OK, that’s something. After the Chiefs turn the ball over on downs, Mahomes immediately launches a 50-yard arrow to Worthy, who makes the catch in the endzone. Amid all the misery, the rookie receiver has had another big night here. Hopkins then catches the two-point attempt, but this is already over… right?
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DeAndre Hopkins of the Kansas City Chiefs scores a touchdown
JAMIE SQUIRE/GETTY IMAGES
Eagles 40 Chiefs 14
Touchdown Chiefs. Kelce has finally come into the game a bit and just eclipsed Jerry Rice as the player with the most Super Bowl receptions of all time (35), but I suspect that means very little to the great tight end right now.
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Mahomes then finds Marquise Brown in the endzone, but an offensive pass interference call against JuJu Smith-Schuster brings it back. At last, he connects with DeAndre Hopkins for six, and then Justin Watson for the two-point conversion, but that all means very little too.
The celebrations have begun early in Philadelphia.
With the Eagles leading 40-6 deep into the fourth quarter, police reported that a large crowd had begun to gather at City Hall.
Cherelle Parker, the Philadelphia mayor, had urged the city’s famously rowdy sports fans to behave in a civilised manner if the team secured their second Super Bowl victory.
“Please Philadelphia, I implore you, as your mayor, do not climb light poles,” she said during a press conference on Thursday night.
“For your mayor, please, just don’t climb onto anything, OK? That’s our golden rule.”
Eagles 40 Chiefs 6
Philadelphia can’t do much with it there but they don’t need to at this point, particularly when beginning the drive with such positive field position. A couple of small gains leaves Elliott with another field goal chance from 45 yards out, but a false start as he goes to kick it makes that 50. No problem for No4, though. Eight minutes left on the clock.
Eagles 37 Chiefs 6
Oh dear, that’s another sack — and Mahomes fumbles this one. The Eagles defence recovers the ball, too, setting them up nicely to rub even more salt into the Chiefs’ wounds.
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What’s even more amazing about the Eagles six sacks is that they haven’t brought a blitz once all game. The big guys up front are just winning their battles while the secondary ensures Mahomes has no enticing options downfield. Total domination.
Eagles 37 Chiefs 6
Hurts has now broken his own record — set two years ago — of rushing yards by a quarterback in the Super Bowl. He managed 70 in Arizona and is now up to 72. In doing so, he takes the Eagles confidently into field goal range and Elliott makes another one, edging his side closer to what now seems an inevitable victory.
End of third quarter: Eagles 34 Chiefs 6
Fifteen minutes remain and the Chiefs are staring down the barrel of a 28-point deficit. They need turnovers and chunk plays, and they need them fast, or that historic third Super Bowl on the bounce isn’t happening. All the Eagles need to do is play error-free football and the Lombardi Trophy — and revenge for two years ago — is theirs.
Eagles 34 Chiefs 6
Touchdown Chiefs! That’s better. Mahomes lets fly with a 51-yard completion to speedster Xavier Worthy, then displays a bit of his trademark improvisation with a deftly lobbed pass to Kelce.
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With 24 yards to go, the quarterback spins out to the right while looking for an open receiver and it’s Worthy who hits the back of the endzone before turning around to meet a perfectly weighted pass. They go for two extra points but the pass to Kelce hits the turf. It’s something, but the gulf is still massive.
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Serena Williams, the winner of 23 grand-slam events, made a surprise appearance as a dancer during Kendrick Lamar’s half-time show.
Williams, 43, appeared on top of one of the four spotlighted platforms at the corners of the stage doing a dance move called the crip walk.
“Man, I did not crip walk like that at Wimbledon, I would have been fined,” she said in a social media post on X.
This dance involves moving one’s feet to spell the word crip, in a reference to the Los Angeles street gang of the same name.
PATRICK SMITH/GETTY IMAGES
Eagles 34 Chiefs 0
They’re just rubbing it in now. On the first play of the Eagles’ next drive, Hurts unleashes a missile towards the endzone and DeVonta Smith is underneath it to complete the catch.
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Elliott does the honours and just like that it’s 34-0.
