Super Bowl Preview w/High School Dance Team Update
The Super Bowl is here!
There is no new blood in this year's title tilt, in fact it is a rematch of the tightly contested Super Bowl from two years ago (Kansas City 38, Philadelphia Eagles 35), but it is a contest between the two best teams of the last eight years or so.
This is undeniably the biggest sporting event of the year that draws in way more than the usual fan and an overload of media coverage. It is hard to keep up with what truly matters and what doesn't it. The HOTPO is here for you with an assessment of the many Super Bowl storylines to help you cut through the clutter.
Super Bowl Storylines
Joe Mewis of DAZN highlights THE storyline of this Super Bowl: if Kansas City wins, they will be the first team ever to win three in a row. It is undeniable that the Chiefs have already established they are a dynasty, but this would be an unprecedented run if they complete the three-peat. While no team has won three straight Super Bowls, the Green Bay Packers were the last team to win three consecutive NFL championships from 1965-1967 with the last two including Super Bowl victories over the Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders, who were both still members of the old American Football League.
Mewis also believes what Kendrick Lamar has in store for his halftime show is a key storyline this year. I could not care less about the Super Bowl halftime show - never do, never really watch it. I spend halftime assessing the first half action, discussing the potential of the second half, reloading my plate with tasty appetizers and pouring or mixing another high-octane beverage.
Whether Philadelphia RB Saquon Barkley can complete his historic season with a Super Bowl ring is a storyline Frank Schwab of Yahoo Sports is watching. Barkley is the ninth man to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, but what is astonishing is that he ran for 1,328 yards BEFORE CONTACT. The Eagles offensive line is opening massive holes for Barkley, who ripped off a 60-yard touchdown run in the NFC Championship game, and even sprung backup RB Will Shipley for a 57-yard touchdown scamper last week.
Schwab is also interested if Tom Brady will be up to the task of calling the most important sporting event of the year in his rookie season in the booth. Again, this is a meaningless storyline. I know I will be in a room full of loud football fans who will drown out the television audio and that I will be providing as inciteful and wildly more entertaining commentary myself.
David Hill of Rolling Stone magazine explores the elephant in the room, whether the Chiefs are getting preferential treatment from the referees. In the AFC Championship game, the denial of a Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen possible first down and awarding Kansas City WR Xavier Worthy a questionable catch kept this storyline alive. And don't forget there was a lot of controversy around the holding penalty called on Eagles CB James Bradberry in the fourth quarter of the 2023 Super Bowl between these two teams that iced the game for the Chiefs.
How much screen time is given to Taylor Swift is something Hill is also watching. The Swiftie Effect is loosely connected to the referee topic for conspiracy theorists, because possibly "the league might want to put their thumb on the scale to help the Chiefs" since Tay Tay is good for ratings, according to Hill. For some reason, Taylor Swift screen time angers a lot of fans, but I don't even notice that nonsense - I just care about the action on the field and I rarely notice when the camera goes her way.
Interesting Stats & Predictions
As mentioned, this year's Super Bowl is a rematch. The winner of the first matchup holds a 6-2 record in Super Bowl rematches, according to a report on Heavy Sports. Heavy Sports predicts Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes will be able to spread the ball around to multiple weapons and their defense will limit Barkley enough to secure an historic win.
An article by the Sports Illustrated staff highlights that the great run-blocking Eagles offensive line has not been able to keep QB Jalen Hurts clean. Hurts has averaged an NFL-high 2.7 seconds per drop-back and the line has allowed a sack on 9.1 percent of their pass plays, second highest in the NFL. The SI staff believe the expertise of Mahomes, head coach Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will result in a Chiefs victory.
Kansas City has been playing close games all year compiling only the 11th best point differential (59), while Philadelphia achieved the 2nd ranked point differential (160). Tyler Dragon of the USA Today highlighted that the small point differential has not affected the Chiefs as they have won the last 17 one-score games they have played, an NFL record. Dragon believes Kansas City has game-changing capability on offense, defense as well as special teams and that will lead to the Chiefs hoisting the Lombardi Trophy again.
Bill Barnwell of ESPN wrote the War and Peace of Super Bowl previews - he covers it all, in depth. Everything you could possibly need to know is in it. Spoiler - he also picks the Chiefs, 27-24.
Who knows? It is hard to bet against the Chiefs. I just want to see a good game.
HS Dance Team Update
The West Potomac High School Dance Team completed the business portion of their season at the Universal Dance Association (UDA) National Dance Team Championship at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida last weekend. The level of competition and performance at the UDA championships is always astonishing. They didn't achieve the placement they were looking for, but they did earn an improved score in comparison to previous years.
You might still be able to catch the WPDT at Wolverine home basketball games. The 18-2 girls' team has one more home game Monday versus C.G. Woodson and the 10-9 boys host Lake Braddock the next day. Both teams have legitimately high hopes for the playoffs.
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