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Rick Zamperin: The ABCs — and Fs — of Super Bowl LIII

The New England Patriots celebrate after winning Super Bowl 53 against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019, in Atlanta. The Patriots won 13-3. AP Photo/Morry Gash

Super Bowl LIII was supposed to be a heavyweight match between the NFL’s two No. 2 seeds. It turned out to be a heavyweight dud.

The New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in the lowest-scoring game in Super Bowl history.

I love a good defensive slugfest, but Sunday night’s championship showdown in Atlanta was downright putrid from an entertainment standpoint. There weren’t many, if any, compelling moments in the game.

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Congratulations to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for winning his NFL record sixth Super Bowl title, but aside from that incredible achievement, the game itself got a big, fat ‘F’ as far as I’m concerned.

WATCH: Prudential Tower lights up in honour of the New England Patriots in Boston

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Prudential Tower lights up in honor of the New England Patriots in Boston

The only thing worse than the game’s uninspiring first half — in which New England led 3-0 — was the halftime show, starring Maroon 5. Adam Levine and company are talented artists, but the halftime show lacked energy, cohesion and excitement. I give it a ‘D.’

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I commend CBS and the NFL Network for the armada of resources that they committed to providing hours upon hours of pregame programming leading up to kickoff, but I could only handle a couple of hours, tops, before I tapped out. I give the pregame festivities a’C.’ I guarantee the only people who watched all 12 hours of pregame hype were fans of the Rams and Patriots — at least the ones who were not attending the game in Atlanta. A two-hour pregame show is enough, at least for me.

My annual Super Bowl prop bet pool with my family got a solid ‘B.’ It not only created a little more interest in the game — and boy, did this year’s edition ever need some of that — but it brought the family together. In an age where technology can silence a household, the prop pool created conversation and some healthy banter.

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The only ‘A’ of Super Bowl Sunday goes to the commercials. There were thought-provoking spots, nostalgic ads and downright hilarious commercials. And at a little more than $5 million a pop, I hope the advertisers got their money’s worth because football fans didn’t.

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