PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Tampa Bay may have a party atmosphere — socially distanced and mask-mandatory, of course — but so far Super Bowl LV is nothing like what Super Bowls used to be for the players and coaches.
In recent years, there have been crowded venues and a wide swathe of media coverage, from NFL Network to Guillermo from The Jimmy Kimmel Show. But this year? The familiar sight of video conferences from empty rooms. And because of pandemic protocols, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs aren't even in Tampa yet.
"I don’t think you have quite as many distractions as maybe what you’d have in a normal Super Bowl week when you’re out of facility, but you still know it’s there,” Chiefs head coach (and former Eagles coach) Andy Reid said.
And without the Guillermos of the world there, we end up with far fewer fun, non-football questions. Still, Super Bowl LV Opening Night did have a few notable highlights.
Andy Reid's cheeseburgers
With life drastically changed for so many people in the last year, at least one thing remains constant: Reid's love for food.
After Reid and the Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV last season, he told NFL Network he was going to enjoy a very large cheeseburger.
Asked Monday if there was another one in his future if the Chiefs go back to back, Reid said yes.
"I need a double cheeseburger if that happens," he said.
The value of inclusion
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are led by former Temple Owls coach (1983-1988) Bruce Arians, who is known for having a diverse coaching staff.
All of his coordinators — Harold Goodwin, Todd Bowles, Byron Leftwich and Keith Armstrong — are Black. The Bucs also have two women among their assistant coaches — Maral Javadifar and Lori “Lo” Locust.
The NFL has been criticized in recent years for a lack of diversity in prominent executive and coaching positions.
Of Javadifar and Locust in particular, Arians said, "It was time for that door to be knocked down, because they’ve been putting in the time and they’re very, very qualified. The ones that we have are overly qualified."
And of the racial inclusion, he says: "That was not by design. Those are the best coaches I know. But to hear voices in a staff meeting that aren’t the same, don’t look alike, but they all have input, you get better output.”
Arians said he was angry that his offensive coordinator, Byron Leftwich, didn't get an interview this year.
"For the job that he’s done, I get way too much credit — and so does Tom Brady," Arians said.
Reid's offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy, very highly regarded by his players and peers, is also Black. He has not had a chance to be a head coach in the NFL, leaving many to ask why.
Arians, Temple-made
It's been more than 30 years since Arians coached at Temple, but he calls the university a special place and says his time on North Broad Street gave him great memories.
"Oh, that’s where I got started really. I thought I knew everything," he said. "Didn’t know s---."
Arians went on to praise late former university President Peter Liacouras, as well as iconic basketball coach John Chaney, who passed away last week at 89.
"God bless John Chaney," 68-year-old Arians said. "One of my dear friends. And I probably learned as much coaching watching him practice and how he taught his guys than just about anybody I worked with."
Kelce family bragging rights
Longtime Eagles Center Jason Kelce is a legend in Philadelphia for his time with the franchise and his iconic speech at their Super Bowl Parade in 2018. Kelce’s younger brother, Travis, is one of the NFL’s best tight ends, if not the best. The two are very close.
Last season, with the Chiefs Super Bowl victory, Travis matched his brother — but in Super Bowl rings only. Jason's victory parade speech was way better, of course.
Now, Travis is going for two in a row.
"You know those bragging rights at the dinner table are everything, man," he told NFL Network's Michael Irvin on Monday. "And I’ll tell you what. I didn’t have too many of those bragging rights growing up in the house."
Growing up with Jason Kelce, Travis said, he got pushed around a little bit.
"Obviously, it worked out for the better, but this one might take the cake. This one might be the bragging rights of them all man."
Just getting to the Super Bowl a second time puts the younger brother ahead of the older. The Eagles haven’t been able to reach that height since their victory against the Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
"The fact that we both made it to the mountaintop, and then to let him know that I made it twice, it’s already there," he said. "But I gotta go out here and get this ring and get the job done."