Wondering what’s the biggest winning margin in Super Bowl history? You’re not the only one: San Francisco 49ers 55, Denver Broncos 10, 35 years ago, right here at the Superdome.
After predicting a Chiefs victory, President Trump didn’t stick around to watch the second half of the Super Bowl.
The president’s motorcade departed the New Orleans Superdome at 7.55pm local time (1.55am UK time), according to a White House reporter.
Trump earlier posed for a photo with Jackson Mahomes, the brother of the Chiefs star quarterback Patrick.
Eagles 27 Chiefs 0
Mahomes is running for his life out there. A seemingly never-ending scramble, as he pump fakes and side-steps to avoid numerous onrushing defenders, results in a measly three-yard gain and a clattering tackle on the quarterback — and after all that, a holding call brings the play back anyway.
Then, on third down, he finally finds Kelce but he’s three yards short of the first-down marker. At this point they have to go for it and Mahomes’s pass is batted away by Avonte Maddox. Eagles’ ball and another hammer blow to the Chiefs’ slim chances of turning this around.
Eagles 27 Chiefs 0
The difference on third down is huge. While Kansas City can’t seem to convert any, the Eagles move the chains once again, this time Hurts setting off with his feet just as he starts to feel pressure over his shoulder.
Another big quarterback scramble moves them deep into Kansas City territory before Hurts finds Barkley through the air for another 20 yards. But, surprisingly, the Eagles don’t finish the drive in the endzone after Hurts is forced to roll out to his right and can’t find an open receiver. Elliott’s chip-shot field goal is good.
CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
A masked man unfurled a Palestinian flag during Kendrick Lamar’s half-time performance before he was tackled to the ground and removed by security.
It’s unclear whether he was one of Lamar’s dancers or had bypassed security to reach the Superdome field.
The man was spotted standing on a black Grand National car displaying the flag which had the words “Sudan” and “Gaza” written on it.
He was chased off stage before being apprehended and removed by several security guards.
Eagles 24 Chiefs 0
Here we go, then: what can the Chiefs come up with in the second half? Not much on their first drive, unfortunately.
Jordan Davis gets through for a sack, then Sweat follows up with his second of the match. The Kansas City offensive line just can’t contain the Eagles long enough for Mahomes to pick a pass, and the quarterback ends up embarking on a long and winding scramble on third down, which doesn’t come to much. An underwhelming start to the fightback.
CHRISTOPHER POLK/PENSKE MEDIA/GETTY IMAGES
Lamar has indeed launched into Not Like Us, his Grammy-winning hit targeting the rapper Drake, to the delight of the Super Bowl audience and no doubt the dismay of Drake.
On perhaps the biggest stage of the year Lamar laid into his rival, though he did refrain from the “paedophile” line, perhaps a concession to the big game’s corporate partners.
The crowd joined in for “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor”, the line that seemed inescapable last summer.
CHRISTOPHER POLK/PENSKE MEDIA/GETTY IMAGES
JAMIE SQUIRE/GETTY IMAGES
Kendrick Lamar opened his highly awaited Super Bowl half-time performance with a flurry of his best-known songs — and teased a megahit.
The mini concert, one of the most prestigious slots of the year, opened with Lamar, illuminated by a spotlight, rapping his track GNX from the bonnet of a black muscle car.
After his backing dancers, dressed in red white and blue, formed an American flag, the hip-hop superstar launched into his 2017 hit Humble from the album Damn which won the Pulitzer Prize for music.
Lamar, who has fused critical acclaim, cultural cache and massive commercial success, teased the opening of Not Like Us, the Drake diss track that has won several Grammys and provoked a defamation lawsuit from the man it targeted.
The audience will have to wait, however, as Lamar instead performed another song.
With the first half over, a small army of stagehands have taken to the field to prepare the Superdome for Kendrick Lamar’s half-time show.
Lamar, 37, is the first solo hip-hop artist to headline the show, and is on a high after claiming five Grammy Awards last week, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for Not Like Us.
He has given little away about tonight’s performance, but told Apple Music in a recent interview that audiences should expect some “storytelling” in his performance.
“I like to always carry on that sense of, you know, make people listen, but also see and think a little,” he said.
