GLENDALE, Ariz. — Even by modern Super Bowl standards, what happened on Sunday was extra. Even by Arizona Super Bowl standards, it was more. Even by Patrick Mahomes‘ standards? Well, you saw it too — you tell me.
And if you didn’t see Super Bowl LVII, I’m truly, genuinely sorry, because you missed a game and an occasion for which only the spiciest superlatives will do, a Super Bowl to be remembered forever amid a stretch of epic NFL title-deciders that is beginning to defy belief.
Football fans, we’re spoiled right now. And doesn’t it feel good?
Dating back to 2008, also when Glendale played host, right up until the 38-35 white-knuckle ride between Mahomes’ Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, the big game is on an almighty tear.
This? This was even better than most.
What happened on Sunday night isn’t normal. If it was the first football game you’ve ever watched, sorry again, because you’re ruined forever. In the building that saw David Tyree’s catch and Malcolm Butler’s pick, Mahomes and Jalen Hurts threw haymakers at each other and never let up.
Greatest ever? It is certainly a contender, for a wide variety of reasons.
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Remember when the Super Bowl always seemed to be a blowout? When the odds were better than even that the contest might be a snoozer, but hey, at least the halftime show would likely be good?
If you can’t recall that time, it is hard to blame you, because we are now a decade and a half into the annual fiesta almost always providing something truly memorable, with a teensy handful of exceptions.
The events of Sunday night, then, aren’t necessarily an outlier, but this was especially special — that’s clumsily phrased, but there are only a few descriptors that begin to do it justice. Mahomes and Hurts had more than 600 yards collectively, and seven touchdowns, with Mahomes throwing darts and envisioning tricks and hobbling along, and Hurts creating options with his imagination and arm, then scoring most often with his legs.
The drama was spellbinding and would have been even more so if not for that painful last holding call. There were huge plays, controversial calls and a moment of weakness from Hurts — a chaotic fumble — that somehow only emboldened your appreciation of his character, so strong was the response.
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I don’t know how many people were at both the Super Bowl and the FIFA World Cup final in December, but I feel immensely fortunate to be among that number, two all-time blockbusters separated by just 55 days.
The world game’s biggest showcase was incredible, as Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe dueled in a battle for the ages, between guys of vastly different ages. America’s game responded in kind.
Sometimes recency bias comes into play, but it is hard to imagine how the luster of this game will fade any with passing years. Maybe it will be the opposite, for things got so frenetic as Sunday evening wore on that it was difficult to keep up, with no time to marvel at one piece of magic before the next rolled in.
Will this be seen as the catalyst for Mahomes to start moving in the direction of serial Super Bowl-winning QBs? With Hurts use this as a springboard for his own true stardom? Or maybe it is just a moment to be taken in isolation, appreciated for its own significance instead of anything to come later. There were a lot of questions there, so here’s some more.
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First, what next? Can the Daytona 500 conjure an afternoon of thrills and edge-of-seat twists this weekend? With the Final Four offer something Christian Laettner-esque, or better? Is an NBA Finals Game 7 spectacular in the cards?
And, if the answer to any of the above is yes, can we handle all this excitement?
Of course we can, we must just remember to breathe. Go ahead sports, spoil us some more.
