For some, Super Bowl 53 was not very exciting, in fact, some people were bored by what they watched in Atlanta. In a game that saw the Rams have more punts(9) than points, the Patriots would defeat Los Angeles 13-3 in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in NFL history.
While all eyes were on the big game in Atlanta, many fans in New Orleans refused to watch because they felt jobbed by the NFL after a missed pass interference call late in the NFC title game against the Rams, and according to nola.com, last year’s Super Bowl earned a rating of 53 in New Orleans, while Super Bowl 53 earned a 26.2 rating in the “Big Easy,” which is a clear indication that Saints fans were not interested in watching.
Hall of Famer Willie Roaf, who started his career with the Saints and played nine seasons in New Orleans, thinks the Saints not playing in Super Bowl 53 took away from the game.
“I think it lost its luster,” Roaf told Paul Gant and the Go4it podcast. “I think a lot of people feel the way I feel that they don’t count it as a Super Bowl because the Saints should have been there, and the way that game was played, even made that more apparent they(Rams) shouldn’t have been there. The Rams had a great year; they stepped it up in the playoffs, but a lot of people feel the same way I feel. They’re really not thinking of counting that(Super Bowl), especially in New Orleans. You go anywhere in New Orleans, and they are not counting that as the Super Bowl. They’re not; they think the Saints got screwed out of it.”
Because the Saints were not there, Roaf believes that people should put an asterisk next to the Patriots’ victory in Super Bowl 53.
“I think we gotta put an asterisk next to that one,” Roaf added. “That’s six, but the way they won that, I think there is an asterisk next to that Super Bowl.”
Missed calls happen in the NFL, but we still have to give the Patriots their proper respect for winning Super Bowl 53. Maybe the Saints beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, but no matter how anyone feels, the Patriots are the world champs, and there is nothing we can do about it.
Listen to the interview below with Roaf at 16:50 as he talks Super Bowl 53:
