Super Bowl Sunday arrives with Armchairs leaning towards a Chiefs repeat

Well, neighborhood-friendly pigskin fans: after twenty-three weeks of intense competition, featuring high school, collegiate and professional football action, the end is in sight for the 2023-24 football season. While many of you may be sad that our season flew by, our prognosticators are looking forward to taking a well-earned break to prepare for next season. But, before we officially bid “arrivederci” to the gridiron, the biggest game of them all – Super Bowl LVIII – looms on Sunday, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, NV. The Chiefs and 49ers battling it out, comes with pride on the line for our “superfans,” who want to finish their final test on a high note!

No games last week gives us an opportunity to look back at how each of our pigskin pickers did along this crazy ride we call football season. It came with ups-and-downs and crazy turns along the way, but they all held on tight, and had fun while doing so!

RoxAnn Rodney-Isbrecht came into the campaign holding bragging rights, as she is the defending back-to-back champion of our contest. Having won this tradition four previous times, she has made it known that if she won again she was going out on top and announcing her retirement. Well, it appears that her preseason confidence will be coming to fruition, as she will be our overall champion for a third-straight year. She was at the top of the class for most of the season, was never off the overall podium, and enters the final Sunday of the year with an overall record of 141-71.

Rodney Lynch has won this contest three times in the past, but after finishing as the runner-up last year and third place the year prior, he was looking to improve one more position and see his name etched on the winner’s hat for a fourth time. He was competitive all season long, making RoxAnn sweat late in the year when he took over first place in the closing months of the season, only to see some of his late gambles falter and his record started taking a hit. He enters Super Bowl Sunday with an overall record of 138-74 but is still in a dogfight for the runner-up spot, as that race is not over just yet.

Greg Krell has been a stalwart in this contest, giving it his best try for the tenth time in succession. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, he is our version of a person like Charles Barkley – he gets the all-star votes, but never smells the sweet taste of a title. However, if there was an award for most improved player this season, he would earn it! He will move up by no less than three positions over last year, when he finished as our “cellar dweller.” He’s usually in it for fun at this point of the season, but he enters this final weekend with a shot at his best career finish, as a runner-up, as he has an overall record of 137-75.

Bill Whitney, outside of our two newest members of the panel, would be our junior member, as he is in his third season of trying to be our elite picker. He’s a competitive participant, who will be quite disappointed that he’s going to be relegated to a fourth place finish this year, after making strides over the previous two campaigns. He will enter the illustrious final game of the season with an overall record of 129-83, and expect him to be a contender next year, should he return.

Mike Banic was one of our two newest members this year, and being a diehard football fan like he is, I know he was excited to be a participant in this contest. He learned quickly that this contest is not a sprint; it’s twenty-four weeks long, and sometimes, it’s better to pace yourself. Despite having big shoes to fill, taking over the reins of being a Hartford analyst from a legend, Tim Hildebrand, he had his ups-and-downs, but a fifth-place finish, with an overall record of 126-86, isn’t so bad for his first year. After all, his beloved Michigan Wolverines won the national championship, so that was a great consolation prize!

Maureen Ovington was the second of our newbies to the panel this year, representing the community of Coloma, and she was an absolute joy to have as a pigskin picker this year. When we started this contest in the late summer, she asked all of her “enemy combatants” to take it easy on her, but she made it known throughout the season that she was going to come out swinging and wasn’t afraid to be a gambler, even when the odds were stacked against her. She’ll finish the year as our overall “cellar dweller,” but will end with a winning overall record, which is currently at 121-91. We hope she returns for a second go-around next fall.

At the conclusion of the football season, the panelist who has the best overall record will earn the right to wear the 2023-24 Tri-City Record Armchair Quarterback hat and claim bragging rights until next season begins. So, one game is left in the season. Four of our final positions have been decided, but who will take home the runner-up spot; will it be Rodney or Greg? Which of our prognosticators will correctly pick the winner of the Lombardi Trophy and enter next season on the highest of highs? We will soon find out after sixty minutes of game action, which will come with the million-dollar commercials and halftime show, as always!

Our ardent, loyal pigskin pickers have woven their way through the football season, and experienced one heck of a ride along the way. Perhaps they were elated with the result of a victory, or disappointed with a loss by their team. OK, so maybe they didn’t throw a remote through the television screen like a true superfan does, but the most important theme of this contest is fun. After all, this has been a fantastic opportunity to get to know some good, honest people that live in the neighboring communities that adorn Red Arrow Highway.

Be sure to check back next week to see how our final overall classification worked out in the season-long race for the champion’s “one shining moment.” A reminder that your Super Bowl LVIII matchup features:

Kansas City Chiefs vs.

San Francisco 49ers

(Sun. 2-11 at 6:30 p.m.)