Superbowl LI is a Big Win for Youth Sports 🏈 🏆

You can’t deny how historic Super Bowl LI was for Tom Brady and the Patriots, but perhaps more importantly, it’s a huge win for Youth Sports in General. Why? Let’s break it down to its fundamentals:

• First, let’s face it…probably one of the greatest football games, if not greatest sporting events, of all time. You can’t deny the insane number of broken Super Bowl records (24), the first OT in Superbowl history and the largest-ever come-from-behind win in Superbowl history. I only feel sorry for the kids who went to bed early thinking Atlanta had run away with a boring and lopsided Super Bowl.
• Second, Super Bowl LI is a real life lesson for young athletes about never, ever, giving up. The patriots were down 28-3 at halftime and while many TV viewers at home were starting to surf other channels, Brady never lost his cool. With grace and grit the Pats chipped away at a nearly insurmountable lead to steal the game in OT. A lesson in perseverance for any young athlete.
• Third, unlike past years, the halftime show did not steal the spotlight from the game. While Lady Gaga and her cadre of colored drones put on a great show, she didn’t politicize the event and didn’t do anything to take the focus and the news headlines away from the game. Young football fans will be talking about this game, not the halftime act, for a long, long time.
• Finally, in a sport that has a big PR problem with regard to injuries and concussions, there was only one injury on the field of play Sunday night…..a pretty clean game….played with sportsmanship and very few penalties…..an example that many football parents and young players don’t see too often.

So, as the short term high of Superbowl LI wears off, I put this game on a pedestal as American football at its best…and a shining example for football’s fans, young players and youth athletes overall.

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Football is hot on our minds at iSport360 Inc. where we recently launched a mobile platform for youth sports coaches and parents to share objective feedback on their players. Football is the ninth sport we will add to our lineup. www.isport360.com to learn more or download our app.

Ian Goldberg is a sports dad, youth coach and Founder of iSport360, a SportsTech company helping youth sport coaches, parents and players set objective goals, conduct fair player evaluations and share ongoing feedback.