Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Kickoff in Super Bowl LIX is hours away, and the New Orleans Saints’ home stadium is all dressed up for the occasion. Take a look at the Caesars Superdome:
Kickoff in Super Bowl LIX is hours away, and the New Orleans Saints’ home stadium is all dressed up for the occasion. Hundreds of millions of dollars and years of work were poured into sweeping renovations to the Caesars Superdome in anticipation of this game, and all eyes will be on New Orleans when the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles bring the season to a close.
Here’s a quick look at the field and stadium before we light the fireworks on Sunday evening:
Super Bowl LIX held in New Orleans could be the site of history being made, as the Chiefs pursue the elusive “three-peat”
The “three-peat”. An elusive statistic where a team is able to complete three championship victories back to back in their respective sport. This is something that does not happen every day, and even the long-time dynasty New England Patriots were unable to complete this task. In the NFL, it has never happened before, and this is the only sport of the “Big Four” in North America to not have a team ever three-peat.
The last North American sports league to have this feat accomplished was the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers, who completed it with their 2000, 2001, and 2002 seasons. Next up in recency was the MLB with the New York Yankees, who completed it from 1998 to 2000. Then finally there is the NHL, and the legendary New York Islanders group back in the 1980s who actually won four in a row in 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983.
Now the NFL is on the precipice of wrapping things up and having a team from each of the big four sports in North America to have three-peated. With that in mind, it could happen on the doorstep of the New Orleans Saints, as Super Bowl LIX is hosted in Caesars Superdome for the first time since XLVII in 2013.
The Kansas City Chiefs are one game away from making history, and becoming forever immortalized as not only a dynasty, but one of THE dynasties in all of sports. As much as fans and media alike prefer dynasties not to form and parity to take control, you also sometimes have to step back and appreciate greatness as it is happening.
Eight teams in NFL history have made two Super Bowl victories in a row happen, but will the Chiefs be able to add the third in a row to the victory column? We will find out on Feb. 9 as both teams travel to the bayou and battle for supremacy.
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Jameis Winston will be busy next week. The former Saints QB will work with FOX Sports to highlight his favorite New Orleans restaurants ahead of Super Bowl LIX:
Former Saints quarterback Jameis Winston is headed back to New Orleans, where he’ll work as a FOX Sports digital correspondent, per Front Office Sports. Winston will be sharing videos highlighting his “favorite dining and entertainment hotspots” in the city throughout the week before Super Bowl LIX.
Winston spent nearly as many years with the Saints (4) as he did with the team that drafted him, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5), though much of his time in New Orleans was spent as a backup. Winston started 10 of the 21 games he appeared in, and clearly made plenty of good memories as a part of the Saints. We’ll keep an eye out to see what he turns up when he comes back next week.
It’s a historic occasion for New Orleans. The city will host its eleventh Super Bowl, tying the all-time record with Miami, and no venue has seen more championship games than the Caesars Superdome. This year’s matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will be the eighth title fight to be played there. Only Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium has played host more than five times, with their sixth Super Bowl last kicking off in 2020.
And they’ve pulled out all the stops. The Superdome has undergone massive renovations over the last few years to prepare for its moment in the spotlight. Winston will be doing his part to celebrate the places in the city that mean the most to him, and it’s all leading up to Super Bowl LIX.
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It won’t be long before Aaron Glenn returns to New Orleans, but with a new team. He’ll be leading the Jets when they visit the Caesars Superdome in 2025:
Sean Payton returned to the Caesars Superdome in 2024 and left with a win. Will Aaron Glenn square off with his old New Orleans Saints teammates and lead to the New York Jets in 2025? We’re going to find out.
Glenn picked the Jets head coaching job over the Saints this week, but it won’t be long before he’s back in the city. The Jets were already scheduled to visit the Saints at the Superdome during the upcoming season. All we’ve got left to find out is when that game will be played.
The Saints have beaten the Jets in each of their last two meetings, both in New Orleans (in 2017) and in New York (in 2021). It’s a new day for Gang Green, but the Jets are 10-24 on the road since the 2021 season. The Saints aren’t much better at home during that span with a 15-19 record.
There will be a lot of questions surrounding both teams involved with this matchup; we don’t know who the Saints head coach will be or who the Jets will have at quarterback, or in his headset calling plays, given Glenn’s defensive background. Both squads went 5-12 this past season but Glenn clearly felt the Jets were a better opportunity for him. It’s just one game, but you have to imagine it would be gratifying for general manager Mickey Loomis to see his team get a win over Glenn’s Jets head-to-head. We’ll just have to wait and see if he can build a team that can accomplish that, and whether it ends up being actually meaningful in the end.
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Shaquille O’Neal and Drew Brees are among the many former athletes with Louisiana ties headed to New Orleans for the Super Bowl:
The New Orleans Saints are among the many teams no longer on the field in the postseason, falling miserably short with a 5-12 overall record that placed them dead-last in the NFC South.
But the Caesars Superdome itself will be hopping sooner rather than later, with New Orleans set to play host for Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome.
Despite his strong Louisiana ties and going down as one of the best overall athletes in state history, Shaq says he does not keep up with the Saints on a regular basis — that’s because he’s a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan.
O’Neal may have taken the court for LSU, but he’s a strongly devoted Texas native who says he actually almost headed to Austin instead of playing for the Tigers.
But while back in the Big Easy, O’Neal will be bringing “Shaq’s Fun House” into the Saints’ house.
“I am so excited that it is coming to the Big Easy,” O’Neal told me this week. “It is part music festival, part carnival, and there is no doubt in my mind that it will be the number one party of the Super Bowl weekend. It’s an all-inclusive event … There will be carnival rides, games and a circus performance.”
