Saquon Barkley, Patrick Mahomes, Kendrick Lamar, Donald Trump. Photo: Getty Images
Super Bowl LIX
Kansas City Chiefs v Philadelphia Eagles
Kick-off: 12:30pm, Monday 10 Feb
Caesar's Superdome, New Orleans
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
The biggest day in American sports is upon us, with the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. For those of you who haven't studied Latin, that means this is the 59th edition of the Super Bowl, which was originally conceived as a world championship game between the winners of the National Football League and American Football League. The two sides eventually merged to become what we now know as the NFL, with the Super Bowl quickly becoming the biggest television event in America.
The teams
Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles. Photo: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images
The Chiefs have already established the greatest dynasty in American Football, appearing in four of the last five Super Bowls and winning three. They come in with a 15-2 season record, securing top seed in the American Football Conference and beating the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the National Football Conference champion Eagles come in with a formidable 14-3 record. They had to overcome the Green Bay Packers in the wild card round, before knocking out the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Commanders in their other playoff games. This is a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, where the Chiefs defeated the Eagles 38-35 in a pulsating game in Arizona.
Key players
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Photo: Photosport
It says a lot about Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes that he's actually had a below average season by his standards, and still finds himself in the Super Bowl. Significantly, he has excelled in one area: game winning drives, leading the NFL with seven this season. Tight End Travis Kelce has been his reliable self and led the team in receiving yards, while receiver DeAndre Hopkins has been a good mid-season pick up.
The standout for the Eagles this season has undoubtedly been running back Saquon Barkley, who has became the ninth player NFL history with 2,000 rushing yards in a season. Barkley's production has meant that quarterback Jalen Hurts has passed less and more accurately, only giving up five interceptions all season. Offensive Tackle Jordan Mailata is aiming to become only the second Australian-born player to win a Super Bowl.
The venue
The Crusaders match at the Superdome has been cancelled. Photo: Photosport
The big game this year is being held at Caesar's Superdome for a record eighth time. It's actually the 10th time the Super Bowl has been in New Orleans, with two previous editions taking place at the old Tulane Stadium. With a capacity of 76,000 and built in 1975, the fittingly-named Caesar's is positively ancient by American stadium standards but has the advantage of being in one of the biggest American tourist destination cities.
Trump and Taylor
Photo: AFP
Arguably the two most high profile people in the world right now have strong ties to the game this year. Donald Trump will become the first sitting US President to go to a Super Bowl, which means that he can personally congratulate the game's MVP rather than the famous presidential phone call that has happened since 1970 when Richard Nixon started the tradition. This may cause issues for Trump critic and football fan Taylor Swift, who memorably embraced her boyfriend Kelce on the field after the Chiefs' victory last year. For his part, Kelce said that "No matter who the president is, I know I'm excited because it's the biggest game of my life and having the president there… it's the best country in the world. So, that'd be pretty cool."
Halftime
US rapper Kendrick Lamar performs during the 2023 Governors Ball Music Festival at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in New York City on June 11, 2023. Photo: YUKI IWAMURA
It's the second time Kendrick Lamar will perform at halftime, he previously co-headlined with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Mary J. Blige in 2022. Now the stage is all his, which also serves as a another massive battle won in his ongoing feud with fellow rapper Drake. This show is basically a gigantic advertisement for Lamar's Grand National tour, which has 23 dates between April and July across North America.
READ: 10 great and not-so-great moments in Super Bowl halftime show history
The numbers
The cheapest ticket to this year's game will set you back about $5,000 NZD, with the most expensive being at least 20 times that. The game will air live in 180 countries, with a 30 second ad spot in the American broadcast costing $12.3 million. Total consumer by US viewers watching is forecast to total $32.7 billion, which works out to be an average of $162 each on food, drinks, apparel, decorations and everything else.
What's going to happen
The Chiefs come in as favourites, mostly because they are gunning for an unprecedented third win in a row. However it's likely Barkley will continue to figure heavily in the Eagles' attempts to overturn that, while Mahomes and Kelce will connect plenty of times in response. Trump and Swift will likely absolutely dominate the social media discourse and Lamar's halftime performance will be critiqued in real time by millions. One thing is for absolute certain though: Elon Musk will find a way to force himself into the conversation somehow, which he's been very successful at lately. He'll be hoping it will go a little bit better than the last time he tried, though.
