Colorado Avalanche Can Learn from Super Bowl LIV

The Colorado Avalanche can take some lessons, both light-hearted and serious, from the events of Super Bowl LIV.

The Colorado Avalanche will one day win the best trophy is sports again, I’m confident in that. However, for today, it’s all about the Super Bowl.

To be honest, you can often take lessons from one competitive sport to another, even when they’re as different as hockey and football. And the Avalanche want to be top of the hockey world. Whether you like it or not, that takes certain intangibles.

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Intangibles the players could take from tonight’s Super Bowl game. Also some fun stuff because that halftime show was killer.

In fact, let’s start there.

Halftime Entertainment

The Super Bowl’s halftime show has long been one of the most entertaining shows around. The top performers from around the world pull out all the stops in their performance. This year, the halftime show consisted of two of my favorite non-metal singers, Shakira and J.Lo. Up with the Latina power!

And their performances were powerful. What I liked was that they paid homage to different cultures. Their Latin culture was evident in their performances, especially when J.Lo donned a furry Puerto Rican flag — she was born of Puerto Rican parents. And Shakira pulled out what was either a zaghrouta from her Lebanese culture or a method of singing from the Barranquilla Carnival in Colombia, her home country. It set the Twitterverse afire:

Anyway, I’m not suggesting any of the Avs players make like Brad Marchand and get their tongues out. However, as I mentioned in a previous post, I’d love to see some more diverse cultures at Avalanche games.

I’m glad the Colorado Avalanche don’t have anything racist associated with their team, though — that tomahawk chop is simply obscene. The Chicago Blackhawks have some similar attitudes within their fanbase.

Ok, moving on to another fun topic.

Touchdown Celebrations

I’m not a big football fan — or a football fan at all really. However, I feel like there’s been some controversy about football players celebrating after scoring a touchdown. I guess there’s another connection with hockey — you’re not allowed to have fun.

Well, during the Super Bowl, some of the players actually got into coordinated celebrations after scoring a touchdowns. Why can’t hockey players do that? They skate on the same lines (well… never mind). Why not have a little jig to perform when they score a goal? Or at least a go-ahead goal? Even something like how Matt Calvert and Ian Cole jump into each other during warmups?

Ok, one more whimsical observation and then down to the seriousness. Winning QB and MVP Patrick Mahomes bears a striking resemblance to Jack Eichel. I spent most of the game thinking Jack was on the field, and it tripped me out.

It’s the hair. And the fact that I’ve never watched a Chiefs game before the Super Bowl.

4th Quarter Lead

The San Francisco 49ers all but had the Super Bowl won in the 4th quarter. They were ahead by 10 points with just over five minutes to go — an eternity in hockey, but no time at all in football. I thought there was no way the Chiefs were going to come back from that deficit.

Well, the 49ers did what Joe Sakic would call letting the opponents off the ropes. The 49ers didn’t have an answer for Mahomes, and the Chiefs ultimately scored 21 unanswered points to win 31-20.

That’s the kind of drive the Colorado Avalanche players have instead of that passiveness they can be all-too-guilty of.

Speaking of Mahomes…

A Star Can Lead, But it Takes a Team

There were times in that fourth quarter when Mahones put the Chiefs on his shoulders. Sound familiar? Well, we’ve certainly seen out own 24-year-old superstar (that’s right — they’re the same age) Nathan MacKinnon do the same.

Nathan MacKinnon can and does put the team on his shoulders. However, Mahomes didn’t score the game-winning touchdown, nor can the Avalanche count on MacKinnon to score the vast majority of the goals.

Well, the Colorado Avalanche were back at it at practice today. They don’t play again until they (ironically) face Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. However, that will be a good time for them to implement at least a few of the above lessons.