Devin Fowler
Staff Reporter
“Winning is not everything, it is the only thing.” -Vince Lombardi
January has officially come to a close and February has begun, but make no mistake, behind the smell of love in the air there is only one thing that matters: football.
For the first time in eight years, the Super Bowl returns to Glendale after previously hosting Super Bowl XLIX/49 in 2015 and Super Bowl XLII/42 in 2008. The first Super Bowl hosted in Arizona was Super Bowl 30 in 1996 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, the Dallas Cowboys won that year 27-17 over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The two previous Super Bowls hosted in Arizona have been played by the New England Patriots, with the New York Giants narrowly winning in 2008 and the Patriots winning over the reigning champions- the Seattle Seahawks in 2015. In 2023, the big game will be played between the AFC Champions Kansas City Chiefs and the NFC Champions Philadelphia Eagles. The Kansas City Chiefs have been led through a great season of 14-3 by their star quarterback Patrick Mahomes and other players such as Travis Kelce, Juju Smith-Schuster and Chris Jones. They previously competed against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV and won 31-20, ending a fifty year drought.
The Chiefs returned to combat the revitalized Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV/55 in which they were crushed 9-31. Now in Super Bowl LVII/57, the Chiefs aim to retake what they believe is rightfully theirs. On the other side; the Philadelphia Eagles return after a five-year slump also with a 14-3 season, chartered masterfully under the guidance of their new coach Nick Sirianni and their star players Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith and Haason Reddick among others. This will also be the first time the Kelce brothers Travis and Jason will compete in the Super Bowl against each other, a brother against brother matchup makes this particular Super Bowl all the more juicy. The Eagles previously competed in Super Bowl LII against the Patriots without their star quarterback Carson Wentz. Surprisingly, they pulled off a miracle 41-33 win and secured their first Super Bowl title in franchise history.
Philadelphia is eager to pull off an Avengers-style comeback and win their second title, proving that they are not a one-win miracle case. Kickoff time as usual is at 4:30 PM with coverage by all major networks. The National Anthem will be sung by country star Chris Stapleton and the halftime show will be performed by super popstar Rihanna, returning from a seven-year hiatus and using the game to promote her newest album R9 which will release sometime this year.
Image Credit: Ticketmater.com
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