If you are a regular reader of The Grandstander, you know that one phrase I often say is "This is why you follow Sports", and Super Bowl LVIII contested yesterday between the Chiefs and the 49'ers was certainly one of those instances, although for much of the game, it didn't seem like it would be.
The game was scoreless after one quarter, and San Francisco led 10-3 at halftime. The 49'ers dominated much of the game and should have had a bigger lead. Both teams lost fumbles deep in the other's territory as they were marching toward the end zone. Patrick Mahomes had thrown an interception, and Travis Kelce had made one catch for one yard. It appeared that we were headed towards a duplication of the 13-3 Patriots win over the Rams a few years ago.
The Chiefs scored ten points in the third quarter to take a 13-10 lead, so things had picked up some. Four minutes into the fourth quarter, the 49'ers scored a touchdown, and then something happened that changed everything: the point after touchdown attempt was blocked. A potential four point lead was now a three point lead for SF, and that changed everything and not just for the people in block pools.
The teams then exchanged field goals, with the Niners going ahead 19-16 with 1:53 remaining in the game. Then, when the lights were the brightest and the heat was the hottest, Patrick Mahomes took over. The Chiefs drive the field and that is when the specter of the failed PAT came into play. If San Francisco has a four point lead, the Chiefs have to score a touchdown. KayCee gets stopped inside the ten and on fourth down, Harrison Butker kicks the field goal to tie the game 19-19 with :03 remaining and send it into overtime.
We'll never know if the Chiefs would have scored a TD if they had to there to win it. With Mahomes at the helm and the team rolling, you would certainly like their chances, but the FG was as sure a thing as there was. We all know what happened then, but to summarize for the record:
- The 49'ers win the coin toss and elect to receive. They drive the field, but are forced to settle a field goal. SF 22 - KC 19.
- The Chiefs take the kickoff and proceed to drive seventy-two yards in 12 plays. This includes a critical scramble for eight yards by Mahomes on a fourth and one play five plays into the drive.
- Seven plays later, 1st and goal from the three, Mahomes hits Mecole Hardman in the end zone for the winner, and the Chiefs win their third Super Bowl in four seasons, 25-22.
- Bedlam ensues.
What had started out as a low key game, if, that is, the Super Bowl could ever be described as low key, turned into one of great drama and excitement, and it confirmed the Kansas City Chiefs as a true dynasty with three Super Bowl wins within four seasons. It also reaffirmed the fact that if Patrick Mahomes isn't the best football player in the NFL right now, he is certainly the most exciting, and that Andy Reid is certainly one of the best coaches to ever stroll an NFL sideline.
Kudos go to the 49'ers. They are a very, very good team, and Brock Purdy certainly now belongs in the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks, but some questions must be raised about head coach Kyle Shannahan. This is now the second Super Bowl where his teams have blown a fourth quarter lead not to mention him being OC of the Falcons team that blew that 28-3 lead to Brady and the Patriots a few years back. And now there are stories that are intimating that the Forty-Niners were not fully aware as to how the overtime rules in post season games worked. If that is true, that certainly falls at the feet of the head coach.
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I started the watching the game by taking notes around the events surrounding the game itself, and this is what I came up with:
- How about that opening with Frank Sinatra singing "My Way" over clips of the two teams. Can you say "over the top" and just a little bit too self-reverential?
- What was with Post Malone's teeth?
- Reba McIntyre did the Anthem in 1:35.6. Very good job but 5.36 seconds too long.
- There's going to be a movie version of "Wicked"? I can't wait.
- Loved the Lionel Messi Michelob Ultra commercial with Dan Marino making an appearance at the end.
- The Dunkin' Donuts commercial with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Tom Brady, and Jennifer Lopez was great.
- I am guessing that the RFK Jr. for President ad using animation and music from his Uncle John's 1960 campaign could not have gone over well with the extended Kennedy Family.
After that, I pretty much stopped paying attention. Don't ask about Usher's halftime show. We were eating dinner (which is one good thing about a 48 minute halftime break) and weren't paying all that much attention to it.
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In other sports news, the Pirates made a free agent signing yesterday, veteran catcher Yasmani Grandal. To be sure, Grandal is not Johnny Bench, but it is a signing that could - COULD - be significant for the team this upcoming season.
Leave it to the Pirates, though, to announce it on the morning of the Super Bowl. Does the team actually TRY to avoid making news?
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