I review the storied history of the game and then make my call on SB LVII.
WHAT: Super Bowl 57, for the 2022 championship of the National Football League
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. (ET), Sunday, February 12
WHERE: State Farm Stadium; Glendale, Arizona (72,200 expanded)
AFC champions (visitors): Kansas City Chiefs, 16-3, AFC West Division champions, No. 1 AFC playoff seed
NFC champions (home): Philadelphia Eagles, 16-3, NFC East Division champions, No. 1 NFC playoff seed
TV: FOX with Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen, booth; and Tom Rinaldi, Erin Andrews, sidelines
RADIO: Westwood One with Kevin Harlan, Kurt Warner, booth; and Laura Okmin, Mike Golic, sidelines
REFEREE: Carl Cheffers (third Super Bowl)
ABOUT THE SUPER BOWL
–This year’s game will take place at the home of the Arizona Cardinals, State Farm Stadium in Glendale (near Phoenix). It will be the third Super Bowl to be held there and the fourth in the Phoenix area, following Super Bowls 30 (at Arizona State), 42 (New York Giants-New England), and 49 (Seattle-New England). Also, three different stadiums in Los Angeles have hosted the game, as well as two other stadiums in the Miami metropolitan area (Orange Bowl, Hard Rock) with a total of 11 Super Bowls, one more than New Orleans’ ten, also over two different facilities (Tulane Stadium, Caesars Superdome).
–There have been 26 different stadiums to host a Super Bowl, 19 of them taking place indoors. Those numbers will change when the game comes to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas next year. Among individual stadiums, the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans has hosted the most Super Bowls (seven), and it is already booked to host Super Bowl 59 in February of 2025. Two different stadiums have also hosted Super Bowls in Houston (Rice Stadium, NRG Stadium) and the Phoenix area (Sun Devil Stadium, State Farm Stadium).
–There have also been six Super Bowls held at college-campus stadiums–three at Tulane (4, 6, 9) and one each at Arizona State (30), Rice (8), and Stanford (19). The warmest Super Bowl was 7 (Miami-Washington) at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (84 degrees at kickoff) – last year’s game in Los Angeles came close, with an 82-degree reading – and the coldest was 6 (Dallas-Miami) in New Orleans, an outdoor game at Tulane University Stadium, played in 39-degree chill.
–This year’s Super Bowl will be the 21st to be played in February and the 20th consecutive game to be pushed into the calendar year’s second month. The first February Super Bowl was 36 (Rams-Patriots), which was moved back by necessity, as that season’s Week Two slate of games was postponed due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks (and made up in early January). Due to fewer playoff rounds and fewer teams in the league then, the earliest Super Bowl by date was 11 (Raiders-Vikings), which was played on January 9, 1977. The latest game took place on February 13, just last year.
–The Super Bowl was dead even until the last two years when Tampa Bay and the Los Angeles Rams both won to give the NFC a 29-27 lifetime edge over their AFC counterparts. However, the AFC representatives have won 15 of the last 24 games. The NFC representatives include those that were, before 1970, the pre-merger NFL champions. The AFC representatives include those teams that were, before 1970, the pre-merger AFL title-holders. It has been relatively even lately, with the two conferences almost splitting the last 15 games (NFC, 8-7).
-Only five Super Bowls have featured comebacks of ten or more points by the winning team. They were Washington over Denver (22), New Orleans over Indianapolis (44), New England over Seattle (49), Kansas City over San Francisco (54), and the Patriots’ 25-point rally over Atlanta in Super Bowl 51.
–New England leads all franchises, having participated in 11 Super Bowls (6-5). Four years ago, it broke its record for the most by any franchise, further relegating Dallas (5-3), Pittsburgh (6-2), and Denver (3-5) to second place with eight each. San Francisco, the Super Bowl 54 runner-up, is close behind with seven (5-2), but it has lost in its last two appearances. However, the Patriots have five losses in the big game, tied for the most with Denver. Buffalo and Minnesota are tied for the second-most defeats (0-4 each). This year, Kansas City is participating in its fifth Super Bowl (1, 4, 54, 55), and Philadelphia is appearing in its fourth (15, 39, 52).
