The Super Bowl is set and many Minnesotans feel there is no team to root for
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) passes against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half of an NFL football game, on Dec. 25, in Pittsburgh.
Matt Freed | AP
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Kendrick Lamar and SZA will be performing the half-time show at Super Bowl 59. And a lot of people will be more excited to see them than the two teams playing on the field.
The Philadelphia Eagles are facing the Kansas City Chiefs in a repeat of Super Bowl 57 in 2023. If the Chiefs win, it will be for the third time in a row.
Minnesota Now sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined the program to look ahead to the big game in New Orleans and other Minnesota sports news.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
[KENDRICK LAMAR AND SZA, "LUTHER"] Hey, Roman numeral seven
Bae, drop it like it's hot
If this world was mine
I'd take your dreams and make them more sublime
NINA MOINI: Kendrick Lamar and SZA will be performing at the halftime show at Super Bowl 59, and a lot of people might be more excited to see them than the two teams playing on the field. The Philadelphia Eagles are facing the Kansas City Chiefs in a repeat of Super Bowl 57 back in 2023. If the Chiefs win, it'll be for the third time in a row.
Joining me to look ahead to the big game in New Orleans plus Minnesota sports news are our sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. Thank you guys for being here.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Nina.
ERIC NELSON: Happy Monday, Nina.
NINA MOINI: Always love to have you guys on to get the very latest. So Kansas City and Philadelphia were the winners yesterday in the NFC and AFC. Seems kind of like they win a lot. What was going right for them yesterday, Wally?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, Kansas City does win a lot. This is their fifth trip to the Super Bowl in the last six years. Only Cincinnati was able to break up that string.
NINA MOINI: Wow.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: And for Philadelphia, as you just mentioned, they played Kansas City two years ago in the super bowl. But for KC, it was, you know, once again, the magic man, Patrick Mahomes-- 245 yards passing, two touchdown passes. And then, he ran for two more touchdowns that led to that 32-29 win over Buffalo.
It's really kind of unusual for Patrick Mahomes to run as much as he did in that game, because they don't do that much during the regular season. But I think Andy Reid dialed up his number a few times running the football in this, because, you know, this is the opportunity to go to the Super Bowl. So we saw more of that.
By the way, it's the fourth time since January of 2021 that Kansas City has ended Buffalo season in the playoffs. Buffalo has not won a road playoff game since they beat Miami in 1992 to advance to the Super Bowl 26 right here in Minneapolis. So that's the last year that the Buffalo Bills were able to win a road playoff game.
Bills had a chance at the end, but Dalton Kincaid couldn't handle a desperation pass by Josh Allen. Chiefs run out the clock. They win their third straight AFC title.
As for Philadelphia, they rolled over Washington, 55-23. They scored seven touchdowns, running the football-- really unusual-- three by Saquon Barkley, who was an MVP candidate, and three for quarterback Jalen Hurts. And so they move on to the Super Bowl as well. And they will take on the Chiefs once again. And yes, I don't think there are a lot of people in mid-America, other than in Kansas City, who are thrilled to see this match-up. [CHUCKLES]
NINA MOINI: I'm not going to lie. I only knew because I saw pictures of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yes, well there's a lot of that.
NINA MOINI: (LAUGHING) I will now move on to the next question and spare you guys. So we know that, obviously, the Vikings will not be in the Super Bowl this time around. But are there any Minnesota connections for people to be on the lookout for, Eric?
ERIC NELSON: I'll tell you what, Nina. Not a lot.
NINA MOINI: (LAUGHING) OK.
ERIC NELSON: I guess if if you're a Minnesota sports fan, you should be cheering for Kansas City and this threepeat. Because if the Chiefs do win the Super Bowl, that'll be the first time ever in NFL history to win three straight Lombardi trophies.
NINA MOINI: Oh, wow.
ERIC NELSON: Now, their quarterback-- Wally talked about him-- Patrick Mahomes-- he's all galaxy. I mean, he is-- he's the new icon in the sport of football. And he's the son of Pat Mahomes, who, once upon a time, pitched for the Minnesota Twins from 1992 to 1996. And when Patrick Mahomes was a youngster, he would often run around the Metrodome while his father was preparing for games.
