Eighteen weeks of heartbreaks and joyous celebrations later, the 2023-2024 National Football League (NFL) season is coming to an end — the returning champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, are set to take on the San Francisco 49ers on February 11th in the Super Bowl at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The anticipation and hope for this matchup surrounds football fans. Let’s take a look at what that energy looks like in our Bishop’s community of football fans.

Led by Head Coach Andy Reid, the Chiefs are about to make their fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years. Starting the season out with strong defense, and an arguably struggling offensive line, their record for this regular season is 11-6. Star players on the team include quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight-end Travis Kelce, and defensive-tackle Chris Jones, and the Chiefs were the only team with three top ten players ranked in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2023. Raiders fan Ruben Gutierrez (‘25) said, “[Mahomes will] definitely show, he always does.” 

Ruben, who holds a “deep-rooted hatred [for both teams],” nonetheless thought the “Chiefs have a pretty solid D-line (defensive line).” For his birthday, coincidentally on Super Bowl Sunday, he still plans to “have a good day, hang out with the boys, and watch the game” with the Raiders deep in his heart. 

Meanwhile, Mikayla Crowe (‘24), whose dad is from Kansas City, is a born and bred Chiefs fan. Her favorite player, running back Isiah Pecheco, who she boasted has “had lots of good runs [this season],” is “just really good.” 

On the flip side, standing next to Mikayla was Nalani Muniz (‘24), a loyal Los Angeles Chargers fan, who will be rooting for the Niners, as she is just “not a fan of Patty [or] Mr. Mahomes” because of his attitude, a heated topic for many. Mahomes recently received backlash for his attitude and comment made after losing to the Buffalo Bills in Week 14, on December 10th. He did clear things up the day after and apologized for his behavior and words in an interview with Carrington Harrison, but some fans still feel resentment towards the player.  

Led by Head Coach Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers are about to make their second Super Bowl appearance in five years. With a slightly better regular season record of 12-5, they played a hard game against the Detroit Lions in the National Football Conference (NFC) Championship and came out on top despite being down seventeen points at halftime. Star players include offensive tackle Trent Williams, running back Christian McCaffrey, and linebacker Fred Warner. McCaffrey and the Niners’s young quarterback Brock Purdy are both fan-favorite picks to win Most Valuable Player (MVP). 

Nalani (‘24) emphasized the pressure Purdy is under, the pressure of “[needing to] take down the Kelce and [Taylor] Swift dynasty.” Mikayla, although not a Swiftie, commented on how “Swift did not need to be [brought] into [the conversation].” So, let’s leave it at that.

Dylan Navarette (‘24), a die-hard Niners fan, attested that Purdy is certainly “not the best quarterback in the league,” but he is “efficient in getting the ball where he needs to get it, [and can] make plays and improvise with his legs.” SonSon Santiaguel (‘26), also a Niners fan, further backed the notion of “Purdy proving himself a lot” with these last few games. 

Ruben added that the “Niners also have a really good defense, probably the best in the league.” From Dylan’s point of view, his favorite player would be defensive lineman Nick Bossa. Not to mention, the Niners’ nine Pro-Bowl (a game held between the best NFL players) candidates makes Dylan, and all Niners fans, “super happy.” 

The Chiefs vs Niners matchup was seen four years ago at the 2020 Super Bowl, and while Ruben is tired of it, SonSon noted that the matchup is “pretty good.” “Player for player, the Niners are going to have a better game,” SonSon predicted, with the Chiefs having “Chris Jones on their d-line, but [the Niners] having Trent Williams.”  

Mikayla proudly predicts another Chiefs victory this time with a score of 48-36. Nalani said she’d “flip that score and say that the Niners are going to win.” Dylan predicts a score of 28-24 Niners, with his last words being, “Go Niners.” And as SonSon declared, “[The Niners] are back for vengeance.”

But, in the end, no matter who you are rooting for on the gridiron… may the best team win.