American football
Chiefs and 49ers in the Super Bowl: Deadline stress for Swift
A kiss for the AFC champion: After the win against the Baltimore Ravens, Travis Kelce gets a kiss from girlfriend Taylor Swift. photo
© Julio Cortez/AP/dpa
Kansas City reaches the Super Bowl again, San Francisco wants to take revenge there. In the NFL semifinals, a German-American missed out on the big coup. And world pop star Taylor Swift has a problem.
Travis Kelce hugged his girlfriend Taylor Swift gave a big kiss on the lips and then sent the big celebration message towards Kansas City. The footballer had just reached the Super Bowl with his Chiefs, where he wants to successfully defend the title from last year on February 11th in Las Vegas.
“The Chiefs are still the Chiefs,” record man Kelce roared into the stadium microphone with satisfaction over the 17:10 win away to the favored Baltimore Ravens and sang the Beastie Boys hits: “You gotta fight for your right to party !” (“You have to fight for your right to party”).
The really big party for the Chiefs around Kelce and quarterback star Patrick Mahomes won’t take place in the gambling metropolis for another two weeks. There it’s against the San Francisco 49ers, who defeated the Detroit Lions led by German-American Amon-Ra St. Brown 34:31 after a fantastic comeback. “We’ve come so far this year, but it wasn’t enough,” the Lions ball receiver summed up soberly. “Next year we have to be even better.”
Lions still not at the highlight
Detroit was a losing team for years, only now and thanks to St. Brown did the team return to the NFL semifinals after 33 years. The Lions are – and remain for the time being – the only team in the National Football League that has never played in the most important game of the season in the almost six-decade Super Bowl era.
For a long time in California it looked as if the surprise team of the season from Detroit could actually shock the 49ers. The guests dominated the first half and went into the break with a score of 24:7. St. Brown, the son of a Leverkusen mother and a former US bodybuilder, caught some important passes. In the third quarter, however, the tide turned, San Francisco caught up and was able to celebrate in the end because the Lions dared risky moves – but failed. “It feels like your heart is being ripped out,” Detoit coach Dan Campbell said.
The Ravens players and fans felt the same way when they had to watch the Kansas City Chiefs cheer in their stadium in Baltimore. Tight end Kelce brought his girlfriend Taylor Swift onto the lawn and gave her a big hug. We are now used to the fact that the world pop star always attracts a lot of attention with such appearances.
Is Swift coming or not?
But Football-America is now concerned with an exciting question with regard to the Super Bowl: Can the singer be there in Las Vegas in two weeks, cheer on her friend on site and possibly even steal the show from halftime artist Usher? Swift has a concert on her calendar 24 hours before the game starts in Las Vegas – in Tokyo. US media are already calculating flight times across the Pacific. Because the 34-year-old has her own private jet for her trips, she could probably make it to Nevada in time.
There, the Chiefs are looking to win their third Vince Lombardi Trophy in the past five years. For the first time since the New England Patriots 19 years ago, a team in the National Football League can manage to defend its title. The Chiefs had the chance to do this three years ago, but then lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The year before there was a 31:20 win against the 49ers – and the first Super Bowl for quarterback Mahomes, coach Andy Reid and tight end Kelce.
Back then, Kelce celebrated the success with a short Beastie Boys vocal performance. And this time too, the experienced and ripped off Chiefs will fight hard to ensure that they can celebrate themselves and not the 49ers.