If you’re like me, football is not *really* your thing. However, you also love to be well-informed and know at least a little bit about what’s going on in society. So, I’m here to tell you the bare minimum that you need to know about SuperBowl LVI (fifty six).
On Sunday, February 13, the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals will compete for the Vince Lombardi Trophy, awarded each year to the team that wins the SuperBowl. Some might recognize the Vince Lombardi Trophy for its unique shape: a football atop a three-sided concave stand, a total of 22 inches tall. The trophy is made entirely of sterling silver. The trophy was named after the old coach of the Green Bay Packers (Vince Lombardi), who led the Packers to victory in the first two SuperBowls ever (1966 and 1967). Some of you might remember the video of Tom Brady throwing the Lombardi trophy from one boat to the other in Florida last year when he was celebrating his SEVENTH (and final) SuperBowl victory.
The SuperBowl tradition originates from the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL)’s merger agreement in which their best teams would compete for a championship game, which was decided in 1966. At first, it was simply called the AFL-NFL World Championship, until 1969, when the nickname “SuperBowl” came about.
There are a lot of players on each football team, so I am going to highlight two players whose names are important to know. Since “quarterback” is usually the first position people think of when they think about football, I’ll tell you about the quarterback of each team.
On the Bengals (who are the underdogs) we have twenty-five-year-old dreamy Joe Burrow. Check out his Instagram page if you don’t believe me. Standing at 6’4” and weighing 221 pounds, Joe Burrow is leading the Bengals back to the SuperBowl championship for the first time since 1989. In 2020, Burrow was drafted to the Bengals after winning the Heisman Trophy and national championship when he played college football at Louisiana State University. Joe Burrow is #9 on the field.
On the Rams, we have Matthew Stafford. Stafford played college football at the University of Georgia, where he was first-team All-American (this is basically just a really big award appointed to the best of the best football players each season). In 2009, the NFL team the Detroit Lions drafted Stafford, and he was traded to his current team (the Rams) in 2021. Matthew is thirty four years old (and seemingly too old to have Instagram, but you can check out his wife’s), stands at 6’3” and weighs 220 pounds. Stafford is also #9 on the field, so it’s easy to remember them both!
Burrow has one inch and one pound on Stafford, so do with that what you’d like.
I hope this sums up the most important facts you should know about this year’s SuperBowl. And, for those of us who don’t love football, hang tight. The SuperBowl marks the final game of each NFL season, so you’re almost there. Kick-off is approximately at 6:30 PM EST … Enjoy, and go Bengals! :)