By Kevin Perez
The countdown to Super Bowl 54 is about to end.
Today, Sunday February 2nd, the country will come together to watch the long-awaited matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, a game which will start at 6:30 PM—in just a couple of hours.
All around the country, Football fanatics and aficionados alike will get together to place their money on the big question: who will take the big Lombardi home this year?
But this year, for Miami-native football fans, the Super Bowl is going to be particularly significant.
It is going to be played at home.
The 305 and the Halftime Show
The NFL’s 54th Super Bowl will be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, home of the Miami Dolphins.
The last time a Super Bowl was played in this major city was in 2010, for the Super Bowl XLIV. And this year, after major renovations from former “Sun Life Stadium” to “Hard Rock Stadium,” the city of Miami was awarded the NFL’s 100th seasons Super Bowl.
This Super Bowl will not only feature two of the NFLs best teams (Chiefs and 49ers), but it will also bring some of the most famous artists from all across the world stage.
Shakira and Jennifer Lopez are set to perform during the Pepsi Halftime show. Singer Demi Lovato, who just went viral after a heart-wrenching performing at the Grammys, will sing the National Anthem too.
There will be as well Pre-game music, brought to football fanatics by DJ Khaled, and, of course, since the game will be celebrated in the “305,” there will be “Tailgate Tropical,” brought to viewers by “Mr. 305” himself, Pitbull.
Now, Let’s Focus More on The Football Side: Beyond Miami, This Super Bowl is Plain Historic.
The first ever Super Bowl was held on January 15th, 1967. The game is also known as the “AFL-NFL World Championship,” which featured the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers—It’s only right that the Chiefs would once again be playing in the Super Bowl for the NFL’s 100th historic season.
But that’s not the only thing that makes this Super Bowl special in relations to the Chiefs: this game also ends Kansas City’s 50 year streak of not playing in the Super Bowl—yes, 50 years.
Beyond the Chiefs, on the other side of the ball you have the San Francisco 49ers, one of the NFL’s best franchises of all time.
The last time the 49ers won a Super Bowl was in 1995, where they beat the Chargers 46-29 at Joe Robbie Stadium, which was also played in Miami Gardens, Florida.
That being said, it feels simply hard to guess who could possibly win.
Famous Figures and Their Predictions
Former NFL Legend Joe Montana, who has played for both teams, took to Twitter a couple of days ago with his predictions for the Super Bowl. But, in the end, his Twitter threads seemed rather frivolous—he didn’t exactly choose a winner.
Joe Montana played for both the 49ers and Chiefs in his Hall of Fame career. With the Niners, he won 4 super bowls and was named “Super Bowl MVP 3X.”
After being traded to the Chiefs, he led them to their first ever AFC Championship appearance. So at the end—regardless of whoever wins—Joe has a reason to cheer no matter which team wins.
Montana is not the only famous figure that has history with this year’s Super Bowl.
After the 49ers’ dominating win over the Packers two Sundays ago, Dwayne Johnson, the famous actors and now-retired professional wrestler, took to Twitter to congratulate tight-end George Kittle and his team on their Super Bowl berth.
Chest to chest with my guy @gkittle46. Have FUN this Sunday at the #SuperBowlLIV brother. Own it. Glad you loved your new bottle of @Teremana #peoplestightend #peopleschamp 🥃 💪🏾https://t.co/lBr4dhS3WD
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) January 30, 2020
For The Rock, just like for any other Miami-native, this Super Bowl is also exciting because it will be played in his hometown.
Extra Fun Fact: Yes, the Color Red
Another fun fact is that this year’s Super Bowl matchup marks the first time the Super Bowl will feature red as the primary color for both teams. Kansas City’s red home uniforms and the 49ers road white will be the set of uniforms for the Lombardi.
Now, Let’s Take A Look Into The Teams and The Masterminds Behind It: Father-Son History and the Hall of Fame
On the Chiefs staff you have head coach Andy Reid, who is one of the NFL’s best coaches. This is his second Super Bowl appearance after leading the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl in 2004, which they lost to the Patriots in an exciting and almost-close game with 24-21.
A win in this Super Bowl for the Chiefs would most likely solidify Andy Reid’s spot in the NFL’s Hall of Fame.
On the other sideline you have head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers. This season, which was the third season he has been the head coach of the 49ers, Shanahan led his team to uphold a 13-3 record—San Francisco’s first winning season since 2013.
For Shanahan, this passion to lead a team to victory is in his blood. Kyle Shanahan’s dad, Mike Shanahan, was a former offensive coordinator for the 49ers. Mike won one Super Bowl there and two back to back with the Denver Broncos.
With Kyle’s first Super Bowl appearance, he is solidifying the first father-son duo to each make separate Super Bowl appearances in NFL history—more history for this year’s game.
But… What Else? Well, The Teams Will Be Making A Lot of History—That’s For Sure
On the franchise scale of this game, if San Francisco wins the Super Bowl, they would tie the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most super bowl wins by a franchise with six wins.
On the Chiefs side, this is their first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years, ending the NFL’s fourth-longest Super Bowl’s appearance drought. If the Chiefs win, it would mark just their second Super Bowl win in franchise history—a definite victory for Kansas City.
The Chiefs and 49ers have played each other a total of 13 times, with the 49ers holding the edge 7-6. This is the first time these two teams will meet on the world’s biggest stage—and the reality is, it could go either way.
This game won’t disappoint for sure as both sides have compelling characteristics and history will be made regardless.
The Chiefs under Patrick Mahomes as their quarterback have never lost a game by more than seven points, and the 49ers have been extremely well in close games this season.
The narrative that this Super Bowl will have “best offense VS. best defense” isn’t all that true but for good reasons.
This season the Chiefs have scored a total of 451 points and the 49ers tallied a total of 479. On the defensive side, the Chiefs allowed only 308 points and the 49ers allowed 310. These two teams might be more evenly matched than one might think.
At the end, the Chiefs’ starstruck offense with Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce will be up for a test against the league’s best defense found with the 49ers. And, reversibly, the San Francisco’s defense will be tested against the NFL’s arguably best offense.
With all the history, fun facts, and defense Vs. offense talk, there is no doubt that this game will be exciting to its last second.
That being said, don’t forget to tune into Fox today to see the exciting end to the NFL’s 100th season.
