Super Bowl Preview Part 1

As has become an annual tradition at Sportsfreak towers, our resident NFL fans Hamish Girvan, Scott MacLean, Stephen Gallagher, Jonathan Paterson and Ryan Nixon turned their attention towards the big game. With the big game taking place in Las Vegas, a Taylor Swift subplot, and a rematch of 2020’s showcase fixture, there’s plenty to discuss. Here are their thoughts.

1. A lot of the focus from the media involves Taylor Swift. What are your thoughts on her presence at the Super Bowl, relationship with Travis Kelce, and the resulting media coverage?

SG: Look, as the youngest member of this Super Bowl contingent, I am a certified Swiftie. I like to think ‘Hey Stephen’ is actually written about me. I have zero issues with Taylor Swift potentially being at the Super Bowl. Don’t read into the toxic masculinity garage about her being a distraction or a curse, or that there’s too much TV time showing her. Just shut up. Her and Travis are a young couple in love. It’s great. It’s beautiful. The media coverage is milking it for all it is worth. It was hilarious that the NFL X page had Taylor Swift as their header image earlier this season!

HG: As a Chiefs fan, my initial thoughts were that Tay would be a distraction to the team and their performance. The Chiefs have never really had a lot of A-list fans (Eric Stonestreet and Paul Rudd are about it), but she then became a bit of a good luck charm so let her be. Travis was a superstar in his own right so the coupling makes sense. As for the media coverage, it’s always interesting to see all the celebs courtside at Lakers games, and the NFL needs more positives so bring it on. Anyone complaining about the airtime Tay gets during the game needs to get a life!

SM: I’ll keep this simple. Forget all the dudebro commentary, do you think Commissioner Roger Goodell and the rest of the NFL hierarchy are in any way upset with even more coverage than usual? And for the two of them, if they’re happy – and that very much seems to be the case – why’s that anyone else’s business?

JP: Love it. Full disclosure, I’ve been a Swiftie from way back, so personally this has been a delightful marriage of my favorite sport and one of my favorite artists. But solely as an NFL fan, it has been great for the extra eyeballs and attention that the sport is now getting from people that otherwise might have never paid it any interest, particularly women. A workmate of mine, who is already a huge NBA fan, is now sending me messages saying “Everyone loves brock purdy atm… I am like mmm na (sic)”, reels about Isaiah Pacheco’s traumatic childhood, and sent a link to Charles Omenihu’s injury news asking if he is a big loss. The girlfriend has been listening to the New Heights podcast for most of the season, although I think part of that is a not-so-secret crush on Jason Kelce (ED: I see similarities). And I have heard my eldest daughter talking about Travis Kelce, as well as Sam LaPorta, who is dating Olivia Rodrigo. So yeah…

RN: Immense jealousy from my end, with the resulting media coverage having rammed home the message that Travis Kelce is no longer available.

 

2. While on the topic of music, on a scale of 1-10, how excited are you about Usher as the halftime show?

SG: Usher is a hard pass for me. Rihanna was ridiculously awesome in 2023. Usher has failed to stay relevant and this seems like a big stretch to get people talking about his music career again. He was all good in the 00s, but I can’t say I will be sitting down watching the show. I do hope we get some good meme’s from it, like we did when The Weeknd performed in 2021.

HG: Meh – 3. Super Bowl half-times always take the safe route artist wise. How about Green Day making an appearance?!

SM: If this was 2005, then “Yeah”. But it’s not and I can’t see this being anywhere near the Pantheon of halftime shows; Prince, the Hip-Hop medley, etc. It’s just scraping a 3 for me.

I’ll be interested in a prop bet of “Will the cameras cut to Taylor Swift during it?” though.

JP: Probably a 6, unless Alicia Keys pops out of nowhere and they do My Boo, in which case 11. But I’m not really a big halftime show guy. The only one I have intentionally watched the last few years was in Super Bowl LVI with Dre, Snoop, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J.

RN: Usher’s relevance these days is nearly non-existent, but he does have a fantastic, deep back-catalogue. I’m probably at a 7, but it’s mostly for nostalgic reasons. If he performs ‘You Make Me Wanna…” it will absolutely bring back memories of myself and future Massey High School head boy Rajan Hira doing our own rendition, while walking through the Waitakeres on year 9 camp.

 

3. Let’s get to the game – what do you think the most intriguing storyline from the game is?

SG: The undoubted success of Patrick Mahomes and the potential back-to-back for the Kansas City Chiefs. While yes, Tom Brady is the ‘greatest of all time’ – the trajectory that Mahomes is on is ridiculous. The man loves to win, and with successive Super Bowl titles, it will only throw his name deeper into the GOAT conversation. He’s got a lot of pressure riding on him, but even with all the adversity and naysayers that’ve swung the axe at the Chiefs this season – they still did what 30 other teams couldn’t. Remarkable.

HG: Tay being there for one, but back to back titles for the Chiefs is the storyline that would make history. No team has gone back to back for 19 years so here’s the Chiefs’ chance.

The teams don’t have a lot of head to head history outside the 2020 Super Bowl, unlike other out of conference rivalries like the Patriots and Giants. If the Chiefs get over the line here in their 4th Super Bowl appearance in 5 years, the term “dynasty” can rightly be anointed, including that win in Miami.

SM: The Chosen One vs Mr. Irrelevant, Mahomes vs Purdy. Mahomes’ standing in the game is unquestioned, while Purdy’s rise from being the last pick in the Draft to this stage – he could be just the third player taken last to win a Superbowl – has been meteoric. While the role each plays in the highest-profile position in the sport is critical, the feeling is that Mahomes has to carry his team a little bit more than Purdy, but the latter is more prone to making that critical mistake.

JP: In contrast to my first answer, I’ve actually found it a bit hard to get into these playoffs this year. Part is due to the spirit crushing loss that my beloved Browns suffered in the opening game of the playoffs, but part is due to a lack of interesting storylines. These teams have been the class of the league for what seems like forever, with the Chiefs having played in the last 6 AFCCG, making 4 Super Bowls, and the Niners having been in a comparatively pedestrian but otherwise incredible 4 of the last 5 NFCCG, making 2 Super Bowls themselves. Even more frustrating is that we flirted with fresh storylines that would have invigorated the die hard fans. How good would it have been for a young Packers team or a long suffering Lions team to have gotten to the big dance? Equally, watching Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson overcome their playoff woes and put their critics to rest would have also been great. Which leaves me feeling like the most intriguing storyline being whether Taylor Swift can indeed get back from Japan in time for kickoff…

RN: There’s a couple of sons on the 49ers side looking to make Super Bowl history, with coach Kyle Shanahan looking to join his father Mike as the only ever father-son tandem to both coach Super Bowl winners, while Christian McCaffrey could join his father Ed in hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. Shanahan in particular needs a win more than most. As offensive coordinator, he was arguably to blame for the Falcons’ demise in 2019, when they capitulated from 28-3 up to lose to the Patriots, while there were plenty critical of his coaching the following year when the 49ers couldn’t finish the job in the replica of this matchup. Getting the monkey off his back with a win this year, would further cement his role as one of the league’s best coaches.

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