NINA MOINI: You're kidding.
ERIC NELSON: And LaTroy Hawkins, who also pitched for the Twins then and is now still with the club as a scout, became Patrick Mahomes' godfather. And at the Super Bowl last year in Vegas, I had a chance to chat with Patrick Mahomes in a media scrum. And he has a lot of respect for LaTroy Hawkins.
He says the Twins are his third favorite Major League Baseball team, behind Texas, where he grew up, and the New York Mets, because his father also pitched for the Mets, too. Now, Eagles Nation is going to flock to NOLA for this super bowl, as you might imagine.
NINA MOINI: Yeah.
ERIC NELSON: Now, Philadelphia fans are fanatical, but they can also be mean and cruel. They once booed Santa Claus.
[LAUGHTER]
They go to bed angry and wake up angrier. So you combine this group with the temptations and rowdiness of New Orleans--
NINA MOINI: Whew!
ERIC NELSON: --could be a toxic mix. In fact, let's go back to Super Bowl 52 here in Minneapolis. Philadelphia defeated New England. Yeah. One of their fans stole a purple seat from US Bank Stadium, got it out of the venue, and tried to sneak it through security at MSP before he was caught.
[LAUGHTER]
The fan agreed to pay $125 for the seat, which has been replaced. But beware of those Eagle fans.
NINA MOINI: (LAUGHING) Yeah, thank you for that update. You were really reporting on the cost, and it's been replaced. I love that you did find all of those Minnesota connections, because that's going to be fun to watch the game and to be thinking about some of that.
But turning a little closer to home, so the Gopher men's basketball team won their third-straight game Saturday. They knocked off 15th-ranked Oregon. What's going on with the Gophers, Wally?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: They are playing much better right now, Nina.
NINA MOINI: OK.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: I was at the game with my dad on Saturday afternoon, so it was a great experience inside Williams Arena-- 11,000-plus fans there. Gophers played really well. And it's really the story of Dawson Garcia, a kid from Savage, Minnesota, who came back home to play for the Gophers the last three years. He now has five-straight games where he has scored 20 points or more.
NINA MOINI: Wow.
ERIC NELSON: He had another big game on Saturday. And it's been all about, you know, his ability to carry this team. And he did a great job on Saturday once again. He had three blocked shots to go with 30-plus points.
And the Gophers are playing really good defense. So they have now won three in a row and two over-ranked teams. They beat Michigan. As you remember, the half-court shot by Dawson Garcia, who I just spoke of, about a week and a half ago. And then, they come through with a win on the road at Iowa, and then now, they win at home over a very good Oregon team.
So they take to the road tomorrow. They're at Michigan State-- again, another ranked team. Michigan state has not lost a Big 10 game, so the Gophers hope to hand them their first loss of the season.
But I think that they they may have turned a corner where they feel like they can compete in the Big 10 at the highest level. And we'll see. We'll see how they react. How do they handle success, becomes the next question, because they have been successful now these last three games. Hopefully, they can continue it.
NINA MOINI: All right. And on the Gopher women's basketball side, they picked up another win over Wisconsin for their 18th win of the season. What's-- how's this team looking, Eric? What's next for them?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, plenty to cheer about if you're a Gopher women's basketball fan. They are 18 and 2. They knocked off Wisconsin 71 to 50 yesterday in Madison. Grace Grocholski scored 17 points.
Mallory Heyer had a double-double-- 15 points, 11 rebounds. The Gophers are ranked 23rd in the AP top 25, 24th in the coaches' poll. But the rubber's going to meet the road in Los Angeles in the next few days.
Because the Gophers go out to SoCal. They're going to play fourth-ranked USC on Thursday. USC is tied with UCLA for first place in the Big 10 with an 8-no record, 18 and 1 overall. The Trojans have won 14 straight games, and they have a superstar in JuJu Watkins, who is the third-leading scorer in the nation, and she's one of the top players in all of college basketball.
And then, on Sunday, Minnesota stays in Los Angeles and plays UCLA, the number-one ranked team in the country. So if the Gophers, dare I say it, sweep the LA schools like the Minnesota Gophers football team did this fall, they're going to climb up the rankings. If they get a split, I still think they go up.