–Since the current postseason seeding format was instituted in 1990, only eight Super Bowls, including this year’s, have featured or will feature the No. 1 seeds from each conference. Six years ago, Atlanta was the No. 2 NFC seed, breaking a streak of three Super Bowls that saw the top seeds square off. Last year’s game featured two fourth or lower seeds for the first time; Cincinnati and the Los Angeles Rams were the No. 4 seeds in their respective conferences.
–Because this year’s game is an odd-numbered Super Bowl (57), the NFC champion (Philadelphia) is the designated home team and will have jersey choice. Teams with choice usually choose dark home tops with white pants, although the Eagles sometimes wear silver pants with their midnight-green tops. Teams with jersey choice are 23-33 in Super Bowls, but teams wearing white jerseys – whether they had the choice or not – have won 15 of the last 18 Super Bowls. Kansas City is scheduled to wear white as the designated visiting team.
–The first 54 Super Bowls in league history did not feature a team playing in the game in its home stadium, although a few teams played close to their home base. But as was the case with Tampa two years ago and Los Angeles last year, there will not be a stadium full of their screaming season-ticket holders since the league controls Super Bowl ticket distribution, not the host team. Furthermore, the game in Tampa only permitted about 30,000 fans to enter due to COVID. Due to Super Bowls mainly being played at neutral sites, the last NFL champion to win a title on its home field before the Buccaneers won their title was the 1965 Green Bay Packers, who beat Cleveland.
–As the designated home team, Philadelphia will have its logo painted in the left-side end zone and occupy the near-side bench at State Farm Stadium (closest to the main television camera). Kansas City, the designated visiting team, will have its logo painted in the right-side end zone and occupy the far-side bench (furthest away from the main television camera). In addition, the NFL shield logo will be painted at midfield, and the official Super Bowl 57 logo will appear on the 25-yard lines at both ends of the field.
–Teams that win the coin toss are 23-33 in Super Bowls and have lost the last eight straight games. Since deferring the choice became an option, teams that have done so have lost the game ten of 13 times. In Super Bowl 44, New Orleans became the only team so far to elect to receive in the deferral era; it won the game over Indianapolis in Miami.
–Teams that led at halftime of the Super Bowl are 41-11. Four games have been tied at the half: Super Bowl 54 (San Francisco-Kansas City, 10-10), Super Bowl 49 (New England-Seattle, 14-14), Super Bowl 39 (New England-Philadelphia, 7-7), and Super Bowl 23 (Cincinnati-San Francisco, 3-3).
–Teams that trail by double-digit margins at halftime of a Super Bowl is 1-25, with only New England’s rally over Atlanta at Super Bowl 51 being the exception. Teams that score first are 37-19 in Super Bowls. The eventual winner has scored first in nine of the last 12 Super Bowls, although Kansas City lost two years ago after doing so. Also, teams that win the turnover battle are 38-6 in the Super Bowl, which means a surprising 12 Super Bowls have ended up with an even turnover ratio. Moreover, Cincinnati played to a plus-2 in last year’s game but lost 23-20 to the Los Angeles Rams.
–There have been ten kick-return scores in Super Bowl history, but only four by members of the eventual winning team. The list includes Desmond Howard, Super Bowl 31; Jermaine Lewis, 35; Jacoby Jones, 47; and Percy Harvin, 48. In Super Bowl 41 in Miami, Chicago’s Devin Hester became the only player to run back the Super Bowl’s opening kickoff for a touchdown. Two players have run back the second-half kickoff for a score, Baltimore’s Jones and Seattle’s Harvin, which took place in consecutive years.
–Surprisingly, a punt-return touchdown has never been in a Super Bowl. The longest runback was 61 yards by Denver’s Jordan Norwood in Super Bowl 50 against Carolina. There has also never been a shutout in a Super Bowl, and there had never been an overtime Super Bowl until just six years ago when New England outlasted Atlanta.
