Super Bowl LIX [59] took place in New Orleans, Louisiana on Feb. 9. It was here the defending champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, took on the Philadelphia Eagles. This matchup already had plenty of hype heading into the week leading up to the big game. Throughout the season, the Chiefs had faced backlash for being favored by several referees. Many believed the Chiefs always ended up victorious strictly due to a plethora of questionable and impactful officiating decisions. Additionally, the Eagles were fueled by the fire that was a loss in Super Bowl LVII [57] just two years prior to none other than Kansas City. Desperate for the rematch to go their way, the Eagles were ready to compete.
As it came time to play, both teams were prepared to take the field. The game started off fairly slow until a one-yard rush by quarterback Jalen Hurts broke the stalemate about halfway through the first quarter. The second quarter, however, was anything but a stalemate. The Eagles blew open the scoring during the second quarter scoring 17 unanswered points. Points were added through a field goal, Cooper Dejean pick-six, and reception for A.J. Brown. Heading into halftime, hope seemed to be at an all-time low for Chiefs fans. The only sliver of light at the end of the tunnel was the famous New England Patriots comeback during Super Bowl LI [51]. Even when things couldn’t find a way to get worse for Chiefs nation, the Eagles continued to pile on the scoring during the third quarter. Jake Elliot added yet another field goal, and Hurts found Devonta Smith in the endzone for another touchdown through the air. It went on until there were 34 seconds left in the third quarter for the Chiefs to enter the scorecard. Patrick Mahomes finally found Xavier Worthy in the endzone for a 24-yard pass touchdown. The Eagles quickly answered back in the fourth quarter with two field goals of their own, boosting the score to 40-6. Late in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs seemed to wake up with touchdown passes on two simultaneous possessions. However, as the final buzzer sounded, it was too little far too late. The Eagles were Super Bowl champions for the second time in team history.
Philadelphia fans were elated to be champions once more and even more excited that their victory came against Kansas City. Not every fan was as happy; however, many football fans claimed that the game was boring and that they were uninterested for the majority of the game.
“I’m just happy the Chiefs lost,” Logan Ashbaugh (11) said. “Some people may say that it stinks it wasn’t a close game, but I honestly kind of enjoyed watching the Chiefs get destroyed.”
A quintessential portion of the Super Bowl is the halftime show. This year’s show received mixed reviews. Many fans seemed to take one of two extremes. Either they saw it as the greatest show in history or the worst.
“I feel like they could have picked a much more talented performer,” Micheal Bugay (11) said. “Most football fans don’t enjoy [Kendrick Lamar’s] music and have no idea what any of those songs were.”
Some news sources and fans alike even claimed that much of the cheering heard during the broadcast of the show was fake and it wasn’t that evident in person. The show as a whole didn’t quite suffice for many fans, but many viewers enjoyed at least one artist featured.
“The halftime show was atrocious overall,” Anthony Tusick (9) said. “The only good part about it was SZA.”
SZA, a popular R&B singer and songwriter, was featured during Lamar’s performance of the two’s collaborative songs “Luther” and “All the Stars.”
“I think the show got too much criticism,” Jalen Mohrbacher (11) said. “Kendrick and SZA really did their thing! My only complaint was with the song selection and the minimal amount of SZA; I feel like they could have incorporated her more and maybe even have played more well-known songs.”
Regardless of the teams involved, the halftime show performer, or the caliber of advertisements, there will consistently be a substantial audience for the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl has established itself as a fixture in the realm of sports and appears poised to maintain this status for many decades to come.