They say there is a first time for everything and it feels particularly true when talking about the quarterbacks in Super Bowl LVII.
Both Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Eagles’ Jalen Hurts are a part of a number of first-time happenings in the upcoming Super Bowl. The most notable, of course, is that they’re the first pair of Black starting quarterbacks to face off against each other in the 57-year history of the Super Bowl.
It’s a fact that Mahomes is very proud of and he explained just how special it is to him during his press conference on Thursday.
“Yeah to be on the world stage and have two Black quarterbacks start in the Super Bowl – I think it’s special and I’ve learned more and more about the history of the Black quarterback since I’ve been in this league,” Mahomes said. “And the guys that came before me and (Eagles QB) Jalen (Hurts) set the stage for this and now I’m just glad we can kind of set the stage for the kids that are coming up now. It’ll be a great game against two great teams and against another great quarterback. So, I’m excited to go out there and try to do what we can to win against a great team.”
They’re not just setting the stage for the next generation of Black quarterbacks, though. Mahomes and Hurts are also putting the state of Texas on the map. Mahomes is a native of Tyler, Texas and Hurts is a native of Houston, Texas. Perhaps surprisingly, Mahomes and Hurts are the first pair of quarterbacks from the state of Texas to face off against each other in the Super Bowl as well.
“I think it’s just in Texas it’s been a program of building players up for a long time,” Mahomes said. “There’s still the great running backs, there’s still the great receivers (and) the great tight ends – whatever you want to say. But I think you’ve seen, with just the way that we’re taught at a young age and seven on seven and everything like that, the quarterbacks are starting to become more and more of a thing.
“But I mean, we’ve had guys like Drew Brees, Nick Foles, Baker (Mayfield) – Baker’s in the league now, Jalen (and) me. There’s been guys that’s been in the league now but ot have this stage to show what Texas football is all about – I brag to all my PA (Pennsylvania) guys because they claim that they have the best state in football because of the history but I’m like, ‘I’m talking about the present,’ and I think Texas has it going right now.”
Believe it or not, there’s also another first-time occurrence in the Super Bowl with Mahomes and Hurts, but this one is related to college football. Even though the SEC might say this one has an asterisk on it, it’s an important point. Mahomes and Hurts are also the first two quarterbacks to play in the Big 12 conference to face off against each other in a Super Bowl. Mahomes, of course, played college football at Texas Tech. Hurts transferred from Alabama to play at Oklahoma during his final season of college football.
“First, I know the SEC is going to be mad because Alabama tries to claim Jalen as well, so they’ll be a little angry about you calling him a Big 12 quarterback,” Mahomes said. “It’s cool, man. I think you saw three of the four were Big 12 quarterbacks. You just get past that stigma of, ‘You’re an air raid quarterback, you don’t know how to handle an NFL offense,’ and to see that guys can come from anywhere, man.
“I think you see that in all of football’s history – players can come from big colleges, they can come from small colleges, whatever conference that is and they can have success. You’ve just got to be willing to work and willing to learn. That’s something that I think you see between me and Jalen is you have guys that want to get better and want to do whatever they can to win football games.”
With many shared histories, these two quarterbacks have a lot in common that binds them together, but only one can emerge from Super Bowl LVII as a champion.
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