS 39, PATRIOTS 19.

So when it’s all said and done, the first official entry in the Bee Super Bowl Challenge is Falcons 39, Patriots 19, with Mohamed Sanu as MVP.

Think you know who is going to win Super Bowl 51? Want to win $100 in cash?

Then step up and take the Challenge. To enter, simply email your prediction for each team’s score, with choice for Most Valuable Player, to “eplummer@bonnercountydailybee.com.”

On Super Bowl Sunday, the Bee will print a master list to follow along with during the game.