The birth of a dynasty team
The Super Bowl can easily be called one of the most exciting sporting events on the planet. Every year it invariably attracts great attention. And it’s not just about the battle for the US National Football League (NFL) title, but also about a large-scale show on which a lot of money is spent.
In 2024, the sports component aroused no less interest, because for the second time in the last four years, Kansas City and San Francisco were to fight for the trophy. In 2020, their paths crossed in Miami, and then the Chiefs left no chance for their opponent. From then on, the team's dominance actually began. He reached the final twice more and won last year against Philadelphia. And the fans saw the birth of almost a dynasty team, because in terms of results in the 21st century, only New England could compare with it.
The 49ers, on the other hand, have proven to be the underdogs of the playoffs, although they remain one of the most decorated franchises in NFL history. They haven't won the Super Bowl since 1995. Afterwards they fought twice for the trophy, but invariably ended up weaker. Moreover, three times in the last nine years they lost in the conference finals.
Not surprisingly, Kansas City was considered the clear favorite. His performance in the playoffs also inspired respect. Andy Reid's team initially didn't notice the powerful Miami, led by their former star receiver Tyreek Hill. Then they broke the resistance of the no less strong Buffalo. Finally, in the decisive conference match, Baltimore was allowed to score only ten points with the newly minted two-time MVP of the regular season, Lamar Jackson.
“San Francisco” had to seriously suffer with the main discoveries of the current season. In the second round, he barely defeated Green Bay and their young leader Jordan Love. Then the path of Kyle Shanahan's squad was almost blocked by Detroit, which had not won a playoff victory for 32 years until the current season.
Swift's incredible journey
Before almost every Super Bowl, fans single out individual players. For example, last year attention was focused on the confrontation between brothers Travis and Jason Kelce. Surprisingly, this time Travis was the center of attention again.
And it’s not at all about his sporting achievements, but about his affair with Taylor Swift. The famous singer recently won a Grammy Award. The athlete responded by promising to “keep up his end of the deal” and also bring home an award.
And his other half, in order to personally support the young man in Las Vegas, traveled a long way from Tokyo, where literally the day before the meeting she had another show. By the way, Swift was offered to perform during the break herself in the summer of 2023, but she refused. But she repeatedly attended the athlete’s matches, including the conference finals with Baltimore.
Fans of the team followed the development of the romantic story throughout the season. Many of them even came to the stands wearing Kansas City jerseys with Swift's name on the back and number 13. The fact is that this is the number that the girl considers happy. Some have even jokingly renamed the Super Bowl to the Swift Bowl.
Impressive comeback for Kansas City
As a result, “Kansas City” again made the audience nervous. Last year he lost to Philadelphia by ten points, and this year he found himself in a similar situation. But they managed to snatch victory in Las Vegas only in overtime, which makes the next achievement more valuable.
The favorite frankly failed at the start of the match. It was as if he was back at the start of the season, when he suffered unexpected defeats and looked as unconvincing as possible. Nothing was going well ahead for Reed's team. Quarterback and main star Patrick Mahomes was reliably closed. When receiving, he instantly came under severe pressure and had a minimum of time to make decisions. Kelsey, who usually receives passes from his partner, was not allowed to run. It is not surprising that in the first half he was remembered only for shouting at his own mentor.
The San Francisco players slowly but surely moved the ball forward, although they were unable to open the scoring in the first quarter. But we managed to do it the second time. Jake Moody made an incredible 55-yard field goal. And then the long-awaited touchdown was scored by Kristan McCaffrey.
Only then did the Chiefs finally wake up and get back into the game thanks to two Harrison Butker field goals. The second one was especially noteworthy - from 57 yards. No one has hit it from longer distance in the Super Bowl. Mahomes also got involved, whose cunning transfers exposed holes in someone else's defense. And at the end of the penultimate quarter, he helped Marquez Valdes-Scantling score his debut touchdown. This is how the defending champions took the lead for the first time.
To top it all off, 49ers wide receiver Drew Greenlaw is out. Moreover, he was injured out of the blue during a banal run from the side. The athlete immediately left the field. According to Shanahan, the ward injured his Achilles.
But even without him, San Francisco turned out to be incredibly close to final success. In the final period he had the advantage. Haunan Jennings scored a touchdown first. The Chiefs responded with a Butker field goal. Then Moody scored the field goal. And six seconds before the end of regular time, Butker responded. So Reed’s team sent the confrontation into overtime - 19:19.
In the first half of overtime, San Francisco completed its attack with another hit from Moody and took the lead - 22:19.
The 49ers fought with dedication on defense, knowing they had a chance to win their first Super Bowl in nearly 30 years. But the opponents gnawed away millimeter by millimeter on defense thanks to the competent actions of Mahomes. Once he even carried the ball forward himself, finding a free zone.
The game ended with a Kansas City touchdown: Mahomes, being a few yards from the end zone, threw a pass to the free Mecole Hardman. The Chiefs won with a score of 25:22.
After the final whistle, complete madness began. Mahomes was going crazy, not believing his luck. By the age of 28, he had won the third championship ring of his career and was approaching the level of greatness of the legendary Tom Brady. He was named Super Bowl MVP the same number of times.
“It means a lot to me. I'm proud of my guys, it's amazing, it's legendary. Mecole Hardman has gone through some rough patches this season. He’s special,” the quarterback said after the game.
Meanwhile, Reed hugged his charges and barely held back his tears. The specialist’s emotions are understandable, because he turned the Chiefs into a dynasty team. It was after his arrival that she won three Super Bowl victories in the last five years. In addition, they managed to win the trophy twice in a row. The last ones to do this were the Patriots at the beginning of the century.
Well, perhaps the happiest people in the stadium were Kelsey and Swift. The girl still managed to arrive at the meeting a couple of hours before it started and carefully watched what was happening in the company of other celebrities. She constantly got into the frame. And immediately after the final whistle, the singer found herself on the lawn and finally hugged and kissed her boyfriend. He kept his promise and will bring home another championship ring.
Usher's performance and stars in the stands
As always, special attention was paid to the music show during the break in the confrontation. The main guest star this time was the famous rapper Usher. Alicia Keys also played a special guest role. Thus, the organizers again focused on one performer. For example, in 2023 the main prima was the pregnant Rihanna.
Usher managed to show the audience several images at once. In one of them he even stripped to the waist. And during the performance, in addition to Keys, Lil Jon and Ludacris also appeared next to him. The performer specially invited them so that they could sing with him.
On the eve of the Super Bowl, there were rumors about Justin Bieber and Beyoncé appearing on stage, but they did not materialize. However, the stars did not deny themselves the pleasure of watching the game from the stands. They were accompanied by Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani, legendary basketball player LeBron James and even Elon Musk.
The NFL finals are notable not only for the musical show, but also for the demonstration of trailers for the main TV series and films of the year. This time, the audience was presented with such hits as “Deadpool 3”, “Planet of the Apes: A New Kingdom”, “Kung Fu Panda 4”, etc.