He has confirmed that SZA, a female hip-hop star, will be a guest performer, and hinted that there could be more surprises.
There’s an almost funereal atmosphere at Super Bowl watch parties in Kansas City.
At an outdoor block party in the city’s downtown area, thousands of Chiefs fans have fallen silent as their team conceded a fourth touchdown to fall behind by 24 points at half-time.
Back at the Superdome, the television cameras panned to a concerned-looking Taylor Swift.
GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY IMAGES
Half-time: Eagles 24 Chiefs 0
Unsurprisingly the half ends with a couple of Chiefs penalties, a wide-open receiver dropping the ball, a punt and a whimper. It’s difficult to believe this team has won the past two Super Bowls — they look completely out of their depth, strange as that may sound.
A sliver of hope? The Chiefs are used to coming from behind in the big game. Mahomes has trailed by at least ten points in all four of his previous Super Bowl appearances and won three of them… but this is a lot more than ten points and his offence has offered almost nothing through the first half. Never mind 28-3 — the Patriots’ famous turnaround against the Falcons in 2017 — this would be the comeback of all Super Bowl comebacks.
If Kendrick Lamar performs anything like this Eagles team, it’ll be a half-time show for the ages.
Eagles 24 Chiefs 0
Touchdown Eagles!
That didn’t take long at all. A couple of plays later, Hurts sees Brown wide open to his left and streaking towards the endzone.
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The pass is on the money and they have a third touchdown of the game, with Elliott’s kick making it 24-0. What an incredible half of football this has been.
Eagles 17 Chiefs 0
It goes from bad to worse for Mahomes. He gets the ball back deep in his own territory after the Eagles are forced to punt, but the quarterback’s very first pass of the drive is intercepted by Zack Baun, one of the surprise stars of this Eagles season.
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Mahomes’s head looks scrambled out there and half-time can’t come soon enough. They could well be more than 17 points down by then.
Eagles 17 Chiefs 0
What is happening? This must be one of the most dominant halves from a defence in Super Bowl history. Another sack, this time courtesy of Milton Williams, means the Chiefs have to punt again.
Could they be shut out at half-time? That would have been unthinkable before kick-off but looks increasingly likely now. Even worse, the Eagles have the ball back in good field position and almost five minutes left on the clock to move even further ahead.
Eagles 17 Chiefs 0
Touchdown Eagles! Wow. Josh Sweat sacks Mahomes on the first play of the drive, then Jalyx Hunt sacks him on the second.
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Think that’s bad? On the third play he is picked off by Cooper DeJean, who runs it all the way back to the endzone. What a moment for the rookie.
There was plenty of talk before the game about whether Barkley would become the first player to ever score a Super Bowl touchdown on his birthday — well, DeJean has beaten him to it. He turns 22 today, exactly six years younger than the Eagles’ star running back.
DeJean grew up in Odebolt, Iowa, a town of about 900 people that was once known as the Popcorn Capital of the World. The cornerback played his college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes, and was selected by the Eagles in the second round of the 2024 NFL draft.
This is a nightmare for Kansas City. Elliott adds the extra point and if the Chiefs aren’t careful this could get ugly.
Fox, the host broadcaster, is being criticised for its new on-screen scoreboard, known as a “scorebug”.
Fans have taken to social media to bash the design, which displays the team names as KC and PHI in large capital letters, as intrusive and clunky.
“Fox’s new scorebug looks like how old people have their iPhone set up,” the NFL Memes X account posted.
“Insane they would drop this scorebug on us in the Super Bowl,” wrote Dan Katz, a podcast host.
One unimpressed fan described it as an “abomination to the game of football”.
Fox has faced criticism over the years for the scorebug’s cluttered design and less-than-ideal placement, but the decision to change the format for the biggest game of the year has particularly incensed some fans.
Eagles 10 Chiefs 0
That was a sublime third-down conversion to AJ Brown, who catches Hurts’ picture-perfect back-shoulder pass.
Soon enough it’s third down again and Hurts tries to run it himself but Justin Reid does brilliantly to eat up ground and bring him down three yards short of the line. They think about going for it on fourth down but settle for a 43-yard field goal instead.
