SPORTS & MORE

Super Ending For Super Bowl Lvii

At halftime of Sunday’s Super Bowl, my friend, Jerry, asked me what I thought of the game. I said I thought it was rather boring.

At that point, we had two quarterbacks getting ready to collapse, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes from his bad ankle and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts from his sore shoulder.

If I had written my column at that point, I would have praised the people at Fox who put together the pregame program that seemed to go on for hours (and did). It was entirely enjoyable, however.

In the second half, both QBs seem to find some energy reserves that would have carried either team to victory.

But in the end it was Kansas City that got the boost for the win.

Rihanna probably got the energy boost, too. I’m not a fan of hers, but, already pregnant with another child, she put on quite a show, performing high above the crowd, mostly on platforms that put her in the stratosphere. Most people, including the 20 or so watching with me, seemed to enjoy it. I thought the hype overwhelmed the performance.

Meanwhile, back to one of the best of the 57 Super Bowls in history. Early in the fourth quarter, Kansas City took a 35-27 lead. But with 5:15 left, Philadelphia caught up with a touchdown and a two-point conversion. Getting the ball back, the Chiefs were having difficulty moving it back down the field, needing only a field goal and the elimination of time.

They got part of the first when Eagles cornerback James Bradberry was caught holding. It put the ball easily within field-goal distance and allowed Kansas City time to play around with the ball as the clock counted down.

Finally, with eight seconds left, Kansas City lined up in field goal position with Harrison Butker in the kicker position.

With an estimated 100 million people watching worldwide and holding their breath, Butker kicked it straight through the uprights.

As the noise of celebration settled down, Bradberry was asked if he had really committed holding in the end zone in the final minutes. The Eagle defensive back admitted he had, hoping the official wouldn’t see it. The player easily could have said he didn’t. His coach and his teammates were just as honorable, praising the Chiefs as the better team.

The commentators went even further, wondering whether coach Andy Reid, quarterback Mahomes, and tight end Travis Kelce were the best of all time.

Maybe they hadn’t watched Bill Belichick. There was a period when it seemed he was coaching the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl every year with quarterback Tom Brady, who then collected another Super Bowl ring with his next team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Regardless, though, the ending of Super Bowl LVII was nothing short of super.

BRITT MYERS britt@keysweekly.com