super bowl

I may be the only non-KC fan to be pulling for the Chiefs. I did not see the games last Sunday, and Championship Sunday is usually my favorite weekend (unless the Rams are in the SB). I punched into the NFC game near the end of the 1st half, and there was pushing, shoving, and facemask pulling, followed by replays of earlier animosities, and I was suddenly filled with hatred for the Eagles. Dunno why them, particularly. I think the fact that WA has changed its name, and Snyder is gone, and Snyder is rooting against WA, and the fact that WA never really did any serious damage to the Rams, coupled with the arrogance of Eagles’ comments before they beat the Rams…

I’m for the Chiefs. I have no reason to hate them. Reid is just good. Spags is good. Mahomes is good. They don’t deflate footballs, or illegally film opponents’ practices.

And. Like I said earlier, Brady never won 3 in a row. So that’s that.

zn wrote:

You make a good case.

Plus the Chiefs might show people how you defend Barkley.

There’s just nothing to hate there. For me, anyway. Mahomes isn’t an arrogant SOB, Kelce doesn’t kill dogs – and it’s not his fault Taylor Swift is mad on him.

I haven’t tracked the “NFL refs are in the pocket of KC” stuff. Refs blow calls sometimes, and sometimes they blow them on plays that turn out to be significant, and sometimes they blow them on 2 or 3 plays in a game, all breaking in favor of one of the teams.

But they DON’T do it deliberately, and they don’t do it with partiality.

RamsMaineiac wrote:

I am strongly considering the choice of not watching the Super Bowl.

To be clear, I am not joining the boycott that was started by more than 300k other fans protesting the sketchy officiating throughout the season which has inexplicably and consistently benefited one of the teams in this Super Bowl (KC). I am also not boycotting because the public persona of other team’s fans is to be “the most horrible human beings we can be, make other people hate us, and not care but revel in it” (Philly). While I will not deny truly wanting both teams to lose, I am thinking about making this choice because the NFL has made a clear gesture, and has kowtowed to the racism that is sweeping our nation in the last few weeks.

NFL Executives decided to remove the “End Racism” slogan from the end zone, specifically now in this game. For context, this slogan has been in the Super Bowl end zone since 2021. It has been there in most games since 2000 and the summer of protests about racial inequality. Choosing to remove that slogan now, during this game, is no coincidence. Our President, the racist bigot in chief, will in attendance at the game. The NFL’s rationalization for why they are making the change now is also full on PR bs, almost as bad as someone blaming plane crashes on DEI.

I am not deluded, and I know my not watching will do nothing, but I am pretty sure I cannot watch and stay true to myself and my values. As my head comes back above the utter shock of watching our Democratic institutions being unlawfully destroyed, I will certainly look for more productive ways to fight back against the shit show that has been the last two weeks, but for now I am thinking this may be the best choice for me.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6112317/2025/02/04/nfl-end-racism-super-bowl-dei-trump/

I was also dismayed by the NFL’s capitulation to prevailing racist winds. I was deeply disappointed in this decision. Calling it “cowardice” is probably being generous.

I’ve had a couple of days since you posted this, though, to mull over why it isn’t a tipping point for me. FWIW.

And I have concluded that “End Racism,” as a slogan, never meant very much to me. I mean…it doesn’t mean anything.

You could put “End Racism” on every end zone, every helmet, every telephone pole in this country, and it still wouldn’t change a damn thing. It reminds me of a tweet I saw by somebody a few years ago that said something like, “Black people just asked that cops stop killing people, and white people said, ‘Fine, we’ll change the name of this pancake mix.'”

“End racism” doesn’t mean anything. It suggests that the problem is individual. That the problem would be wiped away if a few more people took individual responsibility to still their personal animosity along racial lines.

An End Zone slogan that said, “Hold Police Accountable.” Or “Make Red-Lining Illegal.”

Those would be messages that carried weight, that actually put pressure on the system.

“End Racism”… I’m not even sure that phrase is well-intentioned. Sounds to me like something that a moderately smart defender of racism would come up with as a solution.

“Hey. We’ll meet you halfway. We give you these bumperstickers with rainbows on them, and you quit the public protests and go home. Deal?”

So I guess I am not pissed at the NFL for removing that slogan when putting it out there was about as low-effort as it gets in the first place.

Zooey wrote:

So I guess I am not pissed at the NFL for removing that slogan when putting it out there was about as low-effort as it gets in the first place.

And let’s not forget that the NFL which painted “End Racism” on the end zone also blacklisted Colin Kaepernick. So.

Reminded me of what the Giants did to Brady. Just hammered him.

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Seemed like the chiefs looked lethargic, too. I know the eagles have powerful lines, but the chiefs just looked weak or tired or somethin.

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I know Philly looked amazing against KC, but I still dunno if the Eagles are better than a healthy Detroit team.

Rams played well against the top two NFC teams. Looking forward to seeing what Snead has in mind this offseason.

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