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That becomes a 48-yarder after an Eagles false start — not that the fans in green here agree with the call — but Elliott still makes no mistake. A ten-point lead, but could it be more? The Chiefs’ offence will surely come to life at some point.
Eagles 7 Chiefs 0
It’s fair to say that Mahomes and Kelce aren’t on the same wavelength so far. The first pass was behind the tight end, this time it was too low and No87 can’t stoop down to gather it.
That’s another third-down incompletion and — you guessed it — another Chiefs punt. Good field position for the Eagles, too, as they start only seven yards shy of the halfway line. Hurts needs to shake off that interception and ensure his team turn this dominance into a big half-time lead.
Eagles 7 Chiefs 0
There it is: a Chiefs turnover. On third and ten at the Kansas City 30-yard line, Jalen Hurts opens up his shoulders but doesn’t put quite enough on a pass towards the endzone, and the safety Bryan Cook is there to grab the interception.
They were struggling for inspiration in the first quarter, but whatever their head coach Andy Reid said during the break has worked. Now it’s time for Mahomes and co to find some rhythm.
Their own one-yard line isn’t the ideal starting point for a drive, though…
Eagles 7 Chiefs 0
We knew this Philly defence was legit and they’re showing it already. Patrick Mahomes narrowly escapes a sack on third down to get a pass away but he can’t find a receiver, so the Chiefs have to punt again.
The Eagles look both sterner on defence and smoother on offence so far, as Jalen Hurts finds DeVonta Smith to convert a long third down by evading a tackle. Two more first downs and suddenly they’re in Kansas City territory again.
Then, finally, a big play for the Chiefs, as Hurts takes a brutal sack — but it’s called back! A Chiefs defender was caught offside. This was an excellent first quarter for the Eagles, who are in position to extend their lead soon after the restart. Kansas City has work to do.
With the early stoppages in play, viewers in the US are getting their first look at the famed Super Bowl adverts.
This year’s line-up is a celebrity-studded affair, with British stars featuring prominently in the parade of promotions.
David Beckham will stretch his acting chops up as he appears alongside Matt Damon as long-lost twins who bond over Stella Artois beer. Gordon Ramsay and Pete Davidson, the comedian and actor, appeared in a commercial for HexClad cookware.
Charli XCX, the pop artist, has lined up alongside Matthew McConaughey, Martha Stewart and Greta Gerwig for an Uber Eats ad.
Eugene Levy, the Schitt’s Creek actor who lost his home in the Pacific Palisades fire, appeared in an advert for Little Caesars, a pizza chain.
Eagles 7 Chiefs 0
Touchdown Eagles! The Chiefs are doing a good job of keeping Saquon Barkley quiet so far, less so in the passing game.
Jalen Hurts finds Dallas Goedert wide open in the middle of the field for a big gain, then looks to his tight end again and gets away with sailing the ball a little too high because Trent McDuffie is punished for unnecessary roughness.
This is great field position for Philadelphia and Hurts capitalises with a beautiful pass over to the right touchline, caught in stride by Jahan Dotson who dives into the endzone — or does he? After a review, the officials decide that Dotson was short.
Jahan Dotson is tackled by Jaylen Watson
DAVID J. PHILLIP/AP
The touchdown soon arrives, though, as Philly deploy the famous “Tush Push” to get Hurts himself over the line. Jake Elliott adds the extra point.
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STEPHEN LEW/IMAGN IMAGES/REUTERS
Taylor Swift gave a nervous smile as she was booed while appearing on the big screen.
The pop superstar was a ubiquitous presence during NFL broadcasts in the early days of her courtship with Travis Kelce, but after a fan backlash the league began showing her more sparingly.
The boos presumably came from fans of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Shortly before Swift flashed up on the big screen, the actors Adam Sandler and Paul Rudd, and the Netflix boss Ted Sarandos appeared.
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Patrick Mahomes begins with a completion for a first down but soon after he sends one a little too far behind Travis Kelce and the tight end can’t reel it in.
If Kelce catches four passes tonight he will set a new Super Bowl record — he has 31 to Jerry Rice’s 34.
