Mike Freeman's 10-Point Stance: The Super Bowl Everyone Will Love Hating

1. The Haterade Super Bowl

People will watch because they hate. They hate the New England Patriots because they think they are cheaters. They hate the Seattle Seahawks because they think they're brash and cocky. 

Normally, we stay away from things we hate. I avoid Brussels sprouts and kicks to the groin. Hate those. But this Super Bowl is different. This will be the first Super Bowl where the majority of fans watching will despise both teams, but the ratings will be through the roof. This could be the highest-rated Super Bowl we've ever seen.

Why? Think wrestling. In this case, hate is a fuel, and when two bad guys step into a ring, everyone takes sides and hopes the bad guy they hate the most gets thrown out of the ring.

If you rate hate on a scale of 1 to 10—with one being lima beans and 10 being strapped to a table next to a loudspeaker blaring Chris Berman yelling nicknames on a loop—there are many 10s in this game.

Bill Belichick: I love him—think he's the best coach in NFL history—but to many he's head of the Death Star, ordering the destruction of a small moon. Hate factor: 10++++++++++++

Pete Carroll: He's a cool dude, to me. But he had his title stripped at USC, and the Seahawks have had their Adderall issues. Hate factor is fairly strong: 10.

Tom Brady: His combination of hair and winning engenders a strong duo of hate and jealousy, increasing his hate factor to Belichick level. Hate factor: 10+++++++++++

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

Marshawn Lynch: Lynch is the only player with a negative hate factor. The media hates him, which resonates with the public, and he scores negative hate factor points by grabbing his crotch. Hate factor: -1

Richard Sherman: He's an extremely intelligent person who seems cocky and brash. Never bothered me, but some in America hate him with a passion. Hate factor is somewhere just short of Belichick and Brady. Hate factor: 10++++++

I could go on. The hate will explode. Except fans won't get tired of it and will tune in closely.

So they can boo. So they can hate.

2. Seahawk belief

I'm not picking against the Seahawks (maybe ever again) because of one word: belief.

I've rarely seen anything like it in sports. They are able to create perceived disrespect out of thin air. Reject facts about divides in the locker room. This makes them both hard to root for and hard to root against. The belief in themselves, and how that energizes them, is a cornball concept, but it's also true.

I can't remember another NFL team like this—another one that had the mentality of a college team. The Seahawks are like Pete Carroll's USC team (minus the vacated title). Loose, us-against-the-world, no one believes in us. It works wonderfully…for them.

3. Russell Wilson's big payday

It's coming. And one thing I do not want to hear is that Wilson should take a hometown discount because he's such a nice guy.

The Seahawks have gotten Wilson cheap since he came into the NFL. If he wants a big payday, then he should get a big payday. He's earned it.

I get the argument that the more money he takes, the less the team can give to players around him. So then, here is what the Seahawks can do: They can give Wilson less but guarantee his contract.

It's time for Wilson to get his money, not give discounts.

4. Deflategate

This was a sensible take on the issue from Jim Daopoulos, someone who would know. Look for a conclusion to the NFL's investigation by the end of the week.

Editor's note: Since this article was published, ESPN's Chris Mortensen has reported that the NFL has found 11 of the footballs used in the Patriots' AFC title game victory to have been under-inflated. Make sure to follow Bleacher Report's news coverage for the latest updates in this odd turn of events.

5. Brave move by Fritz Pollard Alliance

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

The civil rights group, a close ally of the NFL, is now officially opposed to the Washington team nickname, according to The Washington Post. It was a bold move and the right move. The pressure on Dan Snyder to change the name increases now exponentially.

6. Good luck

Mark Eckel of NJ.com reports that the Eagles are going to try to trade up to draft Marcus Mariota.

Great fodder. Cool idea. But it will never happen. It's science fiction.

7. Agent arrested

If the charges reported by The Smoking Gun against agent Vincent Porter and financial adviser Joseph Vaccaro are accurate, it will open up all kinds of rabbit holes. None of those rabbit holes will go anywhere good. Agents and advisers stealing from clients remains one of the union and NFL's great nightmares.

8. Frightening stuff from former Bear

Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images

Former Chicago quarterback Jim McMahon, on former teammates like Dave Duerson, who committed suicide, and on his own suicidal thoughts, to HBO Sports:

"

When I first heard about these guys killing themselves, I couldn't figure out how they could do that. But I was having those thoughts myself. Feelings of inadequacy. And just like you're a dumbass. Once the pain starts getting that bad, you figure you'll take the only way out. If I would've had a gun, I probably wouldn't be here.

"

Tuesday's Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel looked at that iconic 1985 Bears team—a team that had, to me, the best defense of all time. HBO says 23 players, nearly half of that team, have sued the NFL saying football destroyed their bodies or minds.

9. Diversity on the Broncos' coaching staff

Eric Gay/Associated Press

There isn't much, and this column from The Denver Post's Ben Hochman wonderfully examines the issue. In some ways, it exemplifies the challenge the entire NFL faces. It does at times become an old-boy club. Pals hire pals, and good candidates of color are ignored. The problem has gotten far better over the years, but it remains an issue.

10. My Super Bowl pick

Seattle 24, Patriots 21*

* Pick subject to change daily, but I'll never pick against the Seahawks again. I'm done doubting them.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.