Tich’s Take

Super Bowl XLIX ended up being one of the best, most dramatic Super Bowls ever, once again proving one thing — Hollywood has nothing on sports.

The Super Bowl does everything big — extravagant commercials, mechanical lion-enhanced halftime shows and the actual game. But lately, when the lights are shining on the biggest stage in pro football, it has been the anonymous players who grab the spotlight.

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Sure, everyone is going to be talking about whether Tom Brady is the best quarterback ever after winning his fourth Super Bowl ring. Bill Belichick will receive a similar treatment. The same kind of stuff that always gets talked about.

Legacies and whatnot. Blah, blah, blah.

Yet without an undrafted rookie corner making a break on a Russell Wilson pass with 20 seconds left, the Patriots would most likely have been locked in their Glendale hotel rooms Sunday night, depression-eating a tub of rocky road instead of celebrating hoisting the Lombardi trophy.

Trailing 28-24 with the ball at the one-yard line and time nearly exhausted, the Seahawks neglected to hand the ball off to their powerhouse back Marshawn Lynch, opting to let Wilson drop back and throw for the win instead. Big mistake. Patriots corner Malcolm Butler read the play perfectly, leaping in front of Seahawks receiver Ricardo Lockette, snatching the ball away for an interception. Ball game.
Things like this are why sports matter. Things like this make us care. Things like this make us cry.

How many people knew who Butler was before Sunday night’s game? His family, his teammates and some devoted Patriots fans, probably. I sure did not.

Who would have thought that Butler could even have a chance to make a play like that? A native of Vicksburg, Mississippi, Butler had almost seen football taken away from him multiple times growing up. According to Sporting News, Butler did not play his sophomore and junior seasons of high school ball because of academic troubles. And then he was kicked off the team at Hinds Community College, one of his few post-preps playing opportunities.

Butler ended up at West Alabama for his final two years of college, where he starred for the Tigers, enough for some NFL teams to notice. But still not noticed enough to get drafted.

The Patriots ended up signing Butler, playing him in 11 regular season games. Not exactly a key component in the Pats 12-4 campaign.
Still, Butler remained ready, seeing extra playing time in the Super Bowl after teammate Kyle Arrington got torched by Seahawks receiver Chris Matthews, who had four catches for 109 yards and a touchdown, during the game’s first three quarters.

His first NFL interception ended up being the Super Bowl-winning pick.

How can you not love that? If you have a soul, that makes you smile.

As I mentioned, the Super Bowl is not new to breeding the unlikeliest of heroes. Last year’s Super Bowl MVP was Malcolm Smith, not exactly the headliner of Seattle’s full-of-big-names defense. But it was Smith who returned a Peyton Manning interception 69 yards for a touchdown, forever etching his name into football lore.

The name David Tyree might ring a bell for Patriots fans. In Super Bowl XLII, with the Giants trailing the Patriots late in the game, Eli Manning tossed up a prayer in Tyree’s direction. Somehow, Tyree outwrestled Rodney Harrison for the football, pinning it against his helmet. A few players later, the Giants scored, ruining the Patriots’ perfect season.

Two seasons later, Tyree was out of the league. But he will always have that catch. And will always be a hero in New York.

A few years ago, Butler was playing football at a community college in Mississippi and now he is the toast of the entire city and on his way to Disneyland.

Sports beats Hollywood every time.

Tichenor is the sports editor.

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