On third down, Mahomes is sent scrambling around the backfield and eventually unleashes a pass to Marquise Brown on the touchline but it’s broken up. Now it’s the Chiefs’ turn to punt. Defences on top so far.
Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles runs with the ball while being chased by Bryan Cook of the Kansas City Chiefs
GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY IMAGES
Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs sends the kick-off beyond the endzone for a touchback and we’re under way.
Saquon Barkley scored a touchdown with his very first touch of the NFC Championship game. This time he gets four yards.
But there is drama already on the first drive, after a huge fourth-down completion to AJ Brown is called back for offensive pass interference and the Eagles are forced to punt it away. That looked a very soft call. Boos ring out around the Superdome.
The Chiefs correctly called tails at the coin toss. They deferred the option until the second half, which means Philadelphia will receive the ball to start and the Chiefs will have possession to start the second half.
Before the coin toss, the Super Bowl honoured victims of several recent tragedies, including Hurricane Helene, the Los Angeles wildfires and the New Orleans New Year’s Day attack that claimed 14 lives.
In a sombre moment, members of the New Orleans police department held photographs of victims of the terror attack in Bourbon Street.
President Trump was loudly cheered when he briefly appeared on the big screen in the arena during the national anthem.
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Trump had his hand raised to his head in a salute when the camera turned to him and his daughter, Ivanka.
Applause and cheers broke out, as well as a smattering of boos that were largely drowned out by the enthusiastic reception.
The teams have taken the field, and we’re just moments from kick-off.
Jon Hamm, the Mad Men actor, hyped up the Chiefs before they entered the ground. Hamm hails from St Louis, Missouri, and is a long-time Kansas City supporter.
Bradley Cooper, the Oscar-nominated actor and Philadelphia native, introduced the Eagles with a full-throated roar.
In brief comments on the sideline, Patrick Mahomes said that he wasn’t feeling any extra pressure before a potential third consecutive Super Bowl ring.
“Our guys are prepared, our guys are ready,” he said.
We’re ten minutes from kick-off and the players have just run out on to the field.
This is set to be, according to the bookmakers at least, one of the closest Super Bowls in history.
The Chiefs are slight favourites to make it three in a row, but the way the Eagles confidently marched through the play-offs means they are only underdogs by the smallest of margins.
For what it’s worth, I think they’ll spoil Kansas City’s party tonight. Eagles by three.
Taylor Swift has arrived at the Super Bowl. The pop superstar, 35, wore a crisp white blazer over a white tank top and blue shorts, and was accompanied by Ice Spice, the rapper, as she took her place in a private suite.
Swift has been a regular attendee at Kansas City games since September 2023 when her romance with Travis Kelce, the Chiefs player, burst into public view. Her frequent appearances have been a boon for the NFL, converting a legion of her followers, known as Swifties, into American football fans.
She celebrated Kelce’s Super Bowl victory last year with an on-field kiss.
New Orleans is leaning heavily into its musical roots for tonight’s pre-game entertainment.
Ledisi, a Grammy award-winning R&B vocalist, just performed Lift Every Voice and Sing accompanied by a gospel choir.
Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle, long-time collaborators and native New Orleanians, will perform a rendition of America the Beautiful.
Jon Batiste, one of the city’s best known musical talents, will sing the national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, a few minutes before kick-off.
Batiste has said he will put his own spin on the anthem to honour his late grandfather, a military veteran.
Lady Gaga, who performed the Super Bowl half-time show in 2017, also played her single Hold My Hand as a tribute to the victims of the New Year’s Day terror victims on Bourbon Street.
President Trump has arrived with Ivanka Trump, his eldest daughter, and an entourage of Republican politicians, at the Superdome in New Orleans.
Trump is due to participate in a meet-and-greet with this year’s honorary coin toss participants, including family members of victims of the New Year’s Day terror attack in Bourbon Street, and members of the New Orleans police department.
Trump with New Orleans police officers
BEN CURTIS/AP
He was spotted shaking hands with several players and walking around the field during warm-ups. He waved and pumped his fist to the crowd.
Trump earlier predicted a Kansas City victory, adding he was a “big fan” of both teams.