-There have been seven safeties in Super Bowl history. The most recent safety was scored on the first scrimmage play of Super Bowl 48 when a shotgun-formation snap sailed over Peyton Manning’s head and out through the back of the end zone only 12 seconds into the game. Teams that have scored safeties in Super Bowls are 5-2.
-There have been only five field goals of 51 or more yards in Super Bowl history. That said, three years ago, each team kicked one, which was the first time that had ever happened, and the teams that have kicked them are 2-3 in the title game. The longest is a 54-yarder kicked by Buffalo’s Steve Christie against Dallas in Super Bowl 28 in Atlanta.
–Only two of 56 Super Bowls have been entirely free of turnovers. They were Super Bowl 25 (Bills-Giants) and Super Bowl 34 (Titans-Rams). The fewest combined penalties in any Super Bowl were the two committed by Dallas and Pittsburgh in Super Bowl 10, and the most are the 20 that Dallas and Denver committed in Super Bowl 12. Four teams have played an entire Super Bowl without being flagged: Miami in Super Bowl 6, Pittsburgh in Super Bowl 10, Denver in Super Bowl 24, and Atlanta in Super Bowl 33. However, those teams are 1-3 in those games, with only Pittsburgh winning.
–Five non-quarterbacks have thrown touchdown passes in Super Bowls, the most recent being last year when Cincinnati’s Joe Mixon did so against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 56. Some others include Dallas’ Robert Newhouse against Denver in Super Bowl 12, the Los Angeles Rams’ Lawrence McCutcheon against Pittsburgh in Super Bowl 14, and the Steelers’ Antwaan Randle-El against Seattle in Super Bowl 40.
–With the league becoming more pass-oriented, sack numbers are also up. Von Miller and Charles Haley share the Super Bowl career record with 4.5 sacks in the big game; Miller was the MVP of Super Bowl 50, and Haley has been on the winning side of five Super Bowls with San Francisco and Dallas. The team sack record in a single Super Bowl is seven, first set by Pittsburgh against Dallas in Super Bowl 10 in Miami and equaled by the Los Angeles Rams against Cincinnati in Super Bowl 56 in Los Angeles.
–In Super Bowl 56, the Rams’ Eric Weddle became the sixth safety in Super Bowl history to add a championship to a resume that includes at least six Pro Bowls. The list includes former Ravens such as Weddle, Earl Thomas, and Ed Reed (Reed is also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame).
-With five wins in eight Super Bowls, the Dallas Cowboys hold the Super Bowl record for the best cumulative turnover ratio in Super Bowl games at plus-20. The Buffalo Bills, losers in all four appearances, have the all-time worst mark at minus-13. Four franchises have never thrown an interception in a Super Bowl, but the Baltimore Ravens are the only ones who have never done so while appearing in more than one game. Six teams have never lost a fumble in a Super Bowl, but only Seattle and Kansas City have done so while appearing in multiple games.
–There have been 14 missed extra points during Super Bowls and ten two-point conversions; one bad snap doomed a PAT last year in Super Bowl 56 (Rams-Bengals) and two of each failed in Super Bowl 52 (Patriots-Eagles). There have been six fumble returns for Super Bowl touchdowns (including two by Dallas in Super Bowl 28 in Atlanta). Teams are 4-2 when accomplishing that feat, including wins by the last four straight teams that have done so.
-There have been 15 interception returns for scores in Super Bowls (including two by Tampa Bay’s Dwight Smith in Super Bowl 37), but only one by a member of the eventual losing team. Atlanta’s Robert Alford did it against New England in Super Bowl 51.
–As is always the case with Super Bowl opponents, Kansas City and Philadelphia haven’t played each other often. Since 2002, the league’s schedule formula only has teams from opposing conferences meeting once every four years. As a result, Kansas City leads the overall regular-season series, 5-4, having taken the lead with wins in each of its last three meetings with Philadelphia, including two of them on the Eagles’ home field (most recent, 2021).
