By Amy Chastain

Staff Writer

It goes without saying that Super Bowl XLIX will forever be defined by the goal line interception where Patriots cornerback, Malcolm Butler, picked off a pass from Seahawks quarterback, Russell Wilson.

Moments before that play, it seemed as if the Seahawks were a lock for the Lombardi Trophy. The Seahawks were second and goal at the one yard line with 25 seconds left in the game. Instead of running for one yard, the Seahawks ran a pass play, where Russell Wilson dropped back to the eight yard line to throw to his target. Rookie Malcolm Butler jumped the route and intercepted the pass. Butler effectively sealed the Patriots victory in the last possible moments of Super Bowl XLIX.

There is no need for a statement about that play, because Deion Sanders already summed it up perfectly when he stated in the post-game broadcast that the pass play by the Seahawks was “the worst play call in the history of the Super Bowl.”

Instead, there is reason to argue that the Super Bowl MVP should not have gone to Tom Brady, but should have gone to Malcolm Butler. The Super Bowl MVP should go to the player who is the most memorable and impactful out of all the athletes on the field. Tom Brady was solid, with a quarterback rating of 101, but when thinking back to this Super Bowl, people aren’t going to be talking about the passes that Brady made. Instead, football fans will reminisce over Butler’s goal line interception because it shocked a stadium and a nation of football fans who were convinced they were witnessing the Seattle Seahawks win another Super Bowl title.

With 25 seconds left on the clock, no one — not even Tom Brady who was quietly sitting on the sidelines– could have predicted that Butler, an undrafted rookie free agent, would have made a game-changing interception when it mattered the most. Fans are going to remember Malcolm Butler and his critical interception as the highlight of the Super Bowl, and that is why he is deserving to be the true MVP of Super Bowl XLIX.