Another year means another Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl. The Chiefs attempted to become the first team to pull off a Super Bowl-three-peat and become the new official bad boys of the league. Some National Football League (NFL) fans are convinced that they were assisted by the referees and the games were staged to lead to Chiefs’ victories. Despite this, they were surprisingly trounced by the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59.
This year’s Super Bowl was between two of the most disliked teams in the league, the Chiefs and Eagles. Many fans had a dreadful problem: they didn’t want either team to win. As this was a rematch of the Super Bowl from only two years ago, fans had no interest in experiencing a repeat game. The Chiefs have now been to five of the last six Super Bowls. They are seen as the new New England Patriots of the league that fans don’t want to see win. The Eagles also have a truly passionate fanbase that is disliked by many other fans.
According to Forbes, Super Bowl ticket prices were cheaper this year compared to the last two years, declining significantly after the Chiefs and Eagles were set to meet in the Super Bowl. People seemed to care more about the Super Bowl commercials and the halftime show, rather than the actual game this year.
Although the Chiefs got some lucky calls this season and in the playoffs, the NFL is not rigged and never has been. When the Chiefs played the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round, there were some questionable roughing the passer calls that favored the Chiefs. Additionally, Quarterback Patrick Mahomes flopped when pushed out of bounds by a Texans defender.
The game that sent the Chiefs to the Super Bowl, played against the Buffalo Bills, also had some questionable calls. Xavier Worthy was given a “catch” on a play where he had unclear possession of the ball. The Bills’ player had his hands around the ball before it hit the ground. After Bills’ Head Coach Sean McDermott challenged the ruling of a catch, the call remained in the Chiefs’ favor. A fourth down turnover that looked like a first down gain on the replay also ended the Bills’ last drive of the game.
Despite the seemingly uneven calls in the playoffs, many of them were close and could have gone either way. NFL refs make the right call almost every time—even though we only remember the calls that are close and seem unfair. But when these calls are made, they often have a strong impact on the outcome of the game. Penalty calls can hurt a team’s momentum and their chances of winning.
Both the Chiefs and Eagles deserve credit for playing great football this past year. Kansas City tied for the most games won during this regular season, and Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley had an amazing rushing season with over 2000 yards. Nevertheless, many are hoping that different teams can make it all the way next year. Fans need to root for a team to win the Super Bowl, not to lose it.
