The National Football League’s Super Bowl LVII had plenty of storylines, scoring and drama, but ultimately ended in dissatisfaction during its closing moments. Generally accepted as the two best teams in the NFL, the American Football Conference no.1 seed Kansas City Chiefs faced off against the other National Football Conference’s top dog, the Philadelphia Eagles. The final score of 38-35 saw the Chiefs win their second title in the past four seasons. 

Kayla Downing, a second-year political science major at Seattle University, is from just outside of Philadelphia and is a self-described die-hard Eagles fan. Philadelphia is world-renowned for the chaos that consumed the city after the Eagles won the Super Bowl LII in the 2017-18 season. 

“I thought that the Eagles were definitely going to win, and I wanted to be at home for it. I was a freshman in highschool when we last won, when people were tearing telephone poles down, and flipping cars,” Downing said. “I didn’t get to participate.”

On the other side of fandom, Sophia Marcinek, a third-year nursing major, knew that the Super Bowl was happening but couldn’t have cared less as to who was playing, though she was well aware of Rihanna’s halftime show. The reason Marcinek still watched has to do with the social side of the Super Bowl. Put simply, it brings people together. For Marcinek, the Super Bowl provides a good excuse for social interaction and an especially good reason to have a potluck. As a college student, it can be difficult to have friends come over before sundown, and the Super Bowl is the exception.

Looking at the statistical side, both the Chiefs and Eagles held the best record (16-3) and scored the same amount of points (546) in their respective conferences. The three-point differential in the final score reflected the close, hard-fought game and the evenly matched nature of both teams. In the end, it was the kicker, Harrison Butker, who sealed the game for the Chiefs after a 27-yard go-ahead field goal with eight seconds remaining in the game. 

Despite Kansas City earning yet another Super Bowl, history was made on both sides of the ball. Super Bowl 57 was the first ever to have two Black quarterbacks (Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts) start against each other. In addition, this Super Bowl was the first to have two brothers go up against each other in the same game (Travis and Jason Kelce). 

Just a few days before the Super Bowl, Mahomes won his second NFL regular season. Most Valuable Player award. After suffering a high ankle sprain from a previous playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mahomes turned up for the big game. The Texas Tech alumni played through the sprain and managed to throw 21-of-27 in completions for 182 yards and three touchdowns along with 44 rushing yards.  

Eagles’ quarterback Jalen Hurts played an equally incredible game, finishing with 304 passing yards and four touchdowns along with the Super Bowl record for most rushing yards by a quarterback with 70. Hurts’ performance was tarnished both by the loss and his one turnover. With just under 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Hurts fumbled the football, only for it to be recovered and returned for a touchdown by Kansas City linebacker Nick Bolton.

The Chiefs and Eagles combined for a total score of 73, making Super Bowl LVII second highest scoring Super Bowl ever, only trailing Super Bowl XXIX when the San Diego Chargers and San Francisco 49ers combined for 75 points. The game can be broken up into dominant halves, with the Eagles controlling the first and the Chiefs being unstoppable in the second. The Eagles led 24-14 at halftime. 

Joe Pacini, a third-year environmental science major, thought that nearly the entire game was an awesome watch. Though, with a cool, calm and collected drive and 5:15 left on the clock, Mahomes, the Chiefs and the refs shut the game down.

“The end of the game low-key made me sad about the fact that football has come to a point where we purposefully don’t score and wait until there are 8 seconds left on the clock to kick a field goal and win the game.” Pacini said. “For what was a really great game, the ending was defined by a questionable holding call and the decision to purposefully go down at the one yard line instead of scoring.”

Super Bowl LVII inaugurated a new era of football. With players as talented as they are, playbooks as honed as they are and teams as good as they are, there is a new generation of the game being played. 

For more coverage on Super Bowl LVII, read “Super Bowl LVII is the Pinnacle of Live Event Viewing.”