The time has finally come. After a chaotic week of build-up in Las Vegas, the stage is set for Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium.
Finally, the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers are ready to go to war in the NFL’s biggest game.
Vegas has been awash with big-spending celebrities, hundreds of thousands of fans and football festivities all week, but we’re now just hours away from kick-off.
Taylor Swift will also be in position. The pop star has successfully crossed the globe from Tokyo to Los Angeles and will now head to Las Vegas in time to cheer on boyfriend Travis Kelce for the 13th and final time this season.
Just four years after Kelce and the Chiefs defeated the 49ers to win Super Bowl LIV in Miami, the NFL’s two best teams have returned to the big time and it’s shaping up to be an exciting ride.
After a chaotic week in Las Vegas, the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers play tonight
Allegiant Stadium will host the Super Bowl with approximately 65,000 in attendance
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift reunite in Las Vegas after the singer’s shows in Tokyo
Is this the greatest Super Bowl of all time?
There’s no doubt that Swift and Kelce’s relationship has brought millions of eyes to football that wouldn’t otherwise be watching.
An average of 16.9 million viewers tuned in to see Swift win another album of the year award at the Grammys last week, but the NFL expects as many as 200 million people around the world to tune in for the Super Bowl.
Last season’s finale between the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles – featuring Jason Kelce but not Swift – drew 169 million people worldwide. Her impact is clearly visible.
The couple’s influence has become so powerful that some have baselessly accused them of being key assets in a secret plot to help President Joe Biden get re-elected in 2024.
Even while on tour in Japan, questions about the singer and tight end dominated every day of media activity. Players have even been asked to sing her songs.
Couple her presence with the fact that it will all unfold with the bright lights of Las Vegas as a backdrop and the pre-game anticipation has never been more palpable.
Their relationship has brought a new audience to the NFL, with a large TV audience expected
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes will battle for supremacy
Of course, there’s the glitz and glamor of playing in America’s entertainment hub and the irony of playing a Super Bowl in a gambling capital, an idea that used to be taboo for the NFL.
Nearly 68 million American adults — about one in four — plan to bet on the game, a new record by a wide margin. Gamblers plan to wager an estimated $23.1 billion on this year’s Super Bowl, up from $16 billion last year, it is forecast.
Vegas has been pulling out all the stops all week. Elvis Presley impersonators and showgirls, both die-hard Vegas fans, welcomed the Chiefs and 49ers as they arrived.
A towering replica of the Vince Lombardi Trophy floats in the Bellagio Fountains, and fake field goal posts stand next to pedestrian bridges on the Strip.
There has already been talk of parking for private jets in and around Las Vegas, while game tickets have surpassed $12,000 each and are still rising. That’s before you consider that the suites at Allegiant Stadium are even too expensive for Donna Kelce, she claims.
As of Tuesday, the average weekend room rate at some casinos, including the Aria and Bellagio, topped $1,400 per night Friday through Sunday. And all 37,000 rooms across 12 MGM Resorts International properties were sold out Saturday night.
Las Vegas has fully embraced the Super Bowl, with Elvis impersonators greeting both teams
The iconic Las Vegas strip was transformed into a Super Bowl hub for fans this week
Vegas is packed to the brim and it looks like we have a game that can meet even the highest expectations.
The underdog Chiefs can secure a third Super Bowl victory in five seasons and cement themselves as the NFL’s great new dynasty, a title vacated by the New England Patriots since Tom Brady’s departure.
The 49ers are chasing their franchise’s sixth championship and trying to end two decades of pain. If they can get the job done, they will join the Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers as the only franchises with six titles.
Two years ago, the idea of 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy being in this position would have been ridiculous. In 2022 he was written off as Mr. Irrelevant, but he has had a spectacular rise and to win the ultimate prize so early in his career would be remarkable.
It would also cap off a fitting redemption story that began when he injured his elbow in the NFC Championship game last season when the 49ers were defeated in Philadelphia.
The 24-year-old has an old head on young shoulders and will be well aware that his best chance of success lies in passing the ball to his star-studded attack.
Christian McCaffrey is the best offensive player in the NFL and he is backed up by electric receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. Kelce may be the only tight end the Swifties know, but they will soon become aware of George Kittle.
Don’t forget Nick Bosa on the other side of the ball. Mahomes must have had nightmares about him all week.
Christian McCaffrey is the biggest name on a star-studded offense for the 49ers team
Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco hopes to win a second Super Bowl in his second season
Opposite him, however, is Patrick Mahomes, a quarterback who knows how to get the job done on the biggest stage.
The Chiefs star may draw comparisons to Tom Brady, who won seven Super Bowls in his career, but he emphasized this week that such connections are far too premature.
“I’m not even halfway through yet, so I haven’t thought about it much yet,” Mahomes said.
“I mean, your goal is to be the best player you can be. I know I’ve been blessed with a lot of great players. And so right now it’s doing everything I can to beat a great 49ers team and try to get that third ring.
‘And if you ask me that question fifteen years from now, I’ll see if I can get close to seven. But seven still seems far away.’
Mahomes and Kelce carry a lot of responsibility for this Chiefs team and you worry about them if the 49ers disconnect. Isiah Pacheco’s performance has been a highlight this season, but Kansas City’s receivers have struggled all year.
Andy Reid has won two Super Bowls, while Kyle Shanahan is desperately in the hunt for his first
The Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas will be the setting for the delicious match tonight
The brains behind the game plans are coaches at the other end of their careers: Andy Reid and Kyle Shanahan.
Reid will go down as one of the greatest coaches in NFL history, but at age 65, he hasn’t fully answered questions about his post-Super Bowl retirement.
Niners coach Kyle Shanahan, meanwhile, came close to winning the Super Bowl twice before, but saw his teams take a big lead.
He was Atlanta’s offensive coordinator when Brady and the Patriots rallied from a 28-3 second-half deficit to win the Super Bowl in 2017. His 49ers team led the Chiefs 20-10 entering the fourth quarter to watch Mahomes carry Kansas City to a win. 31-20 win in Miami in 2020.
“They’re both heartbreaking,” Shanahan said this week. ‘Those things last a while. But what matters is that I can get back there again, and I’m looking forward to that.’
From the field to those watching Las Vegas itself from the stands, there are so many subplots, storylines and fascinating elements to this game.
The time for talking is almost over. Super Bowl LVIII is here and it promises to be a game for the ages in Las Vegas.