By Jack Poleto
Sports Editor
This Sunday, Feb. 12, marks one of the youngest quarterback matchups(Patrick Mahomes, 27, versus Jalen Hurts, 24) in the history of the National Football League championship games, with the Philadelphia Eagles taking on the Kansas City Chiefs.
Super Bowl LVII is taking place at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Az., home of the Arizona Cardinals. It will be the tenth meeting between the two teams. Currently the Chiefs lead their series with five wins, being victorious in the last three games.
A recent poll of Washington College students has the Eagles as favorites with 62% saying they are rooting for Philadelphia for various reasons. One respondent said, “I became an Eagles fan a few years ago, I was on a flight with a whole bunch of Philly fans when the Eagles won… The pilot had flown over the stadium just for us, after that I sort of became an Eagles fan.”
Several others simply stating that they are from the Philly area and would like to see them win.
With 26.8% of the respondents hoping to see the Chiefs win, they are a clear minority. Those favoring Kansas City in this matchup have varying responses, some being as blatant as “I hate the Eagles” and others simply being fans of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. One unique response in favor of the underdog said, “The Chiefs really pulled it out last game against the Bengals with the final field goal. I think they can pull it out again against the Eagles.”
The remaining 11.2% of those polled selected the “other” option, allowing them to fill in their own personal favorites. One response put it simply, stating that they were rooting for the referees with their explanation being, “They gave the win to [Kansas City] last game.”
Less cynical respondents had other parties they favored like the Super Bowl LVII halftime performer, Rihanna, or the infamous commercials that come with this sporting event.
When asked if they have anything else they would like the campus to hear, respondents were eager to see the halftime show and several are anticipating entertaining commercials. One response said, “I really hope the commercials don’t disappoint like they have been the last few years.”
Another student is particularly interested in a matchup between two brothers on different teams. They said, “The Kelce brothers playing each other is cool. The first brother duo to play in a Super Bowl. And they are both near the top of the league in their positions.”
A couple responses were very critical of the Super Bowl with one polled student sating, “The Super Bowl is hot garbage and the trophy of American capitalism,” and another describing the event as “over-hyped”.
Regardless of what WC’s students think, professionals believe that it will be a tight matchup. The line set for the game favors the Eagles at –1.5 with the over/under set at 50 points. ESPN’s matchup predictor has it set at exactly 50-50 in terms of who will take home the Lombardi Trophy.
Campus is full of excitement for all aspects of the broadcast of the game and is ready to see who will emerge as this year’s champion of the NFL. Super Bowl LVII will be aired on Fox on Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m. Until then, the world waits with anticipation.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Photo Caption:A photo from the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl celebration parade in 2017 following their first Super Bowl win.