OCTOBER FEAST DAYS AND NOVENAS
Super Bowl LVII Review
Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash
Super Bowl LVII saw one of the most prolific matchups in today’s generation. Both teams were the No. 1 seeds in their respective conferences. It featured two quarterbacks of African American descent (Patrick Mahomes being half Caucasian and African) for the first time in its history. In addition, two brothers (Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce) squared off against each other as players (Super Bowl first). Hence, it was the Brotherly Love bowl.
The 57th contest had its fair share of hits and misses. For the most part, the hits outweighed everything. What we need more for the next Super Bowl is Jesus, pro-life messages, Clydesdales, and (wishful thinking) praise and worship halftime as opposed to a satanic ritual. Maybe Fr. Mike Schmitz should do a halftime rosary and we can have Archbishop Cordileone lead a Jericho march with the singing of Marian hymns while carrying the monstrance (again, wishful thinking).
The Pregame
As we were preparing for the game, we saw some displays of patriotism for our country. The first all-women flyover took place in Phoenix during the singing of the true “National Anthem”. There was even a beautiful tribute to our country by FOX to the “Ragged Old Flag” by Johnny Cash. The video featured cameos of veterans and even a Medal of Honor recipient named Kyle Carpenter. Learn about his story here. The video was well-aligned with Cash’s ballad as it matched many of the lyrics, especially when it told the stories of being at many of America’s national and local events. See the full video here.
The only downside of the pregame was the singing of the pot-stirring Black Anthem. What was the point? Kari Lake was even seen not standing when it was being sung. The photo of her has since gone viral. Even some lawmakers are applied that the woke agenda is being displayed by a multi-billion dollar organization. How long until they go broke?
Chris Stapleton scored a touchdown with his rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner”. Even Nick Sirianni, head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, was moved to tears by the poignant singing. He would later be the subject of memes following the loss.
Commercials
The commercials overall were a C- grade. While there were exciting trailers for the spring and summer, the Super Bowl commercials have fallen flat. We saw no Budweisers. The two bright sides to this were the “Jesus Gets Us” commercial that got Rep. Ocasio-Cortez an honorary theology degree from Fr. James Martin School of Hersey in a recent tweet. SPOILER ALERT: she doesn’t get Jesus or has a theology degree.
The other was an accident, but for God, there is no accident. Pringles aired a sonogram of an unborn child. First time since 2016 when Doritos did the same to make pro-abortion groups squirm. Oh well.
Halftime Show
The other downside of the event was its halftime show. This year’s performer was Rihanna. Rihanna was a pop artist through most of the 2000s with hits like Umbrella, SOS, We Found Love and Rude Boy. She was seen grabbing her crotch, coming under fire for possible lip-syncing, and worst of all had dancers that look like they came off the Chinese satellite to invade earth. There can be a better halftime show without it looking like a performance from hell.
The plus side is how Rihanna was pregnant yet carried on a halftime show. She didn’t need an abortion to succeed, Planned Parenthood.
The Game
For Andy Reid, it was yet another game of his life. Three years ago, he led the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl win in a half a century against the San Francisco 49ers. He would lose the next Super Bowl to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and miss last year’s big game after losing to the Cincinnati Bengals. Only this time around he went against the franchise that he led to Super Bowl XXXIX. The franchise now has three Super Bowl wins. Their first win was the fourth Super Bowl over the highly favored Minnesota Vikings only three years after their first appearance against the Green Bay Packers.
On the other sideline, the Philadelphia Eagles made their fourth appearance in the big game. Their first appearance was against the Oakland Raiders during the 15th Super Bowl which saw them on the losing end. The second was against the New England Patriots under Andy Reid, yet they were no match for Tom Brady and the Patriots in the dynasty clincher despite a close effort. Their last appearance was once again against New England, but the Philly Special and historic making night propelled the franchise to raise the Lombardi Trophy on the wings of 53 Eagles.
The Philadelphia Eagles had a strong start with a 10-point lead in the first half. The Eagles' defense couldn’t figure out Mahomes during the 2nd half. Even a strong punt return from the Chiefs made the difference.
In the end, the confetti fell on the Kansas City Chiefs. Thanks to not only some key plays (yet calls they got away with) from the Chiefs' defense and a strong performance from their MVP. In this case, the Kansas City Chiefs never took their foot off the gas. In the end, the best team won. Mahomes is the first quarterback to win Super Bowl MVP and NFL MVP twice in his first six years in the league. Even an altar man in his late 20s and a loving father named Harrison Butker shares two rings with Mahomes. Butker himself has condemned abortion and also the cancellation of the Latin Mass. Makes many Catholics want to cheer him on more and more. Learn about the Super Bowl-winning kicker here.
Philadelphia, in a span of fewer than 100 days, lost a World Series, and MLS Championship, and now the Super Bowl can be added to the list. Sports fans of Philadelphia should celebrate the fact that their teams made it to the big games when many people wrote them off. Yes, they fell short of having a championship parade, but this is a moment every sports fan will cherish. At the same time, the franchise should be motivated to repeat, and this time be on the winning side.
We can only hope Super Bowl LVIII will feature another matchup of two of the best teams. All it needs is more Budweisers, Clydesdales, pro-life messages, no satanic rituals at the half, and how Jesus gets us.
About the Author
Single Catholic Millennial. 4th-degree member of the Knights of Columbus. I enjoy writing. I hope to convey more messages from our culture with a twist of faith. I hail from Philadelphia, PA.
