Let battle commence
This year’s Super Bowl has the makings of a classic, says Simon Barnes
Getty Images
- Simon Barnes
Add the Super Bowl LIX: Kansas City Chiefs v Philadelphia Eagles to your watchlist
Ad
Britain, it’s often said, is divided from the United States by the Irony Curtain. I’ve walked straight into it on more than one occasion.
US immigration officer: What kind of business are you in, Mr Barnes?
Me: I’m a sportswriter. I hear you have a little football game in town this week.
US immigration officer: You mean the Super Bowl? That’s a big football game.
And you know something? He’s right.
The Super Bowl is always America’s most-watched television broadcast of the year; last year’s was viewed by 123 million people in the US and a further 60 million overseas. There were more than 6,000 media accreditations, with most of the holders asking the same question of every player: “How are you handling the hype?” It’s the only sporting occasion I’ve covered in which the most hyped aspect of the occasion is the hype itself.
It’s all so crazy that it’s sometimes hard for sport to break through. There have been many Super Bowls in which the players have seemed almost embarrassed by the nonsense that surrounds the event and viewers ended up with an encounter that had them craving the equally hyped advertising breaks.
The indications are that it's going to be very close
But one of the abiding truths of sport is that being very good day in, day out is never quite enough. The greatest of sport occurs on the greatest occasions: Olympic finals, World Cup finals, Lord’s Test matches, Wimbledon finals and so on. These are moments when the best play the best for the biggest prizes of all.
The Super Bowl is a great occasion, even if it’s a wholly domestic affair, as non-Americans are allowed to observe, so long as we remember it’s a big occasion. And this year’s edition in New Orleans – Super Bowl 59, or Super Bowl LIX if you prefer – has the makings of a classic. Yeah, yeah, don’t they all, I hear you say with a cynicism that ill becomes you. But the indications are that it’s going to be very close, with the Kansas City Chiefs narrowly favoured over the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Chiefs are going for a three-peat. This is an Americanism that we British have yet to embrace, so let’s stay British and say they’re on course for a hat-trick. Either way, they’ve won the last two Super Bowls and would be the first to make it three in a row.
At the beginning of the season, the Chiefs were considered ever so slightly past their best. That might be true, but they’re still better than almost everyone else. They won their Conference Championship game against the Buffalo Bills by a breathlessly tight three-point margin and the game management of their star player, Patrick Mahomes, was decisive. The quarterback brought the priceless gift of control for long periods of the match.
Mahomes is renowned as a clutch player. That’s another sporting Americanism we haven’t taken on here, and it represents a crucial concept. Clutch players find their best when it’s most needed: winning matches with a 93rd-minute free kick, delivering a second-serve ace on match point, and scoring 75 runs in a winning last-wicket partnership of 76.
Captains Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes. Getty Images
The Eagles, meanwhile, cruised through their own Championship game against Washington Commanders. It was an exhibition for their running back Saquon Barkley, who finished with 118 yards and three touchdowns. One of them was a wonderful 60-yarder – even if you watch it ten times you still don’t think he’s going to make it.
All this is great and fine and beautiful, and no doubt either Mahomes or Barkley will get the award for Most Valuable Player. But as ever, the team that wins will be the one that stops the great player on the great occasion. Don’t let Mahomes roam free, keep him in the pocket. Stop Barkley running before he has accelerated to maximum speed.
Ad
This pair won’t even be on the field when their team is playing the most crucial part of the game: stopping them. It’s the anonymous line of defensive hulks, glowering behind the grills of their helmets with eye-black grease strips on their cheekbones, who will decide which of the glamour boys gets the write-up the day after the game.
Authors
Simon BarnesAuthor and journalist
Simon Barnes is a sports and wildlife writer, and is the author of a number of books including the recently published The Green Planet
Ad
Ad
Get the Christmas double issue
Too much to watch at Christmas? Let Radio Times do the choosing to find something the whole family will enjoy.
Loading...
Ad
Loading...