The exterior of Raymond James Stadium, in Tampa, Florida. The exterior is decorated with banners for Super Bowl LV. The image is facing north, seeing the back of the video boards of the south endzone. Photo by Doctorindy on Wiki Commons.
Super Bowl LV is finally upon us and the anticipation of Sunday’s big game has many folks excited for what’s to come with a question that is donning their heads.
Will the Tampa Bay Buccaneers become the first team to win a championship in their own home stadium, or will the Kansas City Chiefs will retain their title after winning last year’s Super Bowl?
Here are predictions from our staff on which team will come out on top in Super Bowl LV.
Iracema Navarro, Senior Copy Editor: 20-17 Kansas City wins. The youth and speed that Patrick Mahomes II and Tyreek Hill bring to the Chiefs will surpass the veteran experience of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. Buccaneers’ wide receiver Mike Evans has not shown up in the last two games like he is supposed to and if he is planning to play like the Buccaneers’ number one wide receiver, “the Honey Badger” Tyrann Mathieu, he will be after him and in the eyes of Tom Brady.
Daniel Diaz,
Staff Reporter:
34-31 Tampa Bay wins. I remember in the NBA when DeMarcus Cousins was intentionally being overly physical with Tim Duncan, arguably the greatest power forward of all time, in a regular season meeting in a way that said “your time is done old man, it’s my time now,” San Antonio ended up winning the game, and Duncan had a good performance. Duncan’s teammate Sean Elliot went up to Cousins after the game and said, “Don’t tug on superman’s cape.” Mahomes, don’t tug on superman’s cape. Don’t bet against a GOAT like Tom Brady.
Matt Barrero,
Co-Sports Editor:
35-32 Kansas City wins. In what can be one of the best matchups in, perhaps, Super Bowl history, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will win back-to-back titles for the first time since the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots achieved the feat in ‘03 and ‘04. Brady and the Bucs will grab a 10 point lead late in the third quarter, setting up Mahomes to stage another Super Bowl comeback in consecutive season finales. The passing of the torch will officially be complete, sending Brady into early retirement, (for his own standards.)
Robert Rios,
News Editor:
31-27 Kansas City wins. Offensively, both teams are evenly matched, but I have to give the edge to Kansas City as Patrick Mahomes II is more versatile with his ability to run around the field. My money is also on the Chiefs defense to show out in comparison to the Bucs defense, who struggled to stop other teams from putting up points in the regular season and playoffs.
Jeremy Gonzalez,
Co-Sports Editor:
28-24 Tampa Bay wins. Tom Brady is the best to ever do it and I learned not to bet against him. An opportunistic Bucs defense will bend, but not break as they cause turnovers. Brady will utilize every weapon the Bucs have on offense to bring Tampa Bay their second Super Bowl win, while he strengthens his Hall of Fame resume with a record seventh Super Bowl title for himself.
Super Bowl LV will air on CBS on Feb. 7, kickoff time is at approximately 3 :30 p.m. PST.
