Who should Australians support in SBLII
Explainers

Which team should Australians support in the Super Bowl?

As NFL fans gear up for Super Bowl Monday, we decided to apply some of the least scientific methods available to figure out who casual Australian sports fans should be rooting for.

Disclaimer: If you’re looking for thoughtful, in-depth NFL analysis, you’re not going to find it in this post.

So who should you be going for if you don’t know much about the NFL? Let’s decide.

Who’s the favourite?

The Patriots are the favourites. We’re not about to link you to a gambling website, but take our word for it, the consensus odds among them is that the Patriots are more likely to be hoisting the Lombardi trophy just after lunchtime on Monday Australian time.

And it would be an impressive feat. If the Patriots do win, Tom Brady would be the only player to have won 6 Super Bowls – and all of them with the same team – after being drafted 199th in his draft class. He wasn’t even expected to eke out a career in the league, let alone become the GOAT. Therefore, if you’re the type of sports fan who wants to see something historic, maybe the Pats are your team for SBLII.

Tom Brady fans dressed as goats SBLII 2018

On the other hand, the Eagles are underdogs. They were the top team in the league for a time in late 2017, and then Carson Wentz (their star QB, who was having an MVP level season) suffered a knee injury that ended his season. The Eagles weren’t expected to win either of their playoff games, and are now heading to the Super Bowl. If there is one thing Australians can rally behind, it’s an underdog.

Advantage: Eagles, because Australians love an underdog.

Which team has better fans?

AFL fans will probably recognise Patriots fans as being similar to Hawthorn fans a few years ago. Remember last season when you tried to wind up your Hawks-supporting friend by telling them they’d miss the finals, and they said “well, I’ve seen 4 Premierships, I’ll be OK“? That’s kind of where Patriots fans are at: confident, hopeful, zen… and therefore annoying.

They were friendly to Sarah and Juice recently, though, welcoming them to their pre-game tailgate:

When it comes to Eagles fans, at SWIAM we’re biased. One of the first games Sarah attended this year was an Eagles game, where she met EROCK and the 4th and Jawn crew. These guys were so great that Sarah and Juice went back to Philly to see them again during the playoffs. More on them later.

Eagles fans in general, though, are known to be abrasive. Sarah described many of them as Danny DeVito-like and said that she was told to sit the f— down more than a few times while she was filming during the game at Lincoln Financial Field.

Watch them yell at this Cowboys fan:

Advantage: Tie. Unless it was the 4th and Jawn crew, we’re not sure who we’d prefer to be sitting with during this game.

Do either of the teams have an Australian connection?

Australian Sav Rocca played for the Eagles for a few seasons, so Aussies have probably seen some Eagles highlights in the past, even if they don’t remember it. That could mean something on the day of SBLII.

Even more meaningful is the fact that a bunch of Eagles fans recently tried (far too much) Vegemite:

They were pretty polite about it, all things considered.

Advantage: Eagles.

Verdict

Let’s now take our time to make a carefully considered decision about who to support.

…what’s that? Sylvester Stallone has been making Rocky-themed Philadelphia underdog posts about SBLII on his Instagram feed for the last fortnight!?

Looks like we’re going for the Eagles, guys.

Enjoy your Super Bowl experience, wherever you’re watching it!