The NFL Finals, which happen once a year, are coming up in just over a week. This year’s matchup is between the defending champions, Kansas City, and the regular season champions, San Francisco. Our special has fun facts, crazy numbers, key players, and musical stars.
For American football fans, the Super Bowl is the most-anticipated night of the year. It comes after a long season and the very exciting playoffs. At this point, the event has become much more than just sports. Even though Americans argue about everything every day, no one has yet been able to ruin the most-anticipated event: the three-and-a-half-hour game between the AFC and NFL champions for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. We’ll look at the players who will be on the field on Sunday night, February 11, as well as some facts about the event that makes it the most watched sports event of the year in the world.
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The Victory of Too Much
Many people, even those who don’t like sports very much, would go out of their way to attend this event. Why is that? Along with business leaders, politicians, movie stars, and everyone else, celebrities waste their time. Some people say, with a hint of dishonesty, that for many fans, the Super Bowl is more of a chance to be seen than a sign of love for the most American sport there is. It is a good reason to be suspicious, especially since the 65,000 tickets will cost a lot of money.
Tickets for this year’s Super Bowl will cost an average of $12,082, which is 25% more than last year’s game between the Chiefs and the Eagles in Phoenix, where tickets “sufficed” for $8,907. Prices have gone up a lot in the last few years. If you wanted to see Tom Brady’s Patriots play the Rams in Atlanta six years ago, the average price was less than half that, at $5,329.
Many of the VIPs who will be at the stadium, on the other hand, have spent a lot more. Some hospitality packages have been sold for as much as $90,000. There are way too many hot dogs and snacks at the Super Bowl, and the prices of beer are through the roof. Even the things that matter most to the 100 players on the field for the game are way too much. The prizes they can win are much more valuable and interesting than being able to say “world champion.”
Postseason bonuses depend on the specifics of the contract, but winners usually get at least $250,000, while losers get about $185,000. For those who think ahead, things get even more interesting: Chris Jones, a defensive tackle for the Chiefs, is said to be getting around $1 million.
Trophies and rings that are too much
Anyone who has worn the helmet and shoulder pads at least once wants to lift the trophy named after the famous Green Bay Packers coach who was Italian-American. The World Cup that Fifa gives to World Cup winners is a one-of-a-kind piece that was made by an Italian goldsmith in 1974. The Lombardi Trophy, on the other hand, is made every year by the famous jewelry store Tiffany. This one isn’t made of 24-karat gold; it’s just silver, and it’s not a single block.
The trophy really does weigh seven pounds, which is a little more than three kilograms. That’s why Tom Brady was able to throw it from boat to boat during his last Super Bowl party in Tampa Bay.
The trophy’s price, on the other hand, is not small, since Tiffany’s is a very pricey store—the bill it gives the NFL is about $50,000. If the trophy stays in the trophy cases of the different teams, each player and coach on that team gets a huge ring as a gift to remember their victory. The players are very proud of it, even though it’s not the most stylish because of its size and the 150 small diamonds that are set into it.
While the price changes with each season, the NFL is thought to spend at least $5 million on the whole set of rings. The cost of each ring is about $33,000, except in rare cases, since only about 150 are made. The biggest ring ever made was for William Perry. It was a size 25, which is more than twice the biggest size you can find in jewelry stores. It was called “The Refrigerator” because of how big it was. The Chicago Bears thought it would be the start of a dynasty, but since 1986, they have only lost games.
The deadly “Black Death” in Las Vegas
The NFL had planned to hold the 58th meeting between the two conferences in New Orleans, but because the season had to be pushed back, it would have happened during Mardi Gras, so it had to move to Las Vegas instead. Some people think that many of the people who are paying crazy amounts of money to go to the event are more interested in what Sin City has to offer at night. The Raiders’ stadium is one of the world’s newest and most impressive.
When it was finished in 2020, Allegiant Stadium was the main reason why the California owner of the team left Oakland and moved to the Nevada desert. Mark Davis, the famous Al Davis’s son, did everything he could to make this huge project happen that brought one of the NFL’s most famous teams to Nevada. It was a huge risk to build an indoor stadium so close to the famous Strip, which is where all the world-famous casinos are. According to Sports Illustrated, the whole project cost about $1.9 billion, with the city of Las Vegas paying for a lot of it.
People in the area have been angry about the inevitable rise in local taxes, but the stadium, which is also used for concerts and other sports games, brings in about $620 million for the area’s other businesses and creates 6,000 jobs. The playing field can be pulled back so the grass can grow, as seen in the 2002 Japan-Korea World Cup in Sapporo. It takes 72 motors to move it because it weighs as much as the Eiffel Tower.