The Super Bowl rivals Hollywood award show red carpets for attracting top-tier celebrities and this year is no different.
Jay-Z, whose Roc Nation produces the half-time show, was in New Orleans with his daughters, Blue Ivy and Rumi, who were pictured pitchside before the game.
Jay-Z with Blue Ivy, left, and Rumi
REX
Bradley Cooper, the Hollywood actor, is in attendance supporting his beloved Philadelphia Eagles while Adam Sandler was spotted posing alongside NFL fans.
Bradley Cooper
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The actors Kevin Costner, Pete Davidson and Miles Teller are also inside the Caesars Superdome.
Lionel Messi, the former Barcelona football star now playing for Inter Miami, is another famous face taking in the game.
The best defence in the NFL just got even better.
The Eagles have been without their veteran defensive end Brandon Graham since November, when he suffered a torn triceps. At the time he expected to be out for the season, but the 36-year-old has been activated from the injured reserve list just in time to line up today.
Graham was part of the Eagles team that won Super Bowl LII seven years ago. He will be another big weapon in their unenviable task of keeping Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs offence quiet tonight.
CHRIS GRAYTHEN/GETTY IMAGES
Travis Kelce, or Mr Taylor Swift as he is known to millions of the singer’s fans, arrived at the Super Bowl channelling the Seventies TV show Starsky & Hutch.
The Kansas City Chiefs star, considered one of the greatest NFL players of all time, climbed off the team bus in a burnt orange Saturday Night Fever-style suit, complete with open collar and matching oversized sunglasses.
Fans online poked fun at the get-up, suggesting he was auditioning for a Bee Gees biopic.
Kelce, 35, is in the latter stages of his NFL career and Hollywood beckons once he hangs up his cleats.
He has already hosted Saturday Night Live and will make a cameo in the comedy sequel Happy Gilmore 2, starring Adam Sandler, this year.
Drake, left, and Kendrick Lamar
DANIEL LEALTOMMASO BODDI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Kendrick Lamar will headline the Super Bowl’s half-time show and is expected to perform Not Like Us, which won a Grammy.
The song, however, was a searingly personal attack on the rapper Drake, accusing him of having relationships with underage women.
It shot to the top of the Billboard music charts, racked up one billion streams on Spotify and received widespread critical acclaim.
Drake saw the song’s punchlines as having devastating real-world consequences and launched legal action.
• Read in full: What is the drama between Kendrick Lamar and Drake?
Big news elsewhere in the NFL this afternoon as a report emerged that Aaron Rodgers will part ways with the New York Jets.
The 41-year-old future Hall of Fame quarterback, who led the Green Bay Packers to victory in Super Bowl XLV, could move to another team or retire.
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The NFL’s dominance in both American sports and culture is evident in the television ratings it consistently draws.
In an era of media fragmentation and declining television viewership, NFL games accounted for 72 out of the 100 most-watched shows last year.
Topping the list was Kansas City’s overtime victory against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII, which drew an audience of 123.7million, the largest viewership of any live network US television broadcast.
That record could come under threat, with more than 120million Americans, over a third of the country’s population, expected to tune in to watch the game tonight.
A 30-second advertising slot during the Super Bowl costs about $8million, up from $7million last year.
ANDY SILVESTER FOR THE TIMES
The game may be in New Orleans but that doesn’t mean London is missing out on its very own Super Bowl party.
At Passyunk Avenue — a Philadelphia-themed dive bar in Waterloo — Eagles fans have been gathering since 3pm (GMT) in anticipation of tonight’s big game.
JP Teti, the bar’s owner, told The Times this week that he thought he’d be hosting the biggest American sports party seen in the UK, and so far it looks like he’s right.
Our Times man on the ground, however, isn’t convinced that everybody is going to make it until the anticipated 3.30am (GMT) finish — though the cheese steaks flying out of the kitchen may help.
New Orleans has welcomed the NFL’s showpiece event weeks after a deadly terror attack shook the city on New Year’s Day.
Over the weekend Bourbon Street, the historic heart of the city’s French Quarter, was packed with tourists who did not seem to mind the beefed-up security measures installed after the attack.
