So there you have it, that gives the Chiefs two titles in a row, and then three in five years. Question: will they be able to add to this already well-stocked table?
Do you know who can answer this question? No one, except perhaps the virgin of Fatima, who once caused Pope Pius XII to exclaim “poor Canada!” » in front of a stunned audience, undoubtedly a reference to this Stanley Cup drought which would befall the country from 1993.
In the case that concerns us, it is more complicated. The Chiefs are the eighth team to win back-to-back Super Bowls. No one has ever won three times in a row, and since Sunday, everyone has been wondering if they can do it.
Let’s go with this bold prediction: It could be.
As we leave, the Chiefs’ 2024 schedule will be at 16e rank of the most difficult in the NFL, but it should be remembered that the difficulty of the schedule is based on the ranking of the previous season, which can change the situation. For example, last August, a club with the New York Jets on its schedule could have expected a difficult game, without knowing that Aaron Rodgers was instead going to sit out this game while wondering if the Earth is flat.
What is more concrete is that the core of the Chiefs will be back. Patrick Mahomes will only be 29 years old next season, and he has only missed two games in six seasons due to health reasons. Travis Kelce will also be back. On defense, two key players, Chris Jones and L’Jarius Sneed, are out of contract, but the club has room on its payroll to work it all out. Defensive tackle Jones, the club’s best defensive player, should be at the top of the pile, if it isn’t already.
That’s without forgetting that coach Andy Reid, perhaps the finest strategist in American football, will be back, and if Taylor Swift is also back, who can stop this team?
***
Meanwhile, there are all kinds of questions being asked in San Francisco, and with good reason. The 49ers had to overcome a 17-point deficit in the previous game, and this time, they were short of miracles.
Much was made of the Niners players, who simply admitted to some confusion regarding the rules of playoff extension. Without claiming that the match was decided on this detail, there is still a question that deserves to be asked: if the 49ers were poorly prepared in this chapter, were they also in other aspects of the game ?
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif recently explained to us how Andy Reid is a maniac about preparation, to the point of reviewing the smallest detail, and even going so far as to simulate the half-time break during training.
Clearly, Kyle Shanahan’s club wasn’t as well prepared.
***
The Super Bowl is behind us, but that doesn’t mean the masses, from Shawinigan to Shaw, Texas, are stopping filling up their inboxes.
Among others, there is this observation from Mike Bouchard, who notes that “Tiger is always in red on Sunday, not just at the Masters”, and since my interest in golf is about as high as my interest in eating habits American robin in winter, I trust you on that.
Then, Robert Gamache tells us that he likes the halftime shows at the Super Bowl, “because it allows you to do the dishes”, and then, moreover, it appears that Mariah Carey’s voice has already broken dishes in a previous Super Bowl.
Finally, a certain “Mr. St-Louis” claims that several 49ers were not sitting in the right chair. This is undoubtedly true.
We are therefore at the worst times of the year, ladies and gentlemen: these empty and lifeless Sundays, bordering on the funereal, during which there is absolutely nothing to do, except perhaps see again The under-gifted on holiday for the 300e times.
Like a muse that we no longer see, September is far away, too far away, and all we have left is the dream, that of seeing our team lift the trophy next time. It’s beautiful to dream, and everyone can do it.
Except Jets fans.