–There have been 66 players to win the Super Bowl with more than one team. They include Baltimore Colts linebacker Ted Hendricks, quarterback Earl Morrall, and center Bill Curry, and Ravens players Terrell Suggs, Robert Bailey, Billy Davis, Dannell Ellerbe, Corey Graham, Marcus Nash, Shannon Sharpe, Torrey Smith, and Harry Swayne. Ellerbe, Graham, and Smith were all on the Philadelphia team that won Super Bowl 52.
-Thirty-eight head and assistant coaches have won Super Bowls with more than one team, including ex-Ravens assistants Dean Pees, Wilbert Montgomery, Milt Jackson, Jim Caldwell, and Russ Purnell. Former Ravens assistant Steve Spagnuolo has two rings, but neither with the Ravens (New York Giants, 42; Kansas City Chiefs, 54). Twenty-eight individuals have won Super Bowls as a player and a coach, including former Baltimore assistants Matt Cavanaugh and Todd Washington.
–There have been 21 pairs of fathers and sons that have played in Super Bowls and 32 sets of brothers. The relatives include Ravens defenders Peter Boulware (Michael, with Seattle), Cornell Brown (Ruben, with Buffalo), Ma’ake Kemoeatu (Chris, with Pittsburgh), Jamie Sharper (Darren, with Green Bay) and Arthur Jones (Chandler, with New England). -This year, Philadelphia center Jason Kelce and Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce become the first-ever set of brothers to play in the same Super Bowl. Ironically, this will occur ten years after Super Bowl 47, which saw two brothers coach against each other for the first and only time in the game’s history, San Francisco’s Jim Harbaugh and Baltimore’s John Harbaugh.
-Since Philadelphia’s last Super Bowl appearance was five years ago, only eight Eagles (seven on the active roster) remain from that franchise’s Super Bowl 52 win over New England in Minneapolis. In addition, there are numerous Chiefs still on hand from the team’s recent appearances in Super Bowls 54 and 55.
-Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady has seven championship rings, more than any Super Bowl-era NFL player. At 44 years old, he is the oldest player to appear in a Super Bowl. Previously, that distinction was held by ex-Ravens kicker Matt Stover, who played for Indianapolis at the time of Super Bowl 44 (42 years, 11 days). The youngest player in Super Bowl game-day history is Baltimore running back Jamal Lewis, a rookie who was 21 years and 155 days old at Super Bowl 35 (also played in Tampa).
-New England’s Bill Belichick’s six Super Bowl wins are the most among any head coach. Pittsburgh’s Chuck Noll won it four times, and Washington’s Joe Gibbs and San Francisco’s Bill Walsh each won three Super Bowls. All of those coaches pulled off multiple wins with the same franchise. Nine head coaches have won two Super Bowls each, including Hall of Famers Vince Lombardi, Bill Parcells, Tom Landry, Don Shula, Jimmy Johnson, and Tom Flores. Tampa Bay’s Bruce Arians, at 68, became the second-oldest Super Bowl head coach in Super Bowl 55, and Los Angeles’ Sean McVay (36 years, 20 days) became the youngest to coach in, and win, a Super Bowl in the 56th edition of the game.
-With Nick Sirianni taking Philadelphia to this year’s game, there have now been eight head coaches to take their teams to a Super Bowl in their first season coaching that team. The other seven are Don McCafferty (Baltimore, Super Bowl 5), Red Miller (Denver, 12), George Seifert (San Francisco, 24), Jon Gruden (Tampa Bay, 37), Bill Callahan (Oakland, 37), Jim Caldwell (Indianapolis, 44) and Gary Kubiak (Denver, 50). Unfortunately, those first-time Super Bowl head coaches went 4-3 in those games.
–Last year’s Los Angeles-Cincinnati Super Bowl featured the youngest-ever pair of Super Bowl head coaches. Neither Sean McVay nor Zac Taylor had yet reached 40 years old. This year’s coaches, Andy Reid and Nick Sirianni, have a combined age of 105, with Reid at 64 and Sirianni at 41.
-Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts will become only the second Super Bowl starting quarterback in history to wear jersey #1. Carolina’s Cam Newton did it in Super Bowl 50 in a losing effort against Denver. Kansas City’s Patric Mahomes wears the #15 jersey, making him the fifth Super Bowl starter to ever wear that number, following the New York Giants’ Jeff Hostetler (Super Bowl 25), the Los Angeles Rams’ Vince Ferragamo (14), Baltimore’s Earl Morrall (3) and Green Bay’s Bart Starr (1 and 2). Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady wears #12 – the most frequent starting-quarterback number in Super Bowl history – and those signal-callers are 17-13 in Super Bowls.
–Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts will be starting his first career Super Bowl. Quarterbacks who have started only one Super Bowl during their careers are 17-29. Super Bowl 56 (Rams-Bengals) marked only the second matchup of quarterbacks making their Super Bowl debuts against each other since Baltimore’s Joe Flacco and San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick met in Super Bowl 47. Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow last year became the 17th consecutive quarterback to lose in his Super Bowl debut and then not make it back to the game (at least to this point). That string started with San Diego’s Stan Humphries in Super Bowl 29. The list includes luminaries, such as Drew Bledsoe, Steve McNair, Rich Gannon, Donovan McNabb, Matt Hasselbeck, Kaepernick, and Matt Ryan.
-It has now been 35 years since Washington’s Doug Williams became the first African-American quarterback to start a Super Bowl when he took the field in San Diego for Super Bowl 22 against Denver. This year’s game features a pair of African-American starting signal-callers going against each other for the first time, Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes.
-The two teams in this Super Bowl have contrasting histories regarding lifetime regular-season play. The Chiefs, through the end of the 2022 regular season, have compiled a record of 521-433-12 (.546), which ranks as the league’s eighth-best mark. Philadelphia’s all-time regular-season mark is 613-630-27 (.493), which ranks as the league’s 19th-best mark. Two years ago, Tampa Bay, a team born out of expansion in 1976, had posted a 278-429-1 record (.393), a winning percentage ranking that (at that point) ranked at the very bottom of the NFL. But the Buccaneers ended up winning that Super Bowl. In lifetime postseason play, the Chiefs and Eagles have posted similar marks. The Chiefs are 19-21 (.475) lifetime, ranking 19th-best among the current lineup of NFL teams, and the Eagles are 25-24 (.510), which ranks 11th.
-Kansas City and Philadelphia were the top-seeded teams in their respective conferences. Last year’s Super Bowl teams won their divisions, even though they had to play on Wild Card Weekend. Before Super Bowl 55, Tampa Bay got into the playoffs via the wild-card route, and no team in ten years has made the Super Bowl that way until now. The last team to do it was the 2010 Green Bay Packers, who became the sixth wild-card team to win a Super Bowl. The last team that made the Super Bowl after winning a division and playing on Wild Card Weekend was the 2012 Baltimore Ravens.
-Before the Super Bowl was born, the NFL Championship Game featured the Western Conference winner hosting the game in odd-numbered years, with the Eastern champ hosting in even-numbered years, regardless of record. That practice continued through the 1969 season, then disappeared after the merger took effect.
–To debunk a long-held myth about the Super Bowl, seven Super Bowls were played just one week after the conference title games, and those games have had a final average margin of 11.4 points. The other 47 Super Bowls, played after a two-week break, have not been less competitive, as many believe, for they have had an average margin of just under 15 points. There are no plans to reduce the gap between the conference title games and the Super Bowl to one week; the last time there was such a short break before Super Bowl 37 (Raiders-Buccaneers). Eight of the last 12 Super Bowls, with a two-week break beforehand, have been decided by eight or fewer points.
–In 56 previous Super Bowls, quarterbacks have been named the game’s Most Valuable Player 31 times, including after 11 of the last 16 games. Last year’s Super Bowl MVP was a wide receiver for just the eighth time, the Rams’ Cooper Kupp, who caught two touchdowns in the win over Cincinnati, including the game-winner late in the fourth quarter. The MVP trophy was named after late commissioner Pete Rozelle starting with Super Bowl 25 (Bills-Giants, in the old Tampa Stadium), the first Super Bowl to take place after his death.
