The Battlefield of Super Bowl 59

There is New Year.

And, there is the Super Bowl.

For many, the New Year really starts with the Super Bowl.

This seems the case for 2025 in particular.

For me, the win of the Philadelphia Eagles over the Kansas City Chiefs symbolizes the incredible change in the first few weeks of the Trump administration. The Eagles are not the team Trump preferred noting in an interview that Mahome’s wife was a strong Trump supporter. Or, for that matter, the Eagles were not the team promoted with Fox Network’s pre-game PR with their interview between Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brad.

Much of the PR before was directed at the Chiefs and their historic drive for three Super Bowl wins in a row. Perhaps right so. Their was PR about the Eagles but the PR about a third Super Bowl win seemed to drown out everything else and even rose above the interesting personal dynamics of players in SB 59. It wasn’t the first time this has happened in sports.

Chief’s Star End (and Taylor Swift boyfriend) Travis Kelsey Arrives at the Game

But the Eagles accomplished a win against a rising dynasty in pro football. Trump is a Chief fan and in fact left the game in the fourth quarter with the Eagles so much ahead. Yet the Eagles are really his team in terms of winning against the system or establishment of football. The team members of the Chiefs are on constant national TV commercials during the year. And, of course the world’s most popular pop star is dating the Chief’s star receiver. Sure, one hears PR about the Eagles but never on the grand national scale of the Chiefs.

At the end of the game today the Eagles replace the Chiefs as new Super Bowl winner. The final score 40 to 22. The new rulers of football when the game ends. The new “sheriff” in town.

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Just like Trump is the new sheriff in town. The team will probably be invited to the White House and be congratulated by Trump. Mayby they’ll get invited down to Mar-a-Lago. (They’d probably prefer this to the White House). Wherever. Trump needs to realize the Eagles truly represent his political comeback much more than the Chiefs.

They were not coming back from anything. Rather, they were holding the line. Nothing bad with holding the line. A very important position to be in and well-earned by the ability to define the line to hold in the first place. Like the Chiefs have done the past two football seasons.

Yet, it’s still different from coming back. From the title away from a two-time winner of it. There is the holder of the title and the attacker of this title and they are always two different archetypes of personas in terms of symbolism.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Offered a Different Style

The difference from the attacker and the holder of the line. The holder of the line was the winner of the last two Super Bowls. The Eagles could only be the attackers of the holders of the line. For the Eagles, in terms of a dramatic scenario, the Chiefs present the antagonist (or villain in screenwriting terms) to the Eagle’s protagonist (hero in screenwriting terms).

They are not just a physical enemy but rather one exists as a media enemy with popular PR and media about the Chiefs built up into a type of symbol. They have become the darling of pro football PR with a number of players on the Chiefs appearing in national commercials. In effect, they are the favorites of the media and it shows during the build-up PR to the Super Bowl.

To put this in terms of politics, it’s like a new administration winning after domination of another administrations for two terms. 8 years in politics. In football, it translates into two Super Bowls in my mind.

Trump’s win seemed like this.

So did the win of the Philadelphia Eagles tonight.

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NOTES