Checkpoints were set up around the area with heavily armed officers from agencies including the Louisiana state police and soldiers from the US army checking visitors’ backpacks.
Metal barricades controlled the flow of cars into the French Quarter.
The sound of live jazz music drifted from the clubs around Bourbon Street while fans of both teams filled the pews of St Louis Cathedral, perhaps seeking some divine assistance for the big game.
President Trump is backing the Kansas City Chiefs to claim the three-peat.
In a pre-taped interview that was broadcast in the lead-up to the Super Bowl, Trump was asked by Bret Baier, a Fox News host, who he thought would win the showdown.
“I guess you have to say when a quarterback has won as much as he’s won, you have to go with Kansas City,” he said, referring to Patrick Mahomes.
“It’s gonna be just a great game,” he said, adding that he was a “big fan” of both teams.
Trump gave a shout out to Brittany Mahomes, a football player and the wife of Patrick Mahomes, saying: “She’s a Trump fan, she’s a Maga fan, so I happen to love her, OK?”
Trump will be the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl.
The Kansas City Chiefs took the “Evil Empire” mantle from the New England Patriots, who won six Super Bowls during the Tom Brady era.
Their enviable record, claims of favourable treatment from referees and over-saturation of footage of Travis Kelce’s romance with Taylor Swift has led neutral fans to loathe the team.
Patrick Mahomes addressed the team’s growing reputation as pantomime villains this week.
“I don’t even think it’s embracing being the villains. We embrace who we are,” Mahomes said. “We believe we play the game the right way. We believe that we play with a lot of heart and a lot of passion for the game, and then we win football games. And if winning football games makes you a villain, we’re going to keep going out there and doing it.”
According to a survey from Numerator, a market research firm, 46 per cent of those who plan to watch the game will be cheering for the Eagles, compared with 39 per cent supporting the Chiefs.
Fans arrive at the Caesar SuperDome before the Super Bowl LIX
ERIK S. LESSER/EPA
A ring of steel has been erected around New Orleans’s Caesars Superdome after an Isis-inspired terrorist killed 14 and wounded dozens more in the city’s French Quarter on New Year’s Day.
More than 100,000 football fans are expected to flood the Big Easy for the game. Some 2,700 state, federal and local law enforcement will be present in and around the Superdome.
President Trump, Pam Bondi, the attorney-general, and Jill Biden, the former first lady and longtime Eagles fan, are expected to attend.
The FBI said the game and the days of activities leading up to it were an “attractive target” for foreign and domestic terrorists, and warned that a copycat attack similar to the vehicle ramming incident on January 1 was possible.
Officials have said they are not aware of any credible threats.
The Eagles won 14 games and dropped three during the National Football Conference regular season. Their losses came against the Atlanta Falcons, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Washington Commanders.
Entering the playoffs as the No2 seed, Philadelphia overcame the Green Bay Packers from Wisconsin in the wild card round before dispatching the Los Angeles Rams 28-22 in the divisional round.
The Eagles then won 55-23 against the Commanders to set up a second Super Bowl appearance against the Chiefs in three years.
Their last Super Bowl title came against the New England Patriots in 2018.
The Kansas City Chiefs continued their recent dominance in the American Football Conference to reach their fourth Super Bowl in five years.
The Chiefs were 15-2 during the regular season, with their only losses coming against the Buffalo Bills in week ten and to the Denver Broncos in the final game when they rested several starting players.
Kansas defeated the Houston Texans 23-14 in the divisional round, before exacting revenge on the Bills in a 32-29 nailbiter in the conference championship game.
Patrick Mahomes, 29, has once again been their key player, delivering 26 touchdown passes across the season.
Xavier Worthy, a wide receiver, led the team with nine touchdowns this season.
Welcome to The Times’s live coverage of Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans.
The Chiefs, led by the star quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the tight end Travis Kelce, are vying to become the first team in NFL history to claim three consecutive titles.
To do so, they will have to get past a red-hot Eagles team featuring Jalen Hurts, the quarterback, and Saquon Barkley, the running back who celebrates his 28th birthday today.
Kick-off is at 5.30pm local time (11.30pm UK time).
