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WILKES-BARRE — Well, it’s Super Sunday and everyone is scurrying to get ready for the big game.

And this year we have a Pennsylvania team — the Philadelphia Eagles — going up against the perennial power New England Patriots and Bill Belichick and Tom Brady and all that mystique.

Here it is, right up front — today is the Eagles’ day.

The Eagles will win, 24-14, over the “favored” Patriots.

Don’t laugh, it’s not that difficult to see why the Philly boys will be victorious.

It’s called defense.

I’m not one of those talking heads — more like screaming heads — we are forced to watch on those NFL pregame shows, but I know this much — defense wins championships.

The Patriots have one of the smallest offensive lines in the NFL. Granted, they are a talented bunch, but they will not be able to stop the Eagles front seven from pressuring their precious QB. Mr. Brady will not have much time to find his receivers, making coverage a lot easier for the Eagles secondary.

Just watch the game, you will see this all play out.

Remember, talking heads in 2016 told America night after night that Hillary Clinton couldn’t lose. My point is, those talking heads, whether they be talking sports or news, just don’t know all that much. And as far as favorites go, the only way to fairly judge a game is to have the game be played. Then, and only then, can we possibly know what team is better — whether it be for one game or seven. The best team will (usually) win.

Things like turnovers can bring sudden change to a game, but barring any of those, the Eagles will fly to victory.

And what better match-up could we have in this NFL season of kneeling players and un-patriotic protests than to have Patriots versus Eagles? It just had to be. Yes, players have a right to protest or take a stand on things, but don’t disgrace the people who have given everything to preserve that right — our veterans. Find a better way to get your message across and stand for the national anthem and be proud that you live in a country where you have all those freedoms and you can earn millions of dollars for playing a game.

OK, now on to Super Bowl parties. The group of friends I will be with will gather in a warm basement around a card table and play cutthroat pitch. The Super Bowl will be on in a corner and we will occasionally glance at it, but the priority, as always, will be putting each other up for the pure enjoyment of it all.

And there will be food — kielbasa, bean dip, deviled eggs, salami cones, Spam, salads, pretzels, chips, dips, soft drinks, desserts and much more. Cigar smoke will fill the room and fun will be the order of the day as we sit comfortably on cushions we bring from home.

We are responsible — no drinking and driving. We battle over high, low, jack and game, while caring little about who will win the Super Bowl. It’s a tradition that has been going on for decades and is not about to change.

And as it all comes together, I marvel at the fact that my friend, George Toma of Edwardsville, has been in charge of preparing every Super Bowl field in history. George turned 89 on Friday. He is known by everyone who has ever had anything to do with the NFL at the highest levels.

In a word, George Toma is incredible.

And he has never forgotten where he came from. He always takes time to extol the virtues of the Wyoming Valley and its people. He insists that they know that their fingerprints are on every Super Bowl field he has prepared — which means all 52.

He loves “the Valley with a Heart” and he cherishes the time he spent at Artillery Park learning his trade and becoming the very best — no pun intended — in his field. “The Sod God” and “The Nitty Gritty Dirt Man” has raised the level of groundskeeping to magnificent heights. We should be proud of our native son.

And the one thing I can say about George Toma, is that if he wasn’t busy this week in Minneapolis getting the Super Bowl LII field ready for today, he would be very comfortable at a seat at our card table in a basement in Kingston, playing pitch and eating kielbasa and deviled eggs.

Go Eagles!

Bill O’Boyle
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_Oboyle_Bill-2-.jpg.optimal.jpgBill O’Boyle

By Bill O’Boyle

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Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle, or email at [email protected].