The Kansas City Chiefs won the 2024 Super Bowl (25 to 22) on Sunday after overtime against the San Francisco 49ers, to the delight of popstar Taylor Swift, present in the stands. The franchise thus retains its trophy.
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And three victories in five years! The Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl (25 to 22) after overtime against the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday February 11 in Las Vegas.
The NFL grand final offered intense suspense, for a final victory for the Chiefs, the third in five years after 2020, already against the 49ers, and 2023. This is the first time that a franchise has retained its trophy since the New England Patriots in 2004.
Star quarterback Patrick Mahomes (28 years old) thus wins his third title. At his position, only Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw and Troy Aikman have lifted the Vince Lombardi Trophy at least three times.
On the field, the defenses took precedence over the attacks during an extremely close match, continued into overtime after a 19-19 tie at the end of four regulation quarters.
The 49ers had struck first with a touchdown from McCaffrey, and were leading 10 to 3 at halftime, when American crooner Usher ignited the stadium by revisiting his hits with a show with slick choreography.
The Chiefs came back in the 3rd quarter, then equalized on the foot three seconds from time to snatch overtime.
Taylor Swift and Beyoncé steal the spotlight from Usher
Regularly shown by the broadcaster’s cameras, singer Taylor Swift was present in the stands of Allegiant Stadium (65,000 spectators) to encourage her boyfriend, the charismatic Chiefs player Travis Kelce. Their romance has shifted the NFL, already all-powerful, into another dimension for several months, taking advantage of Taylor Swift’s phenomenal notoriety.
Read also“The Taylor Swift effect”: from economics to politics, what is the weight of the American star?
The 34-year-old star jumped on a jet directly after a concert in Tokyo on Saturday evening, from his lucrative “Eras tour”, to reach the gaming city, where the Super Bowl was played for the first time. The popstar almost overshadowed the halftime show.
American crooner Usher gave an effective performance, as the charismatic performer that he is, very influenced by the mythology of Las Vegas. Revue dancers, acrobats, stilt walkers, fake croupiers and even pole dancers accompanied him during this medley-shaped concert which traditionally marks halftime of the Super Bowl, the final of the NFL American football championship.
Usher Raymond IV, his full name, spared no effort, leveraging the qualities of a dancer that contributed to his popularity.
One by one, he listed the titles that have marked his career, with nine number-one hits in the United States and more than 75 million albums sold worldwide. “Yeah!”, “Love In This Club” and “Burn” resonated in the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where Usher was artist in residence from July 2022 to December 2023.
Followed by the artist HER and the rapper Ludacris, the singer Alicia Keys briefly joined him on stage to perform their duet “My Boo”, another number one on the American hit parade.
Fanfare, outfit changes, hip swaying galore, Usher gave everything on Sunday to thrill the 60,000 spectators present, including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, basketball player LeBron James.
Usher was also supplanted by Beyoncé, who published on her Instagram account, at the very moment of the halftime show, a short film announcing what appears to be new songs, to be released on March 29. The short video shows a woman, who appears to be Beyoncé, driving a taxi through arid landscapes, with country music playing in the background.
With AFP