–Before Super Bowl 5 (Colts-Cowboys), the winners’ trophy was affixed with the name of the late Green Bay and Washington’s head coach Vince Lombardi, who died just before the start of the 1970 season. The trophy is a sterling silver trophy created by Tiffany & Company, featuring a regulation-size silver football mounted on a tee, sitting on a pyramid-like stand of three sides. The trophy stands 20.75 inches tall, weighs 107.3 ounces, and is worth more than $25,000. The words “Vince Lombardi Trophy” and “Super Bowl LVII” are engraved on the base, along with the NFL shield logo.
–A yet–to–be–announced football dignitary will carry the Lombardi Trophy to the post-game victory platform. This practice was instituted at Super Bowl 40 in Detroit (Seahawks-Steelers). Those who have performed this task in the past have included former Baltimore Colts coach Don Shula, Navy quarterback Roger Staubach, and Colts receiver Raymond Berry. Former Super Bowl MVP Joe Namath has performed this task twice.
–Veteran referee Carl Cheffers, in his 23rd season as an official and 15th as a crew chief, will work his third Super Bowl, following Super Bowls 51 (New England-Atlanta) and 55 (Kansas City-Tampa Bay). His father was also an official, having worked collegiately in what was then the Pacific 10 Conference. Cheffers graduated from the University of California-Irvine.
–Retired referee Jerry Markbreit holds the head-official record with four Super Bowl assignments. Norm Schachter, Jim Tunney, Pat Haggerty, Bob McElwee, and Terry McAulay have done three Super Bowls each. Ben Dreith, Tom Bell, Ed Hochuli, Red Cashion, Jerry Seeman, Gerry Austin, Bernie Kukar, Bill Vinovich, John Parry, and Cheffers have all been assigned to two Super Bowls.
–Fox will broadcast its tenth Super Bowl. Last year, NBC broadcasted its 20th, second-most to CBS’s 21. CBS and NBC each aired Super Bowl 1 (Chiefs-Packers) with different announcing teams and camera crews. ABC, which will again be part of the current Super Bowl telecast rotation four years from now, has shown seven. CBS will show next year’s game, which will be played on February 11, 2024, at the brand-new Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the Raiders’ home.
-This year’s game will begin at the usual 6:30 ET time. The Super Bowl has kicked off at 6 p.m. or later (ET) each year since Super Bowl 26 (Redskins-Bills). The last Super Bowl to be played entirely in daylight was Super Bowl 11 (Raiders-Vikings) in Pasadena.
– Fox’s Kevin Burkhardt will call his first Super Bowl, partnered with Greg Olsen, who played in Super Bowl 50 with Carolina. Burkhardt becomes the 11th individual to call a Super Bowl on television. Last year, Al Michaels worked his 11th Super Bowl (six with ABC, five with NBC), tying the late Pat Summerall’s record of 11 (eight for CBS, three on Fox). Summerall did the color analysis on four additional Super Bowls. CBS’ Jim Nantz has called the play-by-play for six Super Bowls, tying him with Fox’s Joe Buck, who called his sixth three years ago. NBC’s Dick Enberg called eight Super Bowls, and Curt Gowdy did seven for NBC. Ray Scott had the call for four Super Bowls for CBS, while Greg Gumbel has done two big games on the same network. Frank Gifford (ABC) and Jack Buck (CBS) each called one. Gowdy and Scott called Super Bowl 1, working on separate broadcasts with separate networks, as NBC had the AFL contract at the time, while CBS held the NFL rights.
-In the current Super Bowl rotation, the re-emergence of ABC, in conjunction with ESPN, has slightly changed the order of the televising networks. Fox has this year’s game, followed by CBS next year. Fox again gets the game in two years, followed by NBC and ABC/ESPN. ABC has not televised a Super Bowl since Super Bowl 25 following the 1990 season.
