Super Bowl LVII is in the books and the game ended in a thriller (meaning almost no one played defense), with the Chiefs besting the Eagles 38-35.
Past Super Bowls kicked-off around 6:30pm but last night's game didn't get underway until 6:45 simply because the pre-game show is just too darned long. Are the hype videos even necessary? People just want to see the game get underway, we don't need to delay kickoff to hype up the most hyped game of the season. And with all the pre-game recognitions, there seemed to be more people on the field from 6pm to 6:45 than there were on both teams combined. Was it all necessary? No. No one cares. Start the game! Do the recognitions at the NFL Awards show.
The game finally got underway with both teams playing well offensively despite the field conditions that were inexplicably slippery. The broadcasters (the outstanding Kevin Burkhardt was such a refreshing change from Fox's former #1 broadcaster, Joe Buck) said that the field was slippery due to paint, but it appeared that players were also slipping in unpainted areas. Since the Arizona Cardinals last home game of the 2022 season was on Christmas Day, a full 7 weeks ago, you'd think the playing field would be absolutely perfect.
The game was good and competitive, though the league's constant rules issues regarding the definition of what constitutes a completed pass came to the fore. We had an Eagles receiver catch a pass in the middle of the field, get two feet down, and begin to turn upfield when a Chiefs defender made the tackle and forced a fumble that the Chiefs returned for a touchdown. Upon further review, the replay officials decided that despite two feet down and the beginning of a turn, the receiver did not possess the football long enough for the catch to be considered a catch.
Contrast that with a catch made moments later by the Eagles tight end on the same drive, in which he was headed out of bounds as the pass was thrown his way. He bobbled the ball but the officials ruled the play a catch. The Chiefs head coach challenged the call because of the bobble, but the replay official ruled that because the tight end got his hands back on the ball a split second before the tight end's foot left the ground and went out of bounds. So we see that a split second is OK on passes to the sideline, but not on passes in the middle of the field.
But wait... there's more... Earlier in the game, a receiver (and I can't even remember which team he played for) caught a pass near the sideline, got two feet down with full possession of the ball as he began to fall out of bounds. He then had a knee hit the ground out of bounds. Play over, right? No, because the rules require a receiver to maintain possession of the ball all the way to the ground and the ball on this play touched the ground after the receiver fell, even though it appeared that he maintained possession all the way down. So, a split second is OK at the sideline if the receiver remains on his feet, but not if the receiver gets two feet down in bounds and a knee down out of bounds before completely hitting the ground. Are you confused yet?
The halftime show was... Meh. As the kids say these days, it was "mid." The show started impressively with a platforms rigged to the stadium roof and Rhianna and dancers flying around. After the first 3 minutes, you wondered, "What's next?" But nothing was next. That was it. The show was actually quite boring. There were no guest appearances for which the Super Bowl halftime show had become known. And there were times when you heard Rhianna sing while the microphone was at her side, so the halftime show had the feel of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, where everyone lip-syncs. Honestly, it was probably the most disappointing halftime show I'd ever seen. But kudos to the stage crew and riggers, who never get credit for what they do. Setting all that staging up in 9 minutes is a lot of work, which is why it's rehearsed for weeks before Super Bowl Sunday.
Once the game ended, I found it utterly ridiculous that censors were cutting the audio during interviews because players in the background were swearing because the censors had no problem showing Rhianna run her finger between her legs and then sniff it when the world knows lots of kids are watching, but heaven-forbid a player in the background swear at 10:30 at night. Silly, really.
But in all, it was a terrific game that went back and forth with Patrick Mahomes showing why he is the best quarterback and, arguably, the most valuable player in the NFL today.
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