Super Bowl LIV is a match-up of the franchise that owned the 1980s versus a club that is returning to the big game for the first time in exactly half a century. The San Francisco 49ers are 5-1 all-time in the NFL championship, having won in 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989 and 1994; losing in 2012.
Only the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers, with six Super Bowl wins, have won more Super Bowls than the team named for the famous California Gold Rush. As for the Chiefs, they lost the very first Super Bowl, to the Green Bay Packers and won the fourth, over the Minnesota Vikings.
It’s a match-up of two teams with very different histories but the odds makers envision a close, tightly contest affair.
Looking at the odds, you will find Kansas City as the favorite, but only by the slightest of margins: one to one and a half points. They’re backed -120 to -125 on the money line, with the Niners being priced +100 to +105. That’s basically a pick’em and, at least on paper, it sounds like a compelling, riveting clash will be in store.
In fact, this year’s game, with an over/under set at 55 (meaning a 28-27 Chiefs win is forecasted) is already compelling due to who is NOT in it. This year’s Super Bowl will be on Groundhog Day, but it definitely doesn’t embody the concept of redundancy with which the holiday has become synonymous. with the day. The phrase “Groundhog Day” is a slang term for repeating the same thing over and over, and it originates with the classic 1990 Bill Murray movie of the same name.
That’s exactly what is has felt like in recent years, every time we had to watch the New England Patriots. Last year at this time, Patriots fatigue was off the charts.
The Patriots were the team of the 200os, winning three and appearing in four Super Bowls over the course of that decade. It carried over to this decade, where the Pats have won three of the last five and appeared in four of the last five Super Bowls. It got a little bit tedious to say the least.
In fact, one poll yielded results that showed the Pats to be the least liked modern sports dynasty of all. However, it’s not something we need to worry about for Super Bowl LIV, and we’re thankful for that!
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.