There is a good reason why no NFL team has won 3 Super Bowl's in a row as it is not only difficult, but you need everything to align including luck. You are at the pinnacle of the sport and every other team is trying to take your crown so e pressure and stress is constant and you need to improve and be better each season.
Last night we witnessed he Eagles downing the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl ad it was not even close. A 24 nil lead at half time was basically game done as long as the Eagles played normally which they did and saw out the game winning 40 -22.
In sport there is a time in the game you know you have the win in the bag and all it is about managing the clock. In rugby we look at the 3 score mark so somewhere between 17 and 20 points as the mark to hit before the time management starts. Normally this frustrates and suffocates the other team and more often than not you will be gifted more scoring opportunities.
When I was playing first division rugby what hit home was how structured the game was having come from a younger age group that was so loose you had to be super fit. This was not the case in adult rugby as the game was slowed down being more precise with the planned moves. Of course you have to be fit, but it was more like running a marathon than a sprint.
The Chiefs were favorite last night due to the stats of the season and having won back to back super bowls ,but in one off games like a final nothing is guaranteed. The difference was last night is that the Eagles remembered 2 years ago when they lost to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl 38-35 and that is something you cannot forget. They needed no other motivation and what drove them to the title.
Normally coaches try to find an extra motivational purpose whether it is a quote from the other team to egg on their team and wind them up and why coaches these days keep quiet giving the other team no free ammunition.
Last night it was clear to see who was controlling the game and I am no fan of American Football. If you control the possession then it is up to the other team to get it back and the first half that I watched was all one sided. Control the possession and control the game winning the big moments and placing pressure on your opponents.
The hardest thing to do in sport is to keep on winning as everyone else is trying to knock you off the pedestal and winning a third Super Bowl in a row was going to be much harder than winning the second title and this was clearly showing as there was more pressure on the Chiefs than the Eagles. Every point that the Eagles scored piled on even more pressure and even though the Chiefs lost they will be a stronger team next season because of this experience.
The SA rugby team is looking to win 3 World Cup titles in a row having gone back to back like the Chiefs with one difference this is every 4 years and not every year so this is in many ways a bigger deal as it would literally define your entire career. Squads over 12 years change so it is very different than keeping a winning team together for 3 seasons and the reason why it has never been achieved before.