Mere minutes after a James Bradberry holding call gave them a crucial first down, the Kansas City Chiefs kicked a field goal that would serve as the game-winner in their 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII in Phoenix. Confetti streamed down, tears were shed, and Patrick Mahomes was awarded his second Super Bowl MVP.
That was two years ago. And those two teams will now face off on the biggest stage in American sports once again, this time in New Orleans, this Sunday, Feb. 9, at 6:30 p.m. EST. The Chiefs look to become the first team in National Football League history to win three straight Super Bowls, while the Eagles seek to avenge their loss and cement themselves as Philadelphia legends.
Both teams come into this rematch in a different place than when they last met up in the big game. The Chiefs have gone from the outer cusps of a dynasty to being one game away from the greatest three-year run in the history of the NFL, and the Eagles have retooled after a 2023 collapse, including the addition of an MVP finalist in running back Saquon Barkley.
Despite the physical and perceptual differences of the teams compared to 2022, one thing remains clear: These are the best squads in the league. The two teams lost a combined five games throughout the entire regular season and fought through a loaded playoff field to reach the championship game.
“It should be a great matchup,” said NFL expert Kyle Brandt on Good Morning Football. “These are the teams that deserve to be here and I believe they’re going to put on a show on both sides of the ball.”
Most analysts and diehard fans seem to agree with Brandt that the game will be another close and competitive battle. The Chiefs currently sit as 1.5-point favorites in the Vegas odds, and while nobody wants to count out Philadelphia, it’s become pretty hard to bet against Patrick Mahomes in a big moment.
“[The Eagles] can win this game, but they’re going to have to run away with it,” said sophomore sports communication major Ally Evans, who’s following the big game from Emerson’s satellite campus in the Netherlands. “If Mahomes ends up with the ball in the last minutes, it’ll be hard for Philly to win. He’s just clutch.”
Regardless of how the game plays out, feelings towards this particular pairing for the Bowl have been overwhelmingly negative. Although the last Super Bowl matchup between the two was widely viewed as a great game, the new iteration is being panned as a boring rematch between what some characterize as two unlikable teams.
“I’m not excited for this game at all,” said sophomore film major Logan Genender. “It’s sad, because I think everyone feels a sense of defeat knowing they’re watching a game where they can’t root for anyone.”
Evans thinks the reason for the disdain is multifaceted: The Eagles have a particularly unlikable fanbase (previously voted the most annoying in the league), in addition to a controversial head coach in Nick Sirianni, and play in the “tush push.” Add to this the fact that the Chiefs are winning at a historic rate, and often have big officiating decisions rule in their favor, and it leaves many fans feeling isolated in regards to the game.
“Out of all 32 teams, this is the worst possible matchup,” Evans said.
While many fans may not be happy with the participants in the game, it’s still the most watched annual sporting event in the world with upwards of 100 million people tuning in every year. And it still means the world to the two fanbases with teams playing.
Nora Gibbons, a junior visual media arts major from Missouri, has used the Chiefs’ dynastic run as a way of coping with homesickness since she’s been at college.
“Having the Super Bowl [last year] and being able to understand that my home team was doing so well, it made me feel so connected to them from so far away,” she said. “My family would have the games on when I was a kid, so now the ambience and noise of the game is really nostalgic.”
People who aren’t fans of either team and are disappointed in the matchup may still look forward to the event and festivities of Super Bowl Sunday.
“My friend had a tradition with her family that they would always celebrate the day together, so I’m going to do that with her here at school,” said Gibbons.
Even in Europe, where the game won’t start until after midnight, Evans is prepared to watch two teams she doesn’t like do battle.
“I do it for the love of the game,” she said. “I don’t know what other people [at the campus] are doing but whether it’s StreamEast or a free trial through a website, I’m going to watch the game.”
So whether you’re a Chiefs or Eagles fan watching through white knuckles and gritted teeth, a friend scrolling through social media as you check in on the commercials and halftime show, or a hate watcher hoping aliens invade and no winner is ever declared, the sports world is ready for what could be another classic in the Bayou.
