I agree that the super bowl is bitter sweet. I tend to be a bigger fan of college football and the NCAA championship game is very similar to the super bowl. Two teams 99.9% of people hate playing itnout for the glory. The Super Bowl is the same thing. I hate the pats because of how good they have been so I am heavily rooting for the eagles this year. I hope they get embarrassed and Brady retires. That would be the only ending I would enjoy. Watching Manning walk away a champion was hard. I agree with you there. At some point Brady will walk away. He says he wants to keep playing but honestly why? If he wins today, I would walk away if I was him.
I do prefer college football over NFL most years. But for me its way less often that I hate both teams in the championship. Its common that there is one I really dislike, but for some reason I have a better attitude about it in that I am able to enjoy it more as simply a fan of the game. Also liking Bama all right helps a lot (although I can understand why people dont like them).
Im not sure what I would do if I were Brady. I remember when I was young and I played tennis competitively. I loved it so much I never wanted it to end. But tennis isnt football, and Im 40 now and cant imagine how it would feel to be playing at that kind of level. I guess if he is still really enjoying it I would advise him to keep playing as long as he can do so at such a high level. But personally I hope he quits just so I dont have to deal with him anymore.