The Super Bowl 59 matchup has been set; the Kansas City Chiefs will face off with the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 9 in New Orleans. This year, the hype around the Super Bowl is different. Many fans are upset to see the Chiefs appear in their third straight Super Bowl and are even threatening to boycott the big game.
Close Calls
Leading up to the Super Bowl, the Chiefs have an impressive record of 17-2 with 11 of those 19 games being decided by one score. For almost the entirety of the season, the Chiefs have barely been finding ways to win during close games.
A few of these games were decided on penalties that were favored for the Chiefs. This has sparked rumors that the NFL has rigged games in favor of the Chiefs. At the end of the Week 2 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Chiefs were bailed out of a fourth and 16 for a controversial pass interference call on the Bengals. This set up the Chiefs for a game-winning field goal.
During the AFC Championship game against the Buffalo Bills, the Bills’ second-to-last drive ended in a conversion of downs after the refs spotted Bills quarterback Josh Allen short of the line to gain on fourth and one. This gave the ball back to the Chiefs, which led them to take the lead and win the game.
Fans took to social media to claim that the Bills did cross the line to gain, and this was yet another call that was in the Chiefs’ favor when it shouldn’t have been. These are not the only controversial calls in favor of the Chiefs this season, fans argue that this favoritism happens in almost every game.
Media Coverage
It’s no secret that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are dating. Over the past year, Swift has made several public appearances at Chiefs games, which has gained a lot of publicity for both Swift and Kelce.
Although the Swifties are enjoying the content, football fans argue that she takes screen time away from the actual game. Even though Swift only takes up an average of less than 25 seconds of screen time per game, according to The New York Times, fans still believe Swift and the Chiefs have too much coverage in the media.
Chiefs’ Recent Success
It wasn’t that long ago that the New England Patriots were the most hated team in America, as Tom Brady led the Patriots to nine Super Bowls. Now, the hate has shifted to the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes as they will appear in their fourth Super Bowl in the past five years. Is history repeating itself?
Fans on social media are tired of the same teams making the Super Bowl and want to see different teams win the national championship. Chiefs fans argue that everyone else is just jealous that their teams aren’t in the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl 57
Two years ago, the Eagles and Chiefs met in Super Bowl 57, which ended in a 38-35 victory for the Chiefs. Yet another controversial ending of a game: the Eagles were flagged for a holding call after an incomplete pass from the Chiefs late in the fourth quarter. This set up the Chiefs for a first down and led them to a game-winning field goal with just eight seconds left on the clock. Still, to this day, Eagles fans and others argue that it was an incorrect call and handed the Chiefs their Super Bowl victory.
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