AFP
NFL fans descended on Phoenix ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles as the teams made final preparations for the NFL championship showdown.
Despite sky-high prices for tickets and hotel rooms, the bars and restaurants in downtown Phoenix filled up with supporters of both teams — joined by plenty in the jerseys of other franchises.
Sunday’s game features the two top-seeded teams in this season’s NFL playoffs and the two top-ranked quarterbacks in the league in Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts.
While workers and broadcast crews at 63,000-seat State Farm Field prepared for the big day, those looking for last minute tickets were being asked for at least $4,000 on the secondary market for the cheapest remaining seats.
The most popular destination for those who have travelled to the Southwest is the “Super Bowl Experience” in the city’s convention center, where fans and locals can take part in all manner of games as well as view trophies and memorabilia.
All but one of the Eagles’ fitness worries had cleared up but punt return specialist and wide receiver Britain Covey was listed as questionable with a hamstring injury.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said he had a full roster available for the game with those players who had some question marks over injuries given the all-clear.
“I’m happy for the guys,” Reid said. “We’ll make it work with whatever we got but I’m happy for the guys to have this chance. It’s special. To play in the Super Bowl. It’s a great opportunity that doesn’t come around very often,” he said.
Reid added that Saturday’s relatively light session was called a “Mock Game” practice, which involved “all the situational stuff.”
The Eagles walk through practice had a similar focus with an emphasis on game-opening plays and situations including two-minute drills, punts and fourth downs.
After the session, the Eagles senior players who make up their dozen-strong leadership council stayed on the field to talk for a while with coach Nick Sirianni.
“Sometimes good coaching is just reminding them of things they already know,” Sirianni said of the conversation.
“So just reminding (them to) stay in routine, stay in the moment. Don’t let distractions happen,” he added.
On paper, there is very little to choose between the teams, who have identical 16-3 records this season and remarkably have even scored the exact same number of points — 546.
Mahomes and Hurts are the youngest quarterback pairing ever in a Super Bowl and Sunday’s game also marks the first time that two black quarterbacks face each other in the biggest game.
Mahomes will cement his status as the finest NFL quarterback of this post-Tom Brady generation if he can add a second Super Bowl ring to his two Most Valuable Player awards.
The Chiefs quarterback is playing in his third Super Bowl, having won in 2020, while his 24-year-old opposite number Hurts is making his debut in the game and has played only three post-season games in his career.
The Chiefs can count on Mahomes’s strong partnership with tight end Travis Kelce, but the Eagles have a strong defense and Hurts has the ability to run with the ball, providing a dangerous dual threat.
Late predictions from the pundits along with bookmakers odds were suggesting the Eagles may be slight favorites, but for many Americans Sunday is simply about gathering with friends, drinks and snacks at a Super Bowl party.
Over 100 million Americans are expected to watch the game, which has claimed 30 of the 32 most watched broadcasts in American television history.