NINA MOINI: All right. Well, we'll be on the lookout. Thank you as always, Wally and Eric.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Nina.
NINA MOINI: Have a good one. That's our sports contributors, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. I'm Nina Moini. Thanks for listening to Minnesota Now. We'll see you back here tomorrow at noon.
Bae, drop it like it's hot
If this world was mine
I'd take your dreams and make them more sublime
NINA MOINI: Kendrick Lamar and SZA will be performing at the halftime show at Super Bowl 59, and a lot of people might be more excited to see them than the two teams playing on the field. The Philadelphia Eagles are facing the Kansas City Chiefs in a repeat of Super Bowl 57 back in 2023. If the Chiefs win, it'll be for the third time in a row.
Joining me to look ahead to the big game in New Orleans plus Minnesota sports news are our sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. Thank you guys for being here.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Nina.
ERIC NELSON: Happy Monday, Nina.
NINA MOINI: Always love to have you guys on to get the very latest. So Kansas City and Philadelphia were the winners yesterday in the NFC and AFC. Seems kind of like they win a lot. What was going right for them yesterday, Wally?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, Kansas City does win a lot. This is their fifth trip to the Super Bowl in the last six years. Only Cincinnati was able to break up that string.
NINA MOINI: Wow.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: And for Philadelphia, as you just mentioned, they played Kansas City two years ago in the super bowl. But for KC, it was, you know, once again, the magic man, Patrick Mahomes-- 245 yards passing, two touchdown passes. And then, he ran for two more touchdowns that led to that 32-29 win over Buffalo.
It's really kind of unusual for Patrick Mahomes to run as much as he did in that game, because they don't do that much during the regular season. But I think Andy Reid dialed up his number a few times running the football in this, because, you know, this is the opportunity to go to the Super Bowl. So we saw more of that.
By the way, it's the fourth time since January of 2021 that Kansas City has ended Buffalo season in the playoffs. Buffalo has not won a road playoff game since they beat Miami in 1992 to advance to the Super Bowl 26 right here in Minneapolis. So that's the last year that the Buffalo Bills were able to win a road playoff game.
Bills had a chance at the end, but Dalton Kincaid couldn't handle a desperation pass by Josh Allen. Chiefs run out the clock. They win their third straight AFC title.
As for Philadelphia, they rolled over Washington, 55-23. They scored seven touchdowns, running the football-- really unusual-- three by Saquon Barkley, who was an MVP candidate, and three for quarterback Jalen Hurts. And so they move on to the Super Bowl as well. And they will take on the Chiefs once again. And yes, I don't think there are a lot of people in mid-America, other than in Kansas City, who are thrilled to see this match-up. [CHUCKLES]
NINA MOINI: I'm not going to lie. I only knew because I saw pictures of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yes, well there's a lot of that.
NINA MOINI: (LAUGHING) I will now move on to the next question and spare you guys. So we know that, obviously, the Vikings will not be in the Super Bowl this time around. But are there any Minnesota connections for people to be on the lookout for, Eric?
ERIC NELSON: I'll tell you what, Nina. Not a lot.
NINA MOINI: (LAUGHING) OK.
ERIC NELSON: I guess if if you're a Minnesota sports fan, you should be cheering for Kansas City and this threepeat. Because if the Chiefs do win the Super Bowl, that'll be the first time ever in NFL history to win three straight Lombardi trophies.
NINA MOINI: Oh, wow.
ERIC NELSON: Now, their quarterback-- Wally talked about him-- Patrick Mahomes-- he's all galaxy. I mean, he is-- he's the new icon in the sport of football. And he's the son of Pat Mahomes, who, once upon a time, pitched for the Minnesota Twins from 1992 to 1996. And when Patrick Mahomes was a youngster, he would often run around the Metrodome while his father was preparing for games.
NINA MOINI: You're kidding.
ERIC NELSON: And LaTroy Hawkins, who also pitched for the Twins then and is now still with the club as a scout, became Patrick Mahomes' godfather. And at the Super Bowl last year in Vegas, I had a chance to chat with Patrick Mahomes in a media scrum. And he has a lot of respect for LaTroy Hawkins.