-Kevin Harlan will handle the Westwood One radio call for a 13th straight year (a record streak for anyone in radio or television); Harlan succeeded the legendary Marv Albert. Ex-Maryland quarterback and current CBS studio analyst Boomer Esiason worked with Harlan for 18 consecutive Super Bowl assignments. Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner took Esiason’s place four years ago. Warner was 1-2 in Super Bowls, splitting two as the Rams’ quarterback (winning Super Bowl 34, losing 36) and losing Super Bowl 43 with Arizona.
—The highest-rated Super Bowl was 16 in 1982 (49ers-Bengals), which posted a 49.1 reading for CBS. Super Bowl 10 (Cowboys-Steelers) pulled a Super Bowl-record 78 percent share, also on CBS, indicating how many television sets in the country were in use for the entire game. But the highest number of average viewers were tuned in during Super Bowl 51 (Patriots-Falcons) on Fox, during which over 172 million fans watched at least a part of the broadcast.
–A sign of the times is viewing the Super Bowl on different media platforms. The 38.2 rating for Super Bowl 55 (Chiefs-Buccaneers) on CBS was the lowest-rated Super Bowl in 31 years, accounting mainly for the numbers of many varying platforms on which the game aired. Last year’s game saw the number dip further to 36.9.
-Over 4.2 million fans have watched Super Bowls in person. In the COVID year two years ago, the crowd was projected to be well under 30,000, less than half of the expanded capacity in Raymond James Stadium, already making it the smallest-ever Super Bowl crowd due to COVID restrictions. The largest crowd was 103,985 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to watch Pittsburgh and the Los Angeles Rams (14) in 1980. The smallest non-virus Super Bowl crowd (61,946) showed up for the first Super Bowl between Green Bay and Kansas City at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Interestingly, the second-smallest showed up just three years ago (62,417) to see the San Francisco-Kansas City battle at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
–This year’s Super Bowl will pay a record $157,000 per player to the winning team and $82,000 per man to the runners-up. Those figures are up $7,000 from last year. This year’s game marks the tenth straight year the payouts have increased. A 30-second advertising spot on television will cost $7 million, up a half-million from last year and setting yet another new record.
–A popular theory states that when the NFC representative wins the Super Bowl, the Dow Jones Industrial Average will end that calendar year higher and that an AFC win will send the market lower by year’s end. That theory has been correct after 41 of 56 previous Super Bowls, yet it has been wrong for five of the last six years and eight of the last 11 years.
–Country artist Chris Stapleton has been tapped to sing the national anthem. America The Beautiful will also be performed (this year by pop star Babyface). Both songs have been sung at the Super Bowl since 2009, although “America The Beautiful” was also sung once, four years earlier. Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph will perform Lift Every Voice And Sing. Rihanna will perform at halftime.
–-Next year’s game (Super Bowl 58) will be broadcast on CBS and take place on Sunday, February 11, 2024, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the home of the Las Vegas Raiders, which will be hosting its first Super Bowl. Next year’s game, the first Super Bowl played in the Las Vegas area, will likely feature Jim Nantz and Tony Romo in the booth and Tracy Wolfson and Evan Washburn (or Jay Feely) on the sidelines. Since it is an even-numbered Super Bowl, the AFC champion will be the designated home team and have jersey choice.
GAME PREDICTION
For once, it all worked out like it was supposed to–the two best teams are meeting with the Vince Lombardi Trophy on the line.
Philadelphia comes in as the healthier team. But the benefit of having a two-week break before the game is that both sides can get healthy, so I anticipate the Chiefs’ receiving corps and Quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be at, or near, full strength.
The key to this game is how well both teams run the ball against a pair of stout front sevens. While potent, the Eagles would appear to have the edge there, but Kansas City’s pass rush still hasn’t garnered as much notice as Philadelphia’s.
The Chiefs are also slightly younger, populated by drafted players who have stepped up in big moments, especially from behind. That, plus the Chiefs’ consistency over the past few years – they are the best team this decade – gives Kansas City a slight edge in what could be a classic Super Bowl.
With that, my call is …
Kansas City 26, Philadelphia 23