The stadium has more than 28,000 tons of steel (more than the Statue of Liberty), 425 trees, more than 80,000 cubic meters of concrete, 2,300 TVs, and nearly 7,000 square meters of screens so that even people who are far away from the field can still watch the game.
The most interesting thing about this beautiful piece of architecture is the name Mark Davis gave it: “Welcome to Death Star, the stadium where our opponents’ dreams come to die.” When the Review-Journal, Las Vegas’s most important newspaper, talked to Raiders coach Jon Gruden at the time, he made a joke about the comparison to the Death Star from Star Wars: “That sounds like a cool name for our stadium to me.” Who cares who is being ironic? It’s a nice place to play, so we’ll just have to do well there.”
When you think about how Gruden was fired right away because of a scandal and how badly the Raiders have done since then, maybe this nickname holds a grudge..
Champions want to do
Who will play for the American football’s most important trophy? For the ninth time in NFL history, two teams that played each other in the league’s 100th season will be going up against each other—this time in Super Bowl LIV. The representative from the American Football Conference is always in the top levels of football. In fact, the Kansas City Chiefs will play for the title for the fourth time in five years.
With many ups and downs during the regular season, the Midwestern team has been able to find its form at the right time. It has also beaten rivals that are much higher ranked. The Chiefs beat two historic rivals in a row: Josh Allen’s Buffalo Bills and Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens. This comes after a season that was almost perfect.
Many people were upset that Andy Reid’s offense wasn’t very good, but his team still beat everyone, despite some questionable roster choices and a lack of well-known receivers. After a lot of trouble, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was able to fine-tune the defense, which dominated the Ravens in the AFC Championship. On offense, tight end Travis Kelce came back strong after not playing much all year.
People who said the Chiefs were a one-trick pony because they always relied on Patrick Mahomes’s throws were wrong. Isiah Pacheco, a young running back picked in the seventh round of the 2022 draft, made the difference many times. It’s always hard to repeat in the NFL, but Mahomes and his team play pretty much at home. The Chiefs have won all four of their meetings with the Raiders in Las Vegas in the AFC West. To understand why many Americans will be rooting against them, think about what would happen if they won their third title in five years. It would be the start of a new dynasty.
NFL San Francisco vs. everyone
At the start of the season, the San Francisco 49ers’ roster made it easy to bet that they would make it to the Super Bowl. Kyle Shanahan, who comes from one of football’s most famous families, put together a team that seemed to have no weaknesses and was built in a way that shredded the competition mercilessly. That’s pretty much how things went for most of the time leading up to the finals, even though the offense was led by a young quarterback who almost pulled off a miracle in the playoffs last year.
After Trey Lance’s recovery from a serious injury in September 2022 took longer than expected, the Niners got rid of all of their quarterbacks, sending Jimmy Garoppolo to Las Vegas and Lance to Dallas. They then brought in a class of 1999 player from Iowa State, which is not a college football powerhouse. There were a lot of ironies about Brock Purdy, but in the end, the young quarterback was the joke, being sent to the Super Bowl.
The 49ers have had some bad luck this season, including losing five games in a row, but Shanahan has been able to beat the rest of the NFL with the talent he has at his disposal. Without much trouble, San Francisco beat their rivals Green Bay, but they had a terrible first half against the surprise of the year, the Detroit Lions. Purdy held his own, though, and led the offense to a comeback win in the end. The great Christian McCaffrey is the best running back in the league, and George Kittle is one of the most reliable tight ends. Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are one of the best wide receiver pairs.
Nick Bosa leads the pass defense, and Warner and Greenlaw are two of the best linebackers. Kansas City’s offense is taking a big risk by running the ball. The bookmakers say the Niners are the favorites, but the game is likely to be close. This is because many of their key players are hurt. Some people think the game will be a shootout with a lot of points, but things could go differently. It will be hard to beat the 75 points scored by the 49ers and Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX, which San Francisco won 49–26.
Who will take over for Tom Brady?
Traditionalists hate how modern football increasingly favors the offense, making life impossible for the defense. This is why having a great quarterback is so important. Even though the Chiefs have many successful champions on the field, it wasn’t until Patrick Mahomes arrived that they finally won a title after more than 50 years. In 2017, Mahomes learned from current quarterback Alex Smith. Since then, he has had such a huge effect on the AFC that comparisons to former conference leader Thomas Edward Brady Jr. have been difficult.
From 2018 to the present, Mahomes has been almost perfect. He has found ways to get out of ridiculous situations, come up with amazing passes, and made his opponents follow his rules, even though their strategies are anything but improvised. The only quarterback in Chiefs history to win the MVP award is already second to the legendary Len Dawson in career yards, touchdowns, and wins. Of the 23 playoff wins the Chiefs have had since the 1960s, 14 are due to Dawson.
