Bee Super Bowl Challenge: Pro-Falcons or Anti-Patriots?

SANDPOINT — A co-worker in the Bee news room shared a funny story Wednesday about an internet meme that sums up Super Bowl 51 to a T for many.

It’s a pie chart on U.S. football fans, with a tiny red sliver signifying actual Falcons fans. The other massive black piece of the pie signified the people who hope the Patriots get beat.

Sandpoint J2 boys basketball coach Kurt Stockton is a big Falcons fan, but most people in these parts would much rather see the Pats lose than the Falcons win, much as the funny graphic illustrates.

The early Vegas line on the game is the Patriots favored by three, with an over/under of 59 points, which works out to a 31-28 Pats win, for the math impaired.

But the Vegas line misses far more than it hits, as the Seahawks showed when they dispatched the Broncos 43-8 in New Jersey three years ago in a score that nobody saw coming.

Part of the aforementioned pie chart bias stems from repeated instances of cheating. There are even betting odds for which quarter the word “Deflategate” first comes up during the broadcast: 1st quarter 7/4; 2nd quarter 5/3; 3rd quarter 5/1; 4th quarter: 8/1. If commissioner Roger Goodell had any say, the word would lead the broadcast.

Will tarnished Golden Boy Tom Brady and curmudgeonly coach Bill Belichick win another Lombardi Trophy, cementing their status as arguably the best coach/QB duo in history?

Or will former Seahawks’ defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and gunslinging quarterback Matt Ryan win the Falcons their first ever Super Bowl?

Think you know the answer? Want to win $100 in cash? Then enter the free Bee Super Bowl Challenge.

To enter, email each team’s final score, and your choice for MVP, to “eplummer@bonnercountydailybee.com.”

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

May the luckiest fan win.