Late in the third quarter of Super Bowl LIX the Kansas City Chiefs’ dreams of a three-peat were fading fast inside the Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday night. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts had just dropped a perfect strike to wide receiver DeVonta Smith for a 46-yard touchdown pass and a 34-0 lead.
While the Chiefs eventually put some points on the board, the Eagles ended up winning 40-22, their second Super Bowl championship since 2017. It was the first lopsided Super Bowl since the Chiefs lost 31-9 to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021. Brady, the color commentator for the Fox broadcast this Super Bowl, disagreed with two calls in the first quarter, but stayed silent on them after that. Maybe the Fox producer gave Brady his version of the “tuck rule.”
KC QB Patrick Mahomes was the MVP of the previous two Super Bowls, and he was shooting for his fourth Super Bowl victory under head coach Andy Reid. But Philly’s defense harassed Mahomes – without blitzing – all night, sacking him five times before the game had been decided. Mahomes threw two interceptions, and for the first time in a long time was unable to conjure his magic.
When the Super Bowl becomes one-sided, the network is saved by the other excitement of the day – the parties and the food served at them; the commercials that cost a record $8 million per 30-second spot this year; and the halftime show, this year brought to you by Kendrick Lamar.
Before the big game, I asked a couple of county coaches what their plans were.
Nick Baer, coach of the Seckman High football team, which has a record of 20-2 the last two seasons, said he was looking forward to the big game.
“We normally watch the Super Bowl at home with immediate family, cook a big spread, eat in the first half, do the dishes at halftime and get ready to go for the last half of the game,” Baer said. “When the game is over, it’s off to bed to get ready for work on Monday. Now if we could ever get the Monday after the Super Bowl off, things might get a little bit more rowdy.”
Baer said since he doesn’t have a rooting interest in the game, he loves watching it with his sons and wife.
“If the Cowboys ever make it back to the big game, we will be on the edge of our seats!”
When it comes to eats, the Baers go for the typical chicken wings, pizza and dip.
St. Pius X football coach Frank Ray said he’s been a Chiefs fan since he was 11 or 12, adding that he’s not much fun to watch the Chiefs with because he doesn’t like to “engage in conversation” during the game. Not surprisingly, it was just the Rays and their sons who watched the game at their home. Ray said they would order chicken wings from Syberg’s like they do for every big game.
“I honestly thought seven years ago that I would never get to see the Chiefs play in a Super Bowl, let alone win one,” Ray said. “Man, have the times changed!”
My wife, Montra, and I are at the stage where we keep it pretty simple these days. She recently got the news that she is cancer-free, so that has removed any clutter from what’s important in our lives together.
Since I was tasked with writing about the Super Bowl for the editorial page, I started taking notes about a half hour before kickoff. Every year I watch it I think about how the game and day has changed. The first one I remember watching was Super Bowl IX between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings. It was at my grandpa Korando’s in St. Charles. I remember he asked me who I thought was going to win. I pointed at my sweatshirt, which was purple. I was wrong, the Steelers won that day.
Since then the only two Super Bowls I didn’t watch were when I was in the Army. The sport has always been an obsession since my parents threw me in little league when I was 9.
Here are my sights and sounds from the game I watched.
About 45 minutes before kickoff, Brad Pitt saluted “the huddle” as a “metaphor for our history.” At 5:17, the Chiefs were introduced by the STL’s own Jon Hamm, followed by an Eagles intro by Bradley Cooper. It was obvious from the beginning the GenX stars are heavy hitters this year.
There was a moment of silence for Chicago Bears owner Virginia Halas McCaskey, who died Feb. 6 at 102. Ms. McCaskey’s father was George “Papa Bear” Halas, one of the original architects of the NFL. Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle sang “America The Beautiful,” and at 5:28 p.m., seven-time Grammy award winner and NOLA’s own Jon Batiste belted out the national anthem. That was followed by a flyover courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps.
For the most part, I thought the commercials were a nice blend of humor and thought-provoking realism. Some of the ones Montra and I liked the most were the Affleck brothers, Ben and Casey, for Dunkin; the Pfizer ad to knock out cancer; Willem Defoe and Catherine O’Hara playing pickleball against pro athletes to promote Michelob Ultra; Man fights aliens to keep bag of Doritos; Coors Light Mondays sloth; and Hellmann’s mayonnaise recreated the famous “When Harry Met Sally” scene with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal.
A staple of Super Bowls for decades, the Budweiser Clydesdales made an understated appearance late in the first half, but still got on the air before our first sighting of pop superstar Taylor Swift, girlfriend of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
By the time Lamar took the stage for the halftime show, the Eagles held a commanding 24-0 lead. Dressed as Uncle Sam, Samuel L. Jackson had a cameo between Lamar songs, and SZA joined Lamar on stage.
The last thing that caught my eye before I started writing this column was an NFL promo to make girls flag football a varsity sport in every state. It’s already in Illinois. Without having asked MSHSAA, my guess is it’s not long for Missouri too.