Media and Celebrity Picks for the Super Bowl
By Jason Lisk
The animal kingdom is a lean toward the Packers, as is Marissa Miller. Phil Hellmuth likes the Packers too. Meanwhile, rappers tend to favor the Steelers.
ESPN put out of a list of its media personality picks. This includes guys who work in all sports, not just NFL analysts. The tally was 31 to 13 for the Packers. Colin Cowherd even picked the Packers to win, 31-27. Aaron Rodgers still can’t win games under 3 points, though, so Cowherd’s honor is intact. Meanwhile, Tom Jackson picked the Steelers in this one, but he will likely switch to the Packers on television today to motivate both teams.
NFL.com writers and NFL Network picks favor the Packers by a count of 8 to 6. CBS Sports writers picks are in, with Mike Freeman, Pete Prisco and Clark Judge picking Green Bay, and Gregg Doyel going with Pittsburgh. Sports Illustrated’s writers are split down the middle: Peter King, Joe Posnanski, Jim Trotter and Kerry Byrne went with Pittsburgh, while Don Banks, Tim Layden, Dominic Bonvissuto, and Andrew Perloff picked the Pack.
Sports Illustrated also ran celebrity picks. I’m officially out of touch and need to read the Roundup comments more, because I didn’t know several of these celebrities (sorry, Holly Madison, Joe Manganiello, and Chord Overstreet). Some, though not all, were actually able to make a pick in between talking about themselves. Dana White of UFC favored the Packers, while Brock Lesnar and Triple H like Pittsburgh. I also learned that SI has alot of NASCAR drivers on speed dial, because they were the only active athletes besides Tiger Woods included. The overall tally: Pittsburgh 18, Green Bay 16.
ESPN countered with their celebrity picks (13 to 11 in favor of Pittsburgh), which catered to a much older audience, with Cloris Leachman, Andy Williams, Don Rickles, Phyllis Diller, and Ed Asner. I now feel better prepared for celebrity “dead or alive.” Also, the still clearly bitter Mark Wahlberg should have just said “Nawt you”.
What I’ve learned from this exercise is that some people think Green Bay will win, while others tend to lean toward Pittsburgh. The picks are slightly in favor of Green Bay overall, which means I should have just looked at the point spread to begin with.
[photo via Getty]