Sports commentators have been making their picks for two weeks, so TVNewser rounded up some network anchors and reporters to get their picks for Super Bowl XLVIII.
“I like the Broncos by 7,” “Special Report” host Bret Baier predicts. “Peyton Manning is too tough- even with Seahawks D. It’s an interesting match-up and for that matter- so is Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers at halftime!”
“Happening Now” host Jenna Lee agrees. She’s picking the Broncos “There’s simply no other choice.” Lee knows her football. Her dad played in two Super Bowls for the Minnesota Vikings. “I can NOT have a morose and despondent co-anchor on Monday morning.” Colorado native Jon Scott is a MAJOR Broncos fan.
But “America’s Newsroom” host Bill Hemmer is going against his colleagues: “Peyton Manning is once in a generation, it would be great if he wins another Super Bowl. But it seems everyone is going with Denver because of him. Which can only mean one thing: Seattle wins. Fair and Balanced.”
“Who do I want to lose more?” is the way MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki is looking at it. “As a Patriots fan, I’m torn. The Broncos beat my team and I can’t cheer for Peyton Manning, but I still remember when Pete Carroll inherited a great Patriots team from Bill Parcells and ran it into the ground.”
Kornacki’s call: “I’ll take an ugly game that reflects poorly on both teams and ends with Manning getting sacked in the end zone in overtime for a 2-0 Seattle win.”
ABC News correspondent Amy Robach, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy as she fights breast cancer, is rooting for Seattle “for one reason…”
“Derrick Coleman. What an inspiration. Love his story. Beating the odds and never taking ‘no’ as the final answer. He is my hero, so go Seahawks go!”
“Crossfire’s” females have differing takes on the games: one is revved up, while the other is tuned out.
“Offense fills the stadium. Defense wins championships – Seattle by 3!” Stephanie Cutter said, while co-host S.E. Cupp’s mind is on cars.
“Once the Packers lost in the playoffs, I turned off my football brain,” Cupp admits. “Counting down the days until the Daytona 500. I hope the folks at the game in NJ stay safe and warm.”
CNN’s Candy Crowley is wondering about this year’s rhyme or reason:
“Listen, I’m trying to understand why a Colorado and a Washington state team are playing the most important game of their season about as far away from their fans as possible in a New Jersey stadium, which two New York teams call home. I’m too confused to pick a winner.” (She ended up picking Seattle because the team meditates)
And NBC’s Lester Holt isn’t wondering where his loyalty must lie.
“I am married to a Seattle native. For the sake of marital harmony i’m going with the Seahawks. “
ABC meteorologist Ginger Zee and HLN meteorologist Bob Van Dillen are in agreement with their Super Bowl forecast: Broncos all the way.
“I love the weather drama of the high plains right next to the Rockies!” Zee said. Van Dillen cites family as an edge for Broncos QB Peyton Manning: “Something about the starting QB playing in his brother’s ‘house’ seems to give him extraordinary confidence.”
HLN’s Mike Galanos sees a late-game show from the veteran: “Manning with late game heroics: Broncos win 28-20.”
CNN political reporter Peter Hamby’s distaste for the coach tops his love for the player: “I love Russell Wilson because we’re both from Richmond. But no sane human can root for Pete Carroll.”