Trending
It's that time of year again, when casual and even non-football fans turn their attention to the last gridiron game of the season. A lot of it has to do with the social aspects, the food and camaraderie, maybe even the commercials. Some might be drawn by a major musical performer being right, smack dab in the middle of the game.
Or some people might want to watch Usher at halftime.
Yes, Taylor Swift's boyfriend and his teammates are facing the San Francisco 49ers in a rematch of Super Bowl LIV, back when Travis Kelce's team was known as the Kansas City Chiefs.
I kid, but many people may not need my unsolicited advice on how to pick a team to root for in the Super Bowl this year. Some (like my youngest daughter) are rooting for the Chiefs because of Swift's connection to Kelce, while others might be a little tired of hearing about her and seeing all the cutaways to her during the game (as Swift herself seemed to be recently).
But I don't know if they've worked out whether she'll be at the game, and there are better reasons to root for the Chiefs or the 49ers.
OK, maybe not better, but different. My system will grade each team on criteria both objective and subjective to give you a five-point method to determine who to cheer for, assuming your favorite team isn't already one of these two.
(It will NOT predict who's going to actually win the game. So if you were going to make any wagers based on this, please just put that money toward your newspaper subscription instead.)
GEOGRAPHY
The Bengals, Browns and Steelers aren't here, so there's no home team for which to root, root, root. But Kansas City is about 1,770 miles closer to Parkersburg than San Francisco, as the Google flies.
CHIEFS 1, 49ERS 0
ALMA MATERS
Despite being so much farther away, San Francisco has a trio of high-level players who spent a lot of time on gridirons in Columbus and Morgantown. Defensive lineman Nick Bosa has been a 49er for five years since being drafted out of Ohio State, and was joined this season, via trade, by defensive end and fellow Buckeye Chase Young. WVU alum Colton McKivitz is a starting offensive lineman.
The Chiefs have safety Nazeeh Johnson, who played at Marshall, but he's injured and won't take the field this game. About the closest they have on the active roster is Kelce, who went to Cincinnati.
49ERS 1, CHIEFS 1
UNIFORMS
Jerry Seinfeld once suggested that with so many players changing teams, fans are really just rooting for laundry. If that's the case, Super Bowl LVIII presents a conundrum. Both the Niners and Chiefs have classic uniforms that have stood the test of time. As I did four years ago, I give the nod to San Francisco for the gold helmets and other elements.
49ERS 2, CHIEFS 1
MASCOTS
Last time, I gave the edge to San Francisco because "49ers" is more original than "Chiefs," even though it's somewhat uncommon and has so far seemed to avoid the pitfalls of other teams named for Native Americans (maybe because they don't feature a caricature or picture of an indigenous person in the logo). But I also noted the Chiefs' actual mascot is a wolf named KC Wolf, and that made me consider something I hadn't before: Is he a werewolf? If so, advantage Kansas City.
CHIEFS 2, 49ERS 2
STORYLINE
We've already talked enough about Taylor Swift, and I figure if she's an influencing factor in your support, you already know who you're rooting for. But if not, the simplest way to pick a favorite in this category is go for the underdog. Except...
San Francisco is favored and was predicted by many to get here. It was more surprising for the Chiefs, given their struggles at different times in the season. Nevertheless, they are the defending Super Bowl champions and have played in four of the last five title games. So is it really that surprising they're here?
And for all their dominance, the 49ers are led by quarterback Brock Purdy, the last player taken in the 2022 NFL draft, earning him the ceremonial title of Mr. Irrelevant. He has proven anything but the last two seasons, and after missing a shot at the Super Bowl last year when his arm was hurt so badly he couldn't throw, he seems like an underdog among favorites. If this was a movie, you'd probably be rooting for Purdy and his team.
49ERS 3, CHIEFS 2
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.