Super Bowl preview: What do the Eagles and Chiefs have that the Lions didn't?
I fully anticipated my postings this week would carry a New Orleans dateline. Destiny declined to cooperate.
This was supposed to be the Detroit Lions' year. From the start of training camp until some unidentified point in the second half of the team's Divisional round game against Washington, I truly believed this would be the team to break the franchise's dreadful run without a Super Bowl appearance.
Failure hits differently with expectations. When the Lions were bumbling and incompetent — a fair description for much of the past six decades — hope was anchored. But with 15 wins, the league's best offense, and the No. 1 seed in the NFC, that hope was untethered. You dared to dream you'd see something never thought possible.
Instead, you'll see something you saw two years ago — a rematch of Super Bowl LVII between the Philadephia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs. For a city that is desperate for its first appearance, they have to stomach a fifth in six years for the Chiefs, a dynasty that filled the void of a dynasty after the Patriots' run of nine championship games across 18 seasons came to a halt.
Some Lions fans haven't watched a second of football since the team's premature postseason exit, and a portion of that group will stick to their guns for Sunday's Super Bowl. But overall, this city loves the sport. Detroit often ranks near the top of metered markets when the ratings for this country's most-watched program are revealed,
Those Lions fans who do tune in will glare at the two deserving sides and wonder — like a 90s sitcom character baffled by their crush's current relationship — what do they have that we don't?
I'm here to tell you exactly why the Chiefs and Eagles will be vying for the Lombardi Trophy while the Lions are three weeks into their offseason vacation.