By William Stanton
In light of Super Bowl LVII, The Herald Staff opened up an Instagram poll to Southern Virginia University students to see who you think would win the Super Bowl. 67% of individuals are confident that the Chiefs will win, while only 33% are rooting for the Eagles. Despite the outcome of the game, this Super Bowl will be one to remember. It will have the first brother vs. brother matchup, two head coaches who have coached for both teams, a whole lot of ties to Utah, and a half time performance by a legend who hasn’t performed since the 2018 Grammys.
This matchup will be the first Super Bowl with two brothers on opposing teams, Travis and Jason Kelce. Travis, arguably the best tight end in the NFL, will be a force to reckon with on the Chiefs’ side while Jason will have his hands full protecting his Eagles quarterback, Jalen Hurts. Jason has been vocally supportive of his brother throughout this season, but as soon as the Eagles routed the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship, Jason tweeted,
“I am no longer a Chiefs fan…”
In the same five years it’s taken the Philadelphia Eagles to make it back to the Super Bowl, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will be making their third appearance. This year, however, the two teams have consistently had the best records in their respective conferences, both finishing 16–3, including the playoffs. Both teams have been dominant with the ball in their hands. The Chiefs led the league in total yards gained, points, passing touchdowns, and passing yards. The Eagles finished second in each one of these categories. The Eagles led the league in rushing touchdowns. On the defensive side, both teams were just as dominant. The Eagles lead in team sacks, and none other than the Chiefs followed in second place.
Another rare occurrence for the Super Bowl is that both the Eagles and Chiefs have been coached by the opposing teams head coach. Nick Sirianni of the Eagles was an assistant coach on the Chiefs from 2009–2012, only becoming the Eagle’s head coach in 2021. Andy Reid of the Chiefs was the Eagles head coach from 1999–2012 and is their winningest head coach. He eventually became the Chiefs head coach in 2013.
Specific to this years Super Bowl, there are many different ties to the state of Utah. And, since there are so many Southern Virginia students that call Utah home, it was worth noting each connection. The most notable tie being Chiefs’ head coach Andy Reid. Reid played football at Brigham Young University from 1978–1980 and was a graduate assistant on LaVell Edward’s staff in 1982. Besides Coach Reid, there are nine other connections to the state of Utah. On the Chiefs’ side of the ball, former Cougar and Stansbury high free safety Zayne Anderson, former tight end Matt Bushman, former Layton High wide receiver Marcus Kemp, offensive quality control coach and former Brigham Young graduate Porter Ellett, and defensive quality control coach and former Utah linebacker Alex Whittingham. On the Eagles’ side of the ball, former Ute and Timpview High wide receiver/return specialist Britain Covey, former Weber State and Stansbury High offensive guard Sua Opeta, former Hunter High tight end Noah Togiai, and position coach and former Utes quarterback Brian Johnson.
While this is the biggest game in arguably all of American sports, the top attraction may not be either of these teams. After just recently having her first baby, Rihanna will be making her way back to the performing stage with her first public performance since the 2018 Grammy Awards. Her stat sheet is more impressive than just about anyone on either team, as she’s won 13 American Music Awards, 12 Billboard Awards, nine Grammy Awards, eight IHeartRadio Music Awards, two MTV Europe Awards, seven MTV VMAs, three Much Awards, two NRJ Awards, four People’s Choice Awards, three Soul Train Awards, four Teen Choice Awards (and has been nominated for more than 635 awards).
The Super Bowl will start at 6:30 p.m. EST on FOX and can be streamed on Sling TV, Hulu+, fuboTV, DirecTV Stream, and YouTube TV.
#1 Seed vs. The Dynasty was originally published in The Herald on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.