What to watch for in the Super Bowl
Eggheads talking about American Football: The New England Patriots take on Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI late on Sunday night (a few hours after Egypt’s Afcon final, by the way). Freakonomics brought a panel of “smart dudes” together to guide and tell us what to watch for during the game, “whether you’re a football fanatic or a total newbie.”
The panel includes Freakonomics coauthor and University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt along with “more qualified” panelists: Baltimore Ravens player and MIT applied mathematics PhD student John Urschel, Cincinnati Bengals right tackle Eric Winston, and former NFL defensive end and current Wharton MBA student Justin Tuck. Winston’s cardinal rule: “If you actually want to watch the game, step one — don’t bother a guy that’s really watching the game to explain it to you.” Host Stephen Dubner breaks it down “so if you’re a football novice and you’re watching the Super Bowl, you’ve got a few things in your pocket: watch the ads, of course; during the game, watch the ball but also take advantage of the stop-and-start nature of the game, that seven or eight seconds of amazing athleticism; and finally, if you’re looking to impress someone, tell them how the offensive lineman — the huge gentlemen up front who protect the quarterback and clear the path for runners — how they’re probably the brightest guys on the field” (runtime 28:25).