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Super Bowl Review

Jordan Thomas, Editor in Chief

Feb 20, 2024

The Swifties aka the Kansas City Chiefs, have won the 2023-2024 Super Bowl. The team finished 11-6 through the regular season, despite it being an “underwhelming” season for the team, Mahomes and the Chiefs got it done.

Record Breakers

This Super Bowl had the most average viewers ever with 123.7 million viewers. Last year’s average was 115.1 million viewers, so the Taylor Swift effect is real. Swift, who is dating NFL superstar Travis Kelce, contributed to a massive amount of viewership. Women totaled 47.5 percent of the total audience which is the most ever recorded. Another broken record happened on Super Bowl weekend, Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker booted a 57-yard field goal which is the longest in Super Bowl history.

Usher’s Halftime Show

This halftime show included Usher, Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Ludacris, and Lil Jon. Usher performed some of his most popular songs, but most people were shocked Justin Beiber did not make a surprise appearance. With people seeing Beiber in Las Vegas, many thought Usher would bring him out to perform the well-known “Somebody To Love.” Usher allegedly directly asked Beiber to perform with him but it appears that did not happen. The halftime show was one of the best we are ever going to get to see and will be in the history books.

The Champs

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs have done it again. The team has won its third Super Bowl in the last five years with Mahomes. Many thought the team wouldn’t make it far after having a “down year,” but you can never count Mahomes out in the playoffs. Mahomes in his 18 playoff games has 41 touchdown passes and 5,135 passing yards. Even with losing star Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill, the team has still won two Super Bowls without him. This shows how good coach Andy Reid is at calling unique plays for his team to win with the talent around him.

New Overtime Rules

Before the season kicked off, the league introduced a new overtime rule for the playoffs. Both teams receive one possession if the teams result in a tie at the end of regulation.

49ers

Going into the Super Bowl, the San Francisco 49ers were the Super Bowl favorites. Head Coach of the 49ers, Kyle Shanahan, thought the best idea was to kick the field goal during overtime which made many people shake their heads. Knowing the opposing team has Mahomes and Kelce, you never want to give them a chance to have the ball. So the Chiefs drove down the field and won with the new overtime rules. Brock Purdy played a clean game with 255 passing yards and one touchdown.

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About the Contributor

Jordan Thomas, Editor in Chief

16-year-old junior Jordan Thomas is currently in his fourth semester of journalism, serving as the editor-in-chief this year. Thomas was born in Orlando, Florida and spent most of his childhood there but he eventually moved to North Carolina at nine years old. “The weather here is definitely way nicer. I like it because it's not always that hot and it's not always raining.” said Thomas Thomas is also a student-athlete, who plays baseball for the Trojans in the outfield. He has been playing baseball for about 5 years. When Thomas is not playing baseball, he likes to spend his free time playing video games with friends or listening to music. Thomas enjoys listening to R&B and rap. “I feel like those genres get me through life.” When asked about his plans for the future Thomas replied enthusiastically. “I want to be a sports journalist. I want to be able to interview the players and write a little bit of articles about them.” Although those are his plans now, they have not always been. “It's a new thing. When I was in eighth grade, I wanted to do it, but before that I played baseball, so that was probably my dream.” The West Wind first sparked Thomas’ interests when he first saw a Tiktok at the beginning of his freshman year. “I was in it last year and I wanted to come back because it was really fun and I get to go for my dreams.” Thomas’ goal for this semester is to achieve all A’s. “I want to get all A’s. I'm trying, or just A’s and B’s. That's fine too.”