It’s Super Bowl Time, Lets R...

Championship Weekend 2023. The two Super Bowl teams have now been decided. The Kansas City Chiefs will take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Super Bowl Sunday in Arizona. Two well matched teams that played well all year long and surprised no one by being the last pair standing will now have two weeks to prepare for the ultimate American Sports Spectacle, the one game that puts the entire country on hold and binds all football fans regardless of their favorite team. It will be a day of gathering with friends and co workers, fellow fans and family. A day of abject gluntony. Bean dip and cook outs will abound, culinary delights of chicken wings and nachos will be numerous and of course those of us who care to make our picks will talk trash and hope the outcome is on our side. Let’s hope my pick for the Super Bowl turns out better then this past weekend. I lost both games.

I’m not really sure what I witnessed in the game of The San Francisco 49ers vs The Philadelphia Eagles. I actually had to sleep on it for two nights before I began to write about it. The game was painful to watch, all four quarters, and I wasn’t even that big of a 49ers fan. Loosing Wonder Boy Brock Purdy to an injury early in the first quarter was in my opinion a combination of bad luck, bad karma and an aggressive Philadelphia defense. When the stand out rookie left the game I saw dark clouds on the horizon. The resulting remainder of the game saw a back up quarterback bumble and fumble away the ball several times until he too left with a concussion creating a situation seldom seen in The NFL, the entrance of the “Emergancy quarterback” Christian Macaffery”. With 49ers legends Steve Young and Jerry Rice in attendance I would have asked them to suit up one more time. It was at this point I realized that although history was being made this game was essentially over. The entire fiasco was eclipsed only by the fact that the officiating was at times ridiculously atrocious and one sided. In the end this game was a real let down. I was expecting a gladiatorial like battle of Biblical perportions on a Sunday afternoon but instead was given a major sporting event disappointment. The glory that was once 49ers football will have to wait another year before it is resurrected. That Brock Purdy statue that everyone was planning to build at the stadium will have to be put on hold. Maybe we can substitute a cake or something. Until next year San Francisco!

The second game of Championship Sunday proved to be more worthy of everyone’s attention as there was a strong showing by two talented and well coached teams they being The Cincinnati Bengals and The Kansas City Chiefs. There were no unexpected disasters as in the early game. Joe Burrow finally fell victim to an offensive line depleted by injury and riddled with holes. I don’t think being sacked five times and throwing the ball away twice was on the Bengals play list. The Chiefs took advantage for sure. Additionally the long tried and true combination of Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelsey was on full display. Added to this was a spirited performance of rookie running back and wide receiver. The result was a Chief’s victory 23-20 on a late field goal with 5 seconds left and the Bengals were once again on their way home. Non the less, a great game worth staying up for.

The bottom line on all of this however is that no one will remember how good the Chiefs and The Eagles played in the Conference Championships unless they seal the deal and win The Super Bowl. No one cares about who came in second.

As The Super Bowl approaches in two weeks we’re once again reminded that this is the time of year when heads begin to roll, especially in the coaching world. Some of the hiring and firings are pretty much a no brainer while others will vex me. Coaches that have headed up literal dumpster fires seem to have nine lives and return like a bad dream, others fade in obscurity with millions in buy out money. Must be nice!

It’s also that time of year when we look to the future of the game, namely who is returning and where will they play? Will Tom Brady return to the Bucs? Will he retire or play somewhere else? Will Arron Rogers continue to grace us in Green Bay or will he join the Jets? Will Tua return or will the Dolphins go for a free agent QB or perhaps grab Lamar Jackson from The Ravens? The questions are many and complex! And then of course there’s the draft coming up! So so many things to think about folks!

The NFL season may be ending but the game itself continues on!!!

Kev