Donald Trump, Taylor Swift join Super Bowl party as Kansas City Chiefs chase ‘three-peat’

NEW ORLEANS – The Kansas City Chiefs chase a historic hat-trick of Super Bowl titles when they take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb 9, as New Orleans hosts the National Football League (NFL) showpiece just five weeks after a deadly attack in the city’s party district.

In a first for a sitting US President, Mr Donald Trump will be among an array of VIPs and celebrities in a sell-out crowd of around 74,000 who will be packed into the Caesars Superdome for the biggest annual event in the American sporting calendar.

Pop superstar Taylor Swift will also be in attendance as her boyfriend Travis Kelce and his Chiefs teammates bid to win an unprecedented third straight Vince Lombardi Trophy, and a fourth in six seasons.

There is a heavy police presence in the city and blanket security around the event after the New Year’s Day attack which saw 14 people killed and many more injured in the Big Easy’s famous Bourbon Street district.

Authorities expect over 100,000 visitors to the city for the game which the Department of Homeland Security has assigned a Special Event Assessment Rating Level 1 designated event, the highest classification level of public safety risk.

“I’m confident the safest place this weekend will be under the security umbrella we have in place around (the Superdome),” Cathy Lanier, the NFL’s chief security officer, said.

“We have reviewed, and re-reviewed, all the events of Jan 1.”

Mr Trump’s presence will only increase the security effort, with the President going beyond the traditional pre-game televised interview to attend in person.

He has had a strained relationship with the NFL in the past – he was part of an anti-trust lawsuit against the league in the 1980s when he owned a club in the rival United States Football League.

In 2017, he criticised NFL players who knelt during the playing of the US national anthem to draw attention to issues of racial injustice, prompting strong criticism from some players.

But there has been no objection from players to the US leader attending the Feb 9 game, with Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is seeking his fourth Super Bowl ring, describing the prospect as “cool”.

As always, the Super Bowl crosses over into popular culture and the half-time show this time will feature hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar, who had a clean sweep at the Grammys on Feb 2.

Bookmakers and casinos, meanwhile, are taking odds on whether Chiefs star Kelce will propose to pop icon Swift.

American sportsbooks, now legal in 38 states, could take an estimated US$1.39 billion (S$1.88 billion) in bets on the Super Bowl, according to an annual report from the American Gaming Association.

For the more serious punters, the oddsmakers have the Chiefs as slight favourites for the game, which is a rematch of the Super Bowl from two years ago which they won by three points.

The Chiefs retained their title in 2024, beating the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas and putting them one win away from a “three-peat”.

Should he triumph again, the 29-year-old Mahomes will become one of just four quarterbacks in NFL history to have won more than three Super Bowls.

But the Eagles have added serious offensive firepower since their defeat two years ago – with mobile quarterback Jalen Hurts, 26, joined by the game-changing speed and power of running back Saquon Barkley, 27.

While the Super Bowl regularly draws the biggest television audience of the year in the US, interest in the NFL is also growing outside of its stronghold.

There is international involvement in this edition with the Eagles’ 27-year-old offensive tackle Jordan Mailata looking to become the first Australian to play in and win a Super Bowl.

And having played in Brazil earlier this season, the NFL is rapidly expanding its presence globally and next season regular-season games will be held in London, Berlin and Madrid, with Melbourne to host a game in 2026.

In the build-up, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell floated the idea that the Super Bowl itself might one day be held outside the US.

“I do think there’s potential that someday we will have an international franchise,” he said.

“If we do, it would not surprise me at all if a Super Bowl follows and is played there.” AFP