There is a lot of uncertainty about Mahomes in the playoffs. Brady has beaten the young heir several times, and Mahomes’s stats from his six seasons as a pro may have already secured his place in the Hall of Fame. It’s the NFL’s record for most yards per game, and he could be in the top ten all-time in terms of touchdowns scored in four years. If he wins the Super Bowl as well, he will be one win away from Joe Montana’s record 16 playoff wins. Brady has 35 wins, which is crazy, but he hadn’t done so well at his age.
Mahomes is not as flashy as some athletes. He married Brittany Matthews, a former professional soccer player, the girl he liked in high school and had two kids with her. Mahomes has invested in the Kansas City baseball and soccer teams as well as the Alpine F1 team. He also spends time with his friends and family. Patrick is liked by almost everyone in America, except football fans from other teams. His dad used to play baseball. Some people say he’s gained a few pounds, but that would be silly because he can do anything on the field.
Who’s going to stop “Mr. Irrelevant”?
Getting to the Super Bowl at age 25 is no easy feat, especially when people have always thought less of you. Some people thought Brock Purdy’s fairy tale was over when the 49ers were down 24–7 to Detroit at the end of the first half of the NFL Championship game. Not good enough to lead a battleship like the Niners because he is too young, not athletic enough, and his arm isn’t strong enough. Last but not least, he raised the NFL trophy high into the air. Not bad for someone who seemed to have only come to Santa Clara last year to warm up.
Brock was born in a suburb of Phoenix. He did well in high school, but not well enough to impress scouts at big universities. It paid off in the end for the 50th quarterback in the 2018 class who chose to go to Iowa State instead of Alabama to try to get in. There is no way the Cyclones will ever be a superpower, but every year they get better.
So many NFL teams didn’t want to know that they were going to pick him that he fell down the rankings. He was called “Mr. Irrelevant” when he was picked 262nd in the 2022 draft. Since 1976, the NFL has had a ceremony and celebrations that are meant to be funny for the last pick in the draft.
Some new picks, like Ryan Succop, have had good careers, but it is very much like climbing a mountain. As the third quarterback, Purdy didn’t think he would have to start, but when both Lance and Garoppolo got hurt, he did. That was before he hurt his ACL and couldn’t play in last year’s NFL Championship. Since then, he has only won.
Even though some people still don’t think much of him, he’s had a great season with 4,280 yards passing, 31 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions for a passer rating of 113. When it comes time for the Super Bowl, Purdy has earned the trust of a team that has a history of great quarterbacks, from Young to the great Joe Montana.
Before him, no one had ever won their first six games as a starter while scoring at least two touchdowns per game. Not even Brock’s childhood hero, Dolphins star Dan Marino. In other news, Purdy is about to marry Jenna Brandt, the college volleyball player he dated in college. Some football experts still don’t like him because they think he’s just lucky, but he was very calm and accurate during the comeback against the Lions. It would be rude to call someone “mister irrelevant” again if you beat the NFL leader.
There was a halftime show with Taylor Swift
It would be impossible to talk about the Super Bowl without bringing up the current trending phrase: “Taylor Swift has joined the football world.” Some people are annoyed by it, from fans of the oval office who see the pop singer as smoke in their eyes to people who are planning bad things to happen to President Biden, who is having a very bad popularity crisis. We’ll talk about the crazy media circus again later.
It’s been going on for a while now and will get even worse during Super Bowl Week. For now, it’s enough to know that Taylor might not even make it to the final, since her concert in Tokyo the next day is clearly going to be sold out. Some people on social media have done the math and swear that the singer would be able to make it on time with her private jet, but this is not a sure thing.
There are only two things that are certain: the national anthem and the halftime show where the stars were. Chris Stapleton’s performance in 2023 is thought to be one of the best ever, so the NFL has turned to Reba McEntire, a country star who has also been an actress on TV for a long time. Many people didn’t like Rihanna’s halftime show. They hope that R&B star Usher will do better because he has more experience.
“It’s definitely a huge privilege to get to sing at the Super Bowl, something I’ve been dreaming of my whole life,” the 45-year-old singer is said to have said. I can’t wait to put on a great show for everyone that is very different from what I usually do. It’s not a coincidence at all that her new album “Coming Home” comes out a few days early. We don’t know who Usher will invite to the stage as a guest, but in the trailer that came out in January, LeBron James and the Korean BTS singer Jung Kook were seen. There will definitely be a lot of surprises.
