In the first 58 years of the Super Bowl, a pattern was set.
There would be lots of repeat champions, but no team would even get a shot at a three-peat … until now.
At 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday (Feb. 9), the Kansas City Chiefs try for their third straight championship. Standing in their way are the Philadelphia Eagles, plus history.
The Super Bowl began (shown here) with the Packers winning comfortably against the Chiefs and then the Oakland Raiders; the third year, however, they didn’t make it to the game. Later, there were back-to-back wins by the Dolphins, Steelers (twice), 49ers, Cowboys, Broncos and Patriots. In each case, the team failed to reach the game in the third year. Now the Chiefs arrive, with Patrick Mahomes (of TV-commercials fame) at quarterback, Travis Kelce (of Taylor Swift fame) at tight end and a 17-2 record this season.
It should be fun. Here’s our casual fan’s guide to the day on TV:
BEFORE SUNDAY
— Tuesday (Feb. 4),: “Kitchen Nightmares” (8 p.m., Fox) wraps a five-week run, with Gordon Ramsay fixing troubled restaurants in New Orleans, before the Super Bowl crowds arrive.
— Wednesday: “Inside the NFL” (9 p.m., CW) has its Super Bowl preview. Alongside lots of clips, it has a panel of Bill Belichick (who coached the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl wins) and former NFL players Ryan Clark, Chad Johnson and Chris Long … whose dad, Howie Long, will do the same thing for Fox on Sunday.
— Thursday: “NFL Honors” (9-11 p.m., Fox) hands out awards, with Snoop Dogg hosting. Neither Super Bowl team has a Most Valuable Player nominee; those nods go to other quarterbacks – Josh Allen, Saquon Barkley, Joe Burrow, Jared Goff and Lamar Jackson. But the Eagles have nominees for defensive player of the year (linebacker Zac hBaun) and two of the five for defensive rookie of the year (cornerbacks Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell). The Chiefs’ Andy Reid is up for coach of the year.
— Every day: Lots of talk on ESPN, Fox Sports1 and beyond.
GAME DAY PREVIEW (on Fox)
— 11 a.m. ET: “Road to the Super Bowl” is the annual hour from NFL Films. It surveys the entire season, with lots of high-tech touches.
— Noon: “The Madden Cruiser.” The late John Madden had a fear of flying, so he took his motorhome cross-country to each game. Now Belichick takes that same cruiser on a journey to New Orleans, the Super Bowl city.
— 1 p.m.: Pre-game show. Curt Menefee hosts. He has two guys (Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long) who have been doing this since Fox launched its innovative pre-game show in 1994, They’re joined by Jimmy Johnson (who has done most of those 30 years) and newbies Michael Strahan and Rob Gronkowski.
— About 6 p.m.: Now it’s time for the on-field music, done by New Orleans pros: It will be Jon Batiste with the National Anthem, Lauren Daigle (backed by Trombone Shorty) with “America the Beautiful” and Ledisi with “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” often called “the Black national anthem.”
— Halftime: Kendrick Lamar, a rapper, performs, joined by singer Sza, his frequent collaborator.
THE BOOTH
This will be Kevin Burkhardt’s second turn at Super Bowl play-by-play and Tom Brady’s first as analyst.
Then again, Brady has seen a lot of Super Bowls. He was the quarterback in 10 of them and won seven, a record. Six of the wins were with Belichick as his coach and four were with Gronkowski as his tight end.
THE GAME
Despite all that three-peat buzz, the Chiefs aren’t an overwhelming team.
They won the 2023 Super Bowl by 3 points and the 2024 by 3 – in overtime. To get back here this year, they beat the Buffalo Bills by (yes) 3.
On that same day, the Eagles were beating the Washington Commanders, 55-23. In the regular season, the Eagles (14-3) outscored their opponents by 160 points. By comparison, the Chiefs (15-2) only did by 59 points; rounded off, that’s an average of (yes, again) 3 a game.
So 3 seems to be their magic number. Now they go for a 3-peat.
POST-GAME
First, there’s the trophy and the interviews and such. Then (possibly at 10:30 p.m. ET) is the one show that gets a cushy spot after the game.
This time, that’ s the second-season opener of “The Floor,” a light trivia show hosted by Rob Lowe. The following Wednesday, it takes the 9 p.m. spot, after a new edition of “The Masked Singer.”
ALTERNATIVES (daytime)
Yes, there’s the annual Puppy Bowl, full of cute critters. It’s 2-5 p.m. on the Discovery Channel, simulcast on Animal Planet, TBS and TruTV.
And for sports fans who want action instead of talk? They could catch pro basketball (76ers-Bucks) at 2 p.m. ET on ABC, then switch to figure-skating on NBC or golf on CBS.
ALTERNATIVES (evening)
This is why people pay so much for streaming. Beyond Fox, the big networks simply have lots of reruns. Still, there are notable exceptions:
— PBS booms ahead with a strong line-up of new, British drama hours. These three all happen to be low-key and genial – “Miss Scarlet” (Victorian-era mystery) at 8 p.m., “All Creatures Great and Small” (veterinarians during the World War II years) at 9 and “Funny Woman” (an early-TV star) at 10.
— Turner Classic Movies has Oscar-nominated (and Oscar-winning) movies. It’s a blitz that doesn’t pause for anything – including the Grammys, the Super Bowl and, on March 2, the Oscar ceremony.
On Super Bowl day, it has musicals, with “Gigi” (1958) at 2:45 p.m. ET and “My Fair Lady” (1964) at 5. Then come courtroom classics – “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1963) at 8 p.m., “Witness For the Prosecution” (1958) at 10:15 and “Inherit the Wind” (1960) at 12:30 a.m. ET.