Matt Ryan laments Super Bowl loss in new high-profile Gatorade ad

Matt Ryan recently said that he wants to move on from talking about the Atlanta Falcons blowing a historic lead to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI.

The reigning NFL MVP also said that he watched a replay of the game for three days straight.

So which is it? Is Ryan putting the disappointment of coughing up a 28-3 lead behind him?

Or is he using it as motivation in an attempt to become the first Super Bowl loser to return to the next year’s Super Bowl and win it since the Miami Dolphins did it in Super Bowl VII?

A new Gatorade ad that debuted on Tuesday suggests it’s the latter.

After watching Michael Jordan talk about getting cut from his high school team and Serena Williams lament losing to a relative unknown in the U.S. Open, a dejected Ryan appears in a recreation of the Super Bowl celebration before the clip switches to shots of Ryan working hard in practice.

The overarching message? “Make defeat your fuel”

It isn’t every day (if ever?) that you see a Super Bowl loss featured so prominently in an advertisement. But if you’re Gatorade’s ad agency and you’re thinking about famous setbacks and you see you have Matt Ryan at your disposal, well … that’s a hookup as routine as Ryan finding Julio Jones near the sidelines for a game-sealing first down. (What, too soon?)

What’s more interesting is that Ryan would lay himself bare so soon after that defeat (yes, even if it’s adding to his bottom line). While he may not want to field any more questions about the loss from reporters, it’s clear he doesn’t have a problem with admitting that it’s a thorn in his side.

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