By “Nunnie” Robinson, Westside Gazette Sports Editor
At the end of last evening’s (Sunday ) thrilling Super Bowl game between the victorious Kansas City Chiefs and the valiant, fearless San Francisco 49ers, I reflected pensively and proudly that I had witnessed every Super Bowl game, all 58, from the Green Bay Packers defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in the first Super Bowl played in 1967 – Los Angeles Coliseum – to the Chiefs‘ hard earned victory in Super Bowl LVIII, the most compelling and dramatic game since perhaps the ‘82 Super Bowl between ironically the 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals, a 26-21 come from behind barnburner led by Joe Montana. SB LVIII pitted two evenly matched teams, either of which was capable talent-wise of winning the game as respective conference champs. Except, my friends, for one obvious outlier: Patrick Mahomes, arguably the best to ever play the game. San Francisco had been dominant on both sides of ball in the first half, but could only muster a 10-3 lead. What Mahomes did in the second half/overtime to win the game was a brilliant, miraculous exposition of quarterback royalty from crucial audibles based on defensive schemes to accurate, precise passing, then finally displaying his physical gifts athletically, using his legs to sustain drives in dramatic fashion. The incredible accuracy of two passes, similar in execution, but highly difficult, illustrated his uncanny ability. The first was a crossing pattern to the left to his favorite target, his security blanket if you will, Travis Kelce. a perfectly thrown pass that Travis caught in stride for a drive sustaining first down. The second one, to the right, went to Rashee Rice with similar results. Both were crucial in the game’s final outcome.
Not yet 30 years old, his accomplishments- 3 Super Bowls, 2 regular season MVPs, has caused many to consider him the greatest. I’ll let the pundits and experts continue debating the merits of who is actually the Goat. I just want to relish, marinade and savor perhaps the greatest performance by a quarterback in NFL and Super Bowl history.
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