The Super Bowl is a pastime, a ritual, something that means as much to America as bald eagles and fireworks. The nachos and guacamole gobbled down at giant watch parties alongside the humorous commercials and stunning halftime shows add to the excitement of the occasion, but the football is by far the most spectacular part of the Super Bowl. The tale of 2 teams fighting it out for the chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy gets the adrenaline pumping even while one is sitting on the couch. But the question to be asked at this moment early into the football season is: Who’s gonna win it all?

An Epic Battle Between NFC Favorites

     Only a few weeks into the season, the contenders have already made themselves known. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made it clear that they want to run it back by having the offense led by veteran quarterback Tom Brady score touchdown after touchdown, and with their formidable defense that makes quarterbacks run for their life. Their main challenger in the division is the Los Angeles Rams. After trading for Matthew Stafford in the offseason, the Rams proved they are better than ever by beating the Buccaneers 34-24, leading the Rams to a perfect 3-0 record thus far, which makes the Rams one of the favorites to win the big game, but it isn’t over yet for the Buccaneers.

The Chiefs Lose Their Footing

      Meanwhile, the team that has controlled the AFC is having trouble holding on to the throne. The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Ravens in Baltimore and the Chargers at home in Kansas City in 2 messy performances. While Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs still have a powerful offense with weapons Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill, they have to start winning fast or their Super Bowl dreams could go away. Of course, many iUP students are confident in the Chief’s chances, with them getting second place in student votes for who will win the Super Bowl. As for the Ravens and the Chargers, they’ve looked very promising with very good offenses of their own, and they could potentially snag the Super Bowl title.

The Dark Horses Make Themselves Known

     There are always the teams that don’t look like they could make a run for the title, but they manage to make themselves contenders. Underdogs, Cinderellas, whatever they might be called, they come out of nowhere and take down the favorites. The Saints, led by a QB with a reputation for turnovers, Jameis Winston, beat up Aaron Rodgers and the Packers back in week one, proving themselves a dangerous force. They themselves then got beaten by the Panthers, whose new QB Sam Darnold bounced back from failures with the New York Jets. Along with that, The Las Vegas Raiders took down 2 AFC North powerhouses in the Ravens and the Steelers. If these teams can keep up their hot streak this will be a very interesting story to watch in the weeks to come.

iUP Students Weigh In

     Now that the teams have been able to show their prowess on the field, students right here at iUP gave their thoughts on who is going to win the big game.

“The Bucs will win the Super Bowl because when the defense gets its sorts together, Tom Brady will be unstoppable in the playoffs.” -Marcus Bamber

“I think the Kansas City Chiefs will win the Super Bowl because the team has a well-trained quarterback. They have also been to the Super Bowl two times in a row. Overall, the team shows good teamwork and have proven to work hard and do well out on the field.” -Kendall M

“The Cowboys have been playing really well this far into the season, and I’ve always been a fan of the Cowboys, so I think we have a really good chance of winning the Super Bowl.” -Yadiz Martinez

The amount of feedback about who was going to win the title varied across the board, but overall, most students chose the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win Super Bowl LV, with 43% of respondents choosing them to run it back. While we still have a very long time to figure out if the Bucs will be able to run it back, for now, it’s going to be fun to see who will try to step up and take the crown.