February 08, 2024
Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports
The decision to root for the 49ers or Chiefs is a rough one for Eagles fans.
Regardless of whether Philadelphia is ready for it, Super Bowl LVIII is approaching. In a brutal turn of events, it'll be the Chiefs and 49ers facing off in Las Vegas, ranking as one of the worst Super Bowl matchups of the century for Eagles fans in an article from yours truly.
Who should Birds fans be pulling for on Sunday? It's far, far from an ideal scenario, but the clear choice is Kansas City. Yes, Andy Reid found the most talented quarterback of all time and rewrote the narrative of his career, becoming one of the best coaches ever in spite of those colossal playoff failures in Philadelphia. Jason Kelce will be on hand at the Super Bowl rooting on the Chiefs instead of suiting up for the Eagles themselves in the Big Game, adding a sting to the horrific collapse of the 2023 Eagles. Kansas City, of course, knocked off the Birds in last year's Super Bowl and we're well on the way to Chiefs fatigue akin to what happened with the Patriots in the 2010s and 2020s.
They're ultimately the lesser of two evils though.
The 49ers? Yeah, no.
The obvious reason is the way San Francisco players ran their mouths all last offseason after the Eagles dismantled them in the 2022 NFC Championship Game. "But Brock Purdy got hurt!" I don't care, Deebo. That Eagles team was electric. Perhaps genius head coach Kyle Shanahan shouldn't have had a tight end block Haason Reddick, on the heels of a 16-sack 2022 campaign, who then crushed Purdy and knocked him out of the game?
Sure, the 49ers got the best of the Eagles this past season. There's no debate there. The 2023 Birds were an inferior version to the 2022 iteration. It is what it is. Deebo Samuel says Eagles-49ers isn't a rivalry because rivalry games aren't one-sided, but how quickly he forgets the Eagles' 31-7 smackdown of San Francisco last January. He ran his mouth for a year and then overlooked that detail!
49ers defender Dre Greenlaw got in a fight with beloved Eagles Chief Security Officer Dom DiSandro during the Birds' Week 13 loss to San Francisco, too, only adding fuel to this continuously burning fire.
Then there's the larger Purdy variable. It's akin to disliking a musical artist or film or television series because of the fandom around them rather than the entity itself. The hero worship for him in the media is loathsome with some "reporters" continuing to embarrass themselves about it. Great story? Sure. He was the last pick in the draft and is on the cusp of winning the Super Bowl in his second season. That simply doesn't happen. Bravo. He's also not the second coming of Kurt Warner when comparing another unheralded quarterback with incredible offensive weapons on a run to the Super Bowl. Get out of here please. I can't deal with an entire offseason hearing about "Super Bowl-winning QB Brock Purdy." I can't. I just can't.
Whatever.
Hey, it could always be worse: the Cowboys could be playing on Sunday.
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