Super Bowl LVIII: Victory, Valor, and Swift Glimpses
A first-in-history overtime led to a victorious Kansas City Chiefs.
The 2024 Super Bowl, also known as Super Bowl LVIII, has finally come and gone. The game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers took place on February 11, 2024, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Star players Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce from the Chiefs and Trent Williams and Christian McCaffrey from the 49ers were all set to entertain the Las Vegas crowd. In addition to the exciting teams and players on display, the much-discussed Super Bowl LVIII Half Time Show was headlined by musical icon Usher, with additional performances from Alicia Keys, H.E.R., will.i.am, Ludacris, Lil Jon, among others.
However, amid all the speculation on how the halftime show would go—whether Justin Bieber would make an appearance, and how much screen time Taylor Swift would get—there was still a game to be played.
Some have deemed the defending champions, the Chiefs, one of the best teams ever. Their quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, has also been deemed one of the best quarter backs of all time. Heading into the Super Bowl LVIII as the favourites, the team still had much to prove, as few teams have ever won back-to-back Super Bowls.
Scoreless at the end of the first quarter, the Chiefs were on the backfoot for most of the game, trailing the 49ers. However, after tying the game late in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs and 49ers headed to overtime for the first time in Super Bowl history.
In overtime, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman Jr. scored the winning touchdown, lifting his team to a 25-22 victory in Super Bowl LVIII. This victory sent Chiefs fans into a frenzy. Celebrations surged across the US and, ultimately, across the world.
Swift’s appearance at this year’s Super Bowl was a popular topic of conversation. The widely-celebrated, multi-Grammy-winning artist was seen celebrating with Kelce, her boyfriend, at the end of the game. Swift has been spotted at many of Kelce’s recent games, and many believe she is taking attention away from the actual game or players. Others argue that this is an odd thing to complain about, given the added publicity Swift has brought to the NFL. Regardless, the broadcasters were very careful with how much they showed her during the game. Throughout the entire game, Swift was seen for a total of only 55 seconds, or 0.36% of the entire broadcast.
Following the celebrations at the game, a city-wide parade in Kansas City unfolded. The celebrations were a great time for some, but a tragedy for many others as shots were fired at the Chiefs championship parade, resulting in one death and more than 20 wounded.
Sports & Health Editor (Volume 50); Locked on Leafs Columnist (Volume 48 & 49) — Omar is in his final year at UTM, working towards completing a major in CCIT and double minors in Political Science and Anthropology. Omar loves to keep up with various sports teams, his favourite being the Toronto Maple Leafs. When he isn’t stressing over exams or the Leafs, you can find him watching movies, looking at shoes he can only hope to afford, and trying his best to avoid parking tickets on campus.