He says the Twins are his third favorite Major League Baseball team, behind Texas, where he grew up, and the New York Mets, because his father also pitched for the Mets, too. Now, Eagles Nation is going to flock to NOLA for this super bowl, as you might imagine.
NINA MOINI: Yeah.
ERIC NELSON: Now, Philadelphia fans are fanatical, but they can also be mean and cruel. They once booed Santa Claus.
[LAUGHTER]
They go to bed angry and wake up angrier. So you combine this group with the temptations and rowdiness of New Orleans--
NINA MOINI: Whew!
ERIC NELSON: --could be a toxic mix. In fact, let's go back to Super Bowl 52 here in Minneapolis. Philadelphia defeated New England. Yeah. One of their fans stole a purple seat from US Bank Stadium, got it out of the venue, and tried to sneak it through security at MSP before he was caught.
[LAUGHTER]
The fan agreed to pay $125 for the seat, which has been replaced. But beware of those Eagle fans.
NINA MOINI: (LAUGHING) Yeah, thank you for that update. You were really reporting on the cost, and it's been replaced. I love that you did find all of those Minnesota connections, because that's going to be fun to watch the game and to be thinking about some of that.
But turning a little closer to home, so the Gopher men's basketball team won their third-straight game Saturday. They knocked off 15th-ranked Oregon. What's going on with the Gophers, Wally?
WALLY LANGFELLOW: They are playing much better right now, Nina.
NINA MOINI: OK.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: I was at the game with my dad on Saturday afternoon, so it was a great experience inside Williams Arena-- 11,000-plus fans there. Gophers played really well. And it's really the story of Dawson Garcia, a kid from Savage, Minnesota, who came back home to play for the Gophers the last three years. He now has five-straight games where he has scored 20 points or more.
NINA MOINI: Wow.
ERIC NELSON: He had another big game on Saturday. And it's been all about, you know, his ability to carry this team. And he did a great job on Saturday once again. He had three blocked shots to go with 30-plus points.
And the Gophers are playing really good defense. So they have now won three in a row and two over-ranked teams. They beat Michigan. As you remember, the half-court shot by Dawson Garcia, who I just spoke of, about a week and a half ago. And then, they come through with a win on the road at Iowa, and then now, they win at home over a very good Oregon team.
So they take to the road tomorrow. They're at Michigan State-- again, another ranked team. Michigan state has not lost a Big 10 game, so the Gophers hope to hand them their first loss of the season.
But I think that they they may have turned a corner where they feel like they can compete in the Big 10 at the highest level. And we'll see. We'll see how they react. How do they handle success, becomes the next question, because they have been successful now these last three games. Hopefully, they can continue it.
NINA MOINI: All right. And on the Gopher women's basketball side, they picked up another win over Wisconsin for their 18th win of the season. What's-- how's this team looking, Eric? What's next for them?
ERIC NELSON: Yeah, plenty to cheer about if you're a Gopher women's basketball fan. They are 18 and 2. They knocked off Wisconsin 71 to 50 yesterday in Madison. Grace Grocholski scored 17 points.
Mallory Heyer had a double-double-- 15 points, 11 rebounds. The Gophers are ranked 23rd in the AP top 25, 24th in the coaches' poll. But the rubber's going to meet the road in Los Angeles in the next few days.
Because the Gophers go out to SoCal. They're going to play fourth-ranked USC on Thursday. USC is tied with UCLA for first place in the Big 10 with an 8-no record, 18 and 1 overall. The Trojans have won 14 straight games, and they have a superstar in JuJu Watkins, who is the third-leading scorer in the nation, and she's one of the top players in all of college basketball.
And then, on Sunday, Minnesota stays in Los Angeles and plays UCLA, the number-one ranked team in the country. So if the Gophers, dare I say it, sweep the LA schools like the Minnesota Gophers football team did this fall, they're going to climb up the rankings. If they get a split, I still think they go up.
NINA MOINI: All right. Well, we'll be on the lookout. Thank you as always, Wally and Eric.
WALLY LANGFELLOW: Nina.
NINA MOINI: Have a good one. That's our sports contributors, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. I'm Nina Moini. Thanks for listening to Minnesota Now. We'll see you back here tomorrow at noon.
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