The bluffer’s guide to Super Bowl LVIII
THE 58th version of the Super Bowl will kick off at 11.30pm Irish time tonight at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, as the Kansas City Chiefs face the San Francisco 49ers.
You can tune into all the action on Virgin Media Two or Sky Sports Main Event and if you are attending one of the many Super Bowl parties around the country, here is some info to get you through…
The Chiefs are aiming to become the first team in 20 years to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles. It will be their sixth appearance at this stage, and fifth in last six years, an unbelievably impressive feat in such an attritional league.
The 49ers were one of the most impressive teams in the regular season, winning the NFC West with a record of 12-5. One of the most dominant franchises in the 1980s, they haven’t won the
Super Bowl since 1994.
In American football, the most important player is the quarterback. He is the conductor who orchestrates everything on a team’s offence. And in Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs are led by the best quarterback in recent years and the biggest star in the NFL. The extraordinary magic he can weave has already won the Super Bowl twice and also twice been named MVP (Most Valuable Player) in the NFL.
Meanwhile, the 49ers quarterback is Brock Purdy, someone who has the unfavourable nickname of ‘Mr Irrelevant’ after being selected last in the 2022 NFL Draft. He has defied the odds to direct his team to within a win of Super Bowl glory.
Purdy is probably not the player on whom Niners’ hopes rest tonight, rather that is Christian McCaffrey, the best running back in the game. He will be key to how the 49ers attack the game. And apart from McCaffrey, Purdy has a supporting cast of weapons including tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
However, Mahomes has one of the best tight ends that ever played the game to call upon in Travis Kelce. He may be more famous now for his girlfriend, but Kelce’s display against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game pushed him past Jerry Rice as the highestreceiving tight end in play-off history.
The game will be decided by whichever team is bravest on third and fourth down. In the game, you get four attempts to get the ball 10 yards – by either quarterback making a pass or running the ball. If you get 10 yards, you get another set of downs. This is why American football is often called a ‘game of real estate’.
If a team fails to make 10 yards on their first three attempts, they will probably kick it away on the fourth down. But if a team is within a couple of yards of making it, they may opt to go for it on fourth down.
The men who will ultimately make this decision are the two head coaches. Andy Reid, along with Mahomes, is on the verge of creating a dynasty. A third Super Bowl win in four years will confirm him as one of the alltime great coaches in the NFL, alongside a certain Bill Belichick. Kyle Shanahan is considered one of the most innovative minds in the NFL, but he has been accused of being too conservative at crucial moments in big games over the past while. Finally snagging a Super Bowl ring will enhance his reputation.
No matter what happens on the field during the first two quarters, it is likely that Usher will be one of the main talking points tomorrow morning, as he, not Taylor Swift, is doing the half-time show.
Although if there are plenty of shots of Swift during the game, it will mean things are going pretty well for Kelce and the Chiefs. It’s likely Mahomes and Reid will confirm their greatness by claiming a third Super Bowl in four years.