HOUSTON — Good morning. This is Leadoff, the early buzz in Atlanta sports, Super Bowl edition:
Between questions about protesters, security and economic impact, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner deftly fielded some queries about … the football game.
“I think it’s going to be a thrilling game,” the host city’s mayor said of Sunday’s Falcons-Patriots matchup in the Super Bowl. “I think the offense on both teams is going to be dynamic. The defense for the Patriots is awesome – sometimes they’re underrated defense-wise. But Atlanta has a very potent offense.
“I think when you put the two together, there should be a lot of excitement. I think in the end the fans and all the people that will be watching will be the ones that will benefit from this football game.”
Turner wouldn’t predict a winner, and he expressed a fondness for both teams. He praised the Patriots’ “history of winning” but added: “Atlanta has just been playing some darn good ball.”
“My preference would have been for the Houston Texans to be (in the game), but in the absence of the Houston Texans being in the Super Bowl, I’m very delighted to have the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons,” Turner said. “I know both mayors and have a great deal of respect for them. We just want to make sure we give them a Super Bowl experience when they come to this city.”
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Roughly twice as many Americans will be rooting for the Falcons to win the Super Bowl as will be pulling for the Patriots.
That’s according to a new poll by Public Policy Polling, which found 53 percent of football fans nationwide want the Falcons to win compared to only 27 percent favoring the Patriots.
“Americans are divided about a lot of things these days, but there’s one thing our new national poll finds they can come together on: wanting the Patriots to lose the Super Bowl,” according to a PPP report on its findings.
Alas, most fans nationwide expect to be disappointed by the game’s outcome: 52 percent said they think the Patriots will win, while only 36 percent believe the Falcons will win.
The poll also asked fans for their favorite and least favorite NFL quarterbacks. The Patriots’ Tom Brady won on both counts, being named favorite QB by 22 percent of respondents and least favorite by 24 percent.
The Falcons’ Matt Ryan was named favorite quarterback by 7 percent of respondents and least favorite by 2 percent.
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As part of the preparation for the 2019 Super Bowl in Atlanta, about a dozen people associated with the Metro Atlanta Host Committee long had planned to attend this season's Super Bowl at the NFL's invitation for an up-close, behind-the-scenes look at the enormous event. They just didn't know until recently that the Falcons would be there, too.
“We’d be going either way, but it’s all that more special to have our team there,” said Scott Jenkins, general manager of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“It makes for a really exciting time, not only the anticipation of hosting the Super Bowl two years from now but being part of it with the team this year.”
Houston’s Super Bowl provides a glimpse of what’s coming to Atlanta in two years.
