Before the creation of the Super Bowl, professional football in the United States was divided between two rival leagues: the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). These leagues operated independently, each with its own teams, and championship games, however with the increasing competition for players, fans, and television contracts, there were negotiations to merge the two leagues. So in 1966, an agreement was reached that would unite the two leagues, paving the way for the Superbowl.

On January 15, 1967, the first game took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Before it was called the Superbowl, it was officially titled the AFL-NFL World Championship game which featured the champions of each league competing for the first time on a national scale. The first game was played between the NFL’s Green Bay Packers and the AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. The final score was 35-10 resulting in a Packers’ victory. 2 years later, the championship game was officially renamed “The Super Bowl.”

Fifty-seven years after the first championship game, on February 9, 2025, the highly anticipated Super Bowl featured a matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs entered the game as the reigning champions, having secured back-to-back victories the previous two years–defeating the Eagles in 2023, and the San Francisco 49ers in 2024. With this, the Chiefs aimed to make history by becoming the first team to ever achieve a Super Bowl three-peat. Many expected the Chiefs to accomplish this milestone, including Ishan Jain (10) who stated, “I was 100% convinced that the Chiefs had a better team overall, plus I was kind of excited to watch them make history with the very first three-peat in NFL history.” But because of the Chiefs winning two times in a row, many football fans grew tired of this and just wanted the Eagles to win. Even people who don’t normally watch football like Felicity Skiles (10) expressed, “Honestly, I was tired of seeing Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift everywhere. I just wanted to see a different team win.” 

The game began with an early statement from the Eagles, as quarterback Jalen Hurts completed a 1-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown at 7:45 in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Jake Elliot, the Eagles kicker extended their lead by kicking a 48-yard field goal. Three minutes later, cornerback Cooper Dejan intercepted a pass from Patrick Mahomes and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown, further widening the gap. Eight minutes after that, Hurts connected with wide receiver A.K. Brown for a 12-yeard touchdown pass, following an interception by linebacker Zack Baun that set up the scoring opportunity.

The Eagles maintained their dominance in the third quarter, adding another field goal and a touchdown. Elliot made a 29-yard field goal at 9:20, and five minutes later, wide receiver DeVonta Smith caught a 46-yard touchdown pass from Hurts. The Chiefs finally woke up and responded at 0:30 in the third quarter, when Mahomes completed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Xaview Worthy, barely putting Kansas City on the scoreboard. By the fourth quarter, it had become clear that the Chiefs had no chance of securing a comeback. The Eagles continued to prove their dominance of the game by scoring two more field goals. By 3:20, with victory secured, Philadelphia began subsisting their second-string players and celebrating their early win. The Chiefs managed to score two late touchdowns, but by then it was too late. The game concluded with a decisive blowout to the Eagles victory, 40-22, with the majority of Kansas City’s points coming in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. 

With an impressive performance by the Eagles, they celebrated their championship. Jalen Hurts was named Super Bowl MVP, having completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns along with 72 rushing yards and an additional rushing touchdown.