The Kansas City Chiefs intention for a historic hat-trick of Super Bowl titles on Sunday once they tackle the Philadelphia Eagles in entrance of a star-studded crowd in New Orleans headed by US President Donald Trump. A strident critic of the National Football League through the years, Trump will turn out to be the primary sitting president ever to attend the Super Bowl when he takes his seat amongst a sell-out crowd of round 74,000 followers on the Caesars Superdome for the greatest annual occasion within the American sporting calendar.
Pop famous person Taylor Swift may even be within the VIP seats to observe as her boyfriend Travis Kelce and his Chiefs team-mates bid to turn out to be the primary workforce in historical past to elevate three consecutive Vince Lombardi Trophies.
Trump’s presence on the NFL showpiece will heighten safety round an occasion which was already protected by a heavy police presence following the New Year’s Day assault which left 14 folks useless and plenty of extra injured within the Big Easy’s well-known Bourbon Street district.
“I’m confident the safest place this weekend will be under the security umbrella we have in place around (the Superdome),” Cathy Lanier, the NFL’s chief safety officer, stated this week. “We have reviewed, and re-reviewed, all the events of January 1.”
Trump’s groundbreaking attendance on the recreation comes towards a backdrop of a strained relationship with the NFL stretching again a number of many years, when he sought to hitch the league as an proprietor within the early Eighties solely to be rebuffed.
Trump additionally triggered uproar throughout his first time period as president when in 2017 he criticized NFL gamers who knelt throughout the enjoying of the US nationwide anthem to attract consideration to problems with racial injustice.
Players in Sunday’s recreation have up to now walked a diplomatic line when requested about Trump’s presence, with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes saying enjoying in entrance of the US chief could be “cool.”
Fans in New Orleans in the meantime expressed hope that Trump doesn’t politicize the event.
“I’m hoping that basically he comes in and he’s at his seat and they kind of like keep it quiet. I just want it to be a fun game and not be political,” Debra Ward, a instructor from Virginia, informed AFP.
As all the time, the Super Bowl crosses over into common tradition and the half-time present this 12 months will function hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar, who had a clear sweep eventually Sunday’s Grammys, successful in all 5 classes for which he obtained nominations.
Bookmakers and casinos in the meantime are taking odds on whether or not Chiefs star Kelce will suggest to pop icon Swift after what is likely to be his closing recreation within the NFL. Reports late Saturday stated the 35-year-old is contemplating retirement after the Super Bowl.
American sports activities books, now authorized in 38 states, may take an estimated $1.39 billion in bets on the Super Bowl in keeping with an annual report from the American Gaming Association (AGA).
Chiefs favourites
For the extra severe punters, the oddsmakers have the Chiefs as slight favorite for the sport, a rematch of the Super Bowl from two years in the past which the Chiefs gained by three factors.
The Chiefs defended their title final 12 months, beating the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas and placing them one win away from an unprecedented “three-peat”.
The 29-year-old Mahomes will turn out to be one in all simply 4 quarterbacks within the historical past of the NFL to have gained greater than three Super Bowls ought to he triumph once more, having first led the Chiefs to Super Bowl glory in 2020.
But the Eagles have added severe offensive firepower since their defeat two years in the past with cellular quarterback Jalen Hurts joined by the game-changing velocity and energy of working again Saquon Barkley.
The Chiefs put the ending touches to their Super Bowl preparations on Saturday with a 30-minute walkthrough of a mock recreation.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid saluted his workforce’s perspective to coaching over the entire week since arriving in Louisiana.
“I thought the guys worked hard, they got done what they needed to get done,” Reid stated.
The Eagles had a equally relaxed closing session earlier than heading to the Superdome on Saturday for a workforce picture.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni stated his gamers had been “hungry” and “ready to roll.”
“We’re ready for the challenge against a really good team,” Sirianni stated.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
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