In addition the O’Neal being present, other celebrities like Ludacris and DJ Diesel will be in attendance. And O’Neal believes his particular event will be different than a lot of the other ones taking place, also with a free 6-hour open bar.
“On weekends like this, you tend to have a lot of events that they say are parties, but they’re just corporate events. You come in, you stand around and people are talking and no one’s really paying attention to the DJ,” O’Neal said.
In addition to the event, O’Neal says he’s looking forward to being back in what he describes as perhaps the most unique city on the planet.
He added, “New Orleans is a great city in its own right that has a wonderful culture that is unmatched in any other city. You just have to be there and visit there to understand.”
There will be a lot going on at this year’s Super Bowl event, with several former Saints athletes, including quarterback Drew Brees, in attendance.
It is set for kickoff at 6:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 9.
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What time do the Kansas City #Chiefs play the Houston #Texans in NFL playoffs? Info for divisional game
The Kansas City Chiefs are set to face the Houston Texans in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs.
Here are all the game details Chiefs fans need to know:
The Kansas City Chiefs’ divisional round showdown against the Houston Texans will take place on Saturday, January 18.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ playoff matchup against the Houston Texans will kick off at 3:30 CST on Saturday, January 18.
The Kansas City Chiefs will face the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium.
The stage is set.
See you in our place Saturday, Chiefs Kingdom! pic.twitter.com/434KAekoez
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 13, 2025
Super Bowl LIX is scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 9, and will be broadcast on FOX.
Super Bowl LIX is set to be played at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Superdome usually has a capacity of 73,208 but can be expanded to hold 76,468.
The Caesars Superdome hasn’t held the same magical homefield advantage as of late. Interim Saints head coach Darren Rizzi is on a mission to change that:
Darren Rizzi has a major goal as New Orleans Saints interim head coach that goes beyond wins and losses. He wants to restore a “domefield” advantage in New Orleans.
There was once a time where the Caesars Superdome was on the list of places opposing teams didn’t want to go. That magic had faded away. The Saints haven’t had a winning record at home since Drew Brees retired, going 2-5 at the Superdome in 2021 (not counting a “home” win in Jacksonville due to Hurricane Ida), 4-4 in 2022 (discounting their “home” loss in London), and 5-3 in 2023, with a 2-3 start to this season’s home slate. That’s a 13-15 home record altogether.
After knocking off the Atlanta Falcons, Rizzi declared, “We are going to get this dome back to where it used to be and that was just the start.” Part of restoring the aura has to do with winning games. The Saints hadn’t been doing that at home or on the road lately, so Rizzi was concerned if the fans were going to be bought in. He clearly underestimated how much the coaching change reinvigorated the fanbase.
That mistake won’t be made again. Rizzi complimented the home crowd by saying, “our fans were incredible today.” He credited the fans’ engagement for forcing the visiting Falcons into some errors, such as jumping offsides.
He knows this city wants a winner and the team wants to give them that just as badly. This is just one win, but that’s how every winning streak starts.
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Kendrick Lamar is about to pop out at the Super Bowl
Kendrick Lamar is having quite the year after a high-profile rap feud, and it just got even bigger after he announced Sunday he’ll be doing the halftime show for Super Bowl 59 in February.
Set to take place on Feb. 9, 2025, this season’s Super Bowl will happen at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. K. Dot will follow Usher as the halftime performer, though it won’t be his first halftime appearance.
Lamar was also a part of Dr. Dre’s halftime set in 2022.
Here was how Lamar announced his second halftime appearance:
.@KendrickLamar. Super Bowl LIX. New Orleans. February 2025. #AppleMusicHalftime@AppleMusic @RocNation @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/1XmZWutsWl
— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2024
If Lamar’s recent Ken and Friends show was a preview of what to expect, it’s going to be a great show. And if this line from Lamar’s announcement video — “there’s only one opportunity to win a championship. There’s no round twos” — sounded like a another petty jab at Drake, it probably was.
The victory lap continues.
The New Orleans Saints announced information regarding open practices at Yulman Stadium and the Caesars Superdome, as well as how to register for tickets:
The New Orleans Saints have previously announced that they will be hosting open practices when they return to Louisiana from their training camp in Southern California, one at Tulane’s Yulman Stadium and the other at the Caesars Superdome. And now they’ve shared the times and dates for these events. Tickets are free but available on a first-come, first-served basis:
On Thursday the team shared information regarding how both season ticket holders and the general public can acquire tickets for each event. Ticket registration opens on Monday, July 29 for season ticket holders and Tuesday, July 30 for the general public. Tickets will for both practices will become available at 9 a.m. CT on each day.
Additional information regarding each practice, tickets, parking, and gates can be found at the following links:
The Saints and Tulane have a long history of working together and sharing facilities, as the Saints played for eight seasons at the old Tulane Stadium on the Uptown campus, and the Green Wave have used the Saints’ Metairie indoor practice facility to prepare for bowl games. It has been five years since the Saints have practiced at Tulane’s facilities, 2019 being the last time this occurred, so these will both be great opportunities for local fans to see their team in person.
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Where will next year’s Super Bowl take place?
While all of our focus is on the 2024 Super Bowl right now, it’s fair to ask where next year’s big game will be.
If you’re hoping to see your team play for a Super Bowl in 2025, they’d travel down to the Big Easy to do so.
Next year’s Super Bowl will take place on Feb. 9, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, home of the Saints.
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This is the eighth Super Bowl played in the Superdome over its multi-decade existence. The last Super Bowl held in New Orleans was in 2013.
As we all celebrate this year’s big game in Las Vegas, we’ll have more football, Bourbon Street, jazz and crawfish boils to look forward to next year.
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