On Sunday, February 9, the 59th rendition of the Super Bowl was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. Other than being an annual cultural collective of American sports and music, this year’s game was especially important. The Kansas City Chiefs held much expectation on their shoulders: with the potential to be the only NFL team in history to win three consecutive titles. Unfortunately for the team, by the third quarter of Sunday’s game, the Chiefs had a marginal possibility to not even score, let alone win. The game ended with a 40-22 score, in favor of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Eagles Quarterback Jalen Hurts’ skills and the Eagles’ offense were questioned at the beginning of the season. But by the end of the weekend, Hurts would be awarded the game’s Most Valuable Player, and Philadelphia would have their second title in their franchise history this weekend, the last being from a 2017 championship. Hurts had 2 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Before halftime, his first touchdown pass put the Eagles ahead 24-0, and his second gave them an unbeatable 34-0 lead. Hurts and the Eagles had established an excessive lead, but the Chiefs made it somewhat more respectable by scoring 22 points in the last 16 minutes. However, it was too little too late as the Eagles easily walked away with the Lombardi Trophy.
Hurts also broke his own record by running for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a Super Bowl, with 72. Hurts’ coach Nick Sirianni said “he keeps getting better and better” because he’s “got a great team” around him.
For the first time in U.S. history, a president also attended the Super Bowl, making this year’s game a memorable cultural and political mix. President Trump was invited to spend a few minutes on the field, before heading back to his suite and family. He would leave the game during halftime. The president would later share opinions on his social media, detailing his distaste for the new ‘Dynamic Kickoff’ rule, labeling it as the “worst part of the game.” The new policy permits only the kicker and returners to move until fielded, leaving the rest of the field entirely frozen. According to CBS Sports, this was done to “enhance player safety”, but fans complain that it ruins the adrenaline and excitement behind watching a kickoff, which is often when the fastest collisions occur.
During Super Bowl 59, the Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar, hailing from Compton, California, was joined by special guest SZA for the main act. The performance featured numerous allusions to this year’s dispute with Drake, including a performance for the Grammy-winning diss track Not Like Us.
This year’s performance, not just from the players of the field, but the Half-Time performers, leaves Super Bowl LIX as one of American history’s most significant.
