Super Bowl LVIII: Kansas City Chiefs defeat 49ers
February 12, 2024
The Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl — the biggest sporting event in the United States — in Las Vegas on Sunday, defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22.
This marks their second consecutive Super Bowl title and the third title in five years. The Chiefs are now the NFL's first repeat champions since the New England Patriots in February 2005.
At halftime, the 49ers led the Chiefs 10-3. In the third quarter, however, the Chiefs managed to overtake the 49ers, 13-10. The highly anticipated game went into overtime after Chiefs placekicker Harrison Butker's 29-yard field goal in the last seconds tied the scores at 19-19.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who threw the winning 3-yard touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman with three seconds left in overtime, has won the MVP award for the third time. He attributed the success to his team.
"What we've come through, dealt with this year, the guys never faltered," he said.
Pop star Taylor Swift was at the Allegiant Stadium, where she was later seen celebrating her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, adding another layer of excitement to this year's event.
Sunday's game is also expected to smash sports gambling and television viewing records.
Glamor, pomp and sports
Las Vegas' 65,000-seater Allegiant Stadium was packed with fans, celebrities, and VIPs.
The Federal Aviation Administration has reported that approximately 500 private jets have flown into Las Vegas for the event.
The resale ticketing website Stubhub listed tickets for Sunday's event with the cheapest seats priced at $5,713 (€5,299) while the most expensive seats were listed for an exorbitant $196,875. Americans were expected to wager $23.1 billion on the game, according to the American Gaming Association.
Concerts planned around the game feature superstars including U2, Adele, Christina Aguilera and Green Day, whereas Usher headlined the halftime.
Usher, Ludacris perform at halftime
R&B star Usher headlined the half-time show with featured guests like Ludacris, Lil John, Alicia Keys and HER.
The pop star performed over a dozen songs in his allotted 12 minutes including the hit song 'YEAH.'
What do we know about Swift's attendance?
Swift was seen arriving at the stadium on Sunday, wearing a black dress. She donned a gold necklace which read 87; Kelce's jersey number, with a Chiefs jacket slung over her shoulder.
Entertainment media outlets reported that Swift arrived back in the US after wrapping up her show in Tokyo.
Late in the first half of the game, the cameras flashed Swift up on to the big screens, prompting 49ers jeers to ring round the stadium. Swift was seen grabbing her drink and chugging it before slamming the glass down, as those around her smiled.
After the Chiefs' victory, Swift was seen hugging Kelce amid the celebrating crowd.
Since beginning to date Kelce last year, Swift has attended several Chiefs games. Some have attributed the increase in female viewership to the couple's budding romance. A record 200.5 million adults in the US are planning to watch Super Bowl this year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation.
Swift won the Album of the Year Grammy award last week for an unprecedented fourth time, with Kelce hailing her as "rewriting the history books."
"I told her I need to hold up my end of the bargain and bring home some hardware, too," he had said, in reference to the football trophy, which the Chiefs also won last year.
rmt/lo (AP, AFP, Reuters)