Super Bowl LVII (Photo from Google Images)
Why is the Monday after the Super Bowl not a national holiday? What is more American than 113 million viewers watching the best team from the AFC and NFC battle for the Lombardi Trophy? Some watch for the game, some watch for the commercials, some watch for the halftime show and others just show up for the food and booze at the viewing party. I’m a fan of all the reasons to watch the Super Bowl.
Performances
High-five to Jay Z who is responsible for the NFL’s live game experiences for putting together back-to-back amazing musical performances. Sheryl Lee Ralph crushed Lift Every Voice and Sing. It’s no question that Whitney Houston is still the best female to perform the National Anthem. However, Chris Stapleton just earned the best male to perform the National Anthem. The magnitude of the moment was met with one of the best National Anthem performances and renditions EVER by Stapleton. Stapleton made anyone with a soul feel the raw conviction of pain and promise with every note he sang. For those two minutes our emotions felt the raspy southern blues in the most beautiful soulful tone.
https://twitter.com/nflonfox/status/1624914230368522244?s=42&t=oAeMeI7R56cywezedmJInw
Rihanna’s half time show was the first time Riri has performed since 2016. She said there would be a surprise guest and I was thinking Jay-Z, Eminem, or Kanye, but nope. It was a quick belly rub announcing she is pregnant with baby number two! She had her first child in May with her boyfriend rapper A$AP Rocky. She just made it impossible for anyone pregnant to use it as an excuse to get out of something. Her 13-minute set included hit after hit after hit. Twelve songs all while being suspended on a platform 150 feet in the air is impressive. Lip syncing or not, this was a celebration of her 18-year catalog of bangers and I loved it.
History
For the first time in Super Bowl history we had two black quarterbacks and two brothers playing against each other. Jalen Hurts had three rushing touchdowns, the most by a QB in Super Bowl history. History was also made when the Eagles joined the 2016 Falcons as the only teams in Super Bowl history to lose when leading by double digits at halftime.
I’m a Commanders fan, I don’t want to see the Eagles fly, ever. And I was rooting for Joe Burrow in the AFC so I’m still bitter at Kansas City. And then there is Patrick Mahomes’s brother, Jackson, makes it hard to root for the Chiefs. Hey China, you can have Jackson and his TikTok.
Be more cringe Jackson. You can’t. Poor Patrick Mahomes. pic.twitter.com/gYMUFq81n9
— Dante (@DanteTheDon) February 13, 2023
Nick Sirianni’s eyes make it easy to root for the Eagles. I get uncomfortable when I see men cry. But to see a grown man show his emotions on the biggest stage of his life is one of the few times I can support seeing a man cry. (Insert heart eyes emoji.)
The Game
Basically, I was rooting for a great game and for 58 minutes, it was a great game. And then, a late holding penalty on Eagles CB James Bradberry for tugging on JuJu Smith-Schuster’s jersey changed the game. The penalty set the Chiefs up for a field goal to come back and win the Super Bowl. It was 100% a holding penalty. However, there were no defensive pass interference or defensive holding calls the entire game. For that to get called in that situation is where Eagles fans have a right to be pissed.
The game was tied 35-35 with 1:54 left in the 4th. Mahomes overthrew wideout Juju Smith-Schuster on 3rd-and-8 at the Eagles 15-yard line. It should have been 4th down, instead, there was a holding penalty. This gave the Chiefs a first down on the 11-yard line and the ability to milk the clock with just a few seconds left to kick the game winning field goal. Chiefs won 38-35.
It was like watching the series finale of Game of Thrones, the ending sucked. The truth is, you can’t blame the game on THAT one call. There were so many other plays that could have gone different in the game. What if KC would have gone for it on 4th & 3 instead of missing the field goal? What if Hurts didn’t fumble in the 2nd quarter and KC didn’t score? It’s easy to try to blame one call, but you can’t blame James Bradberry and that one play for the loss.
Happy 13th Anniversary to my blog! I know I don’t post as often I would like to, but thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my posts!
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