Tag: Super Bowl XLI

Super Bowl LXI to be played at SoFi Stadium in 2027

Super Bowl LXI will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California

The NFL works years ahead when it comes to Super Bowl venues. The league decided on Wednesday where the 2027 game will be played.

Super Bowl LXI will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The date is to be determined.

This will be the second Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium. In February 2022, the host Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.

Throwback Thursday: Devin Hester returns opening kickoff for TD in Super Bowl XLI

The Bears know a little something about making history in the Super Bowl, particularly when it comes to Devin Hester.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs will face off in Super Bowl LV on Sunday, when the Bucs become the first team in NFL history to play in their home stadium for the big game.

The Chicago Bears know a little something about making history in the Super Bowl, particularly when it comes to Devin Hester, who made the first play of Super Bowl XLI the most memorable of the evening.

February 4, 2007: Devin Hester returns opening kickoff for TD in Super Bowl XLI

https://youtu.be/rGtxZlQwxNQ

Bears fans know how the rest plays out. In a monsoon at Hard Rock Stadium, the Indianapolis Colts bested the Bears 29-17 to win the Super Bowl. Hester provided the lone highlight for Chicago, returning the opening kickoff for a score for the first time in NFL history. Which felt right as he took the league by storm as a rookie in 2006 and never looked back.

Hester holds the NFL record with 19 kick-return touchdowns, 14 punt-return touchdowns and 20 return touchdowns, which includes punts, kickoffs, missed field goals, interceptions and fumbles.

There’s no doubt that Hester is the greatest kick returner in NFL history. But the question is whether being the best at his position will be enough to get him elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which he becomes eligible for in 2022.

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Cole Kmet cried when Bears lost Super Bowl in 2006

Growing up a Bears fan, Chicago’s new TE Cole Kmet knows the pain that comes with this franchise, including the Super Bowl XLI loss in 2006.

Growing up a Chicago Bears fan, tight end Cole Kmet certainly knows the pain and disappointment that has come with this franchise for the last few decades.

Their last shining moment was an impressive 2006 season that culminated with a Super Bowl appearance — their first since the legendary 1985 season — but it ultimately ended in disappointment. The Bears lost to the Indianapolis Colts 29-17 followed by — what else — a disappointing offensive showing.

While Kmet was just eight years old at the time, he remembers his reaction to the Super Bowl loss. And it might’ve been similar to that of many Bears fans — he cried.

It’s been 13 years since that Super Bowl appearance, and Chicago has made the playoffs just twice since. More frustration for a franchise that has 100 years of history — both good and bad.

As someone that never got to see the 1985 Bears win a Super Bowl, I can’t help but wonder if that 2006 team was as close as I’ll get to seeing them win it all. For Kmet, he has a chance to do something about it — to contribute to this offense in a way that they were severely lacking last season.

The truth is, you don’t know if you’ll ever make it back to that championship stage. The 2007 Bears certainly didn’t achieve the same heights that the 2006 squad did, due to poor quarterback play they couldn’t overcome. The 2009 Bears could say the same following a magical season in 2018, where they fell a missed field goal short of advancing in what could’ve been a special postseason run.

It’s something that the 2020 Bears are looking to rewrite the narrative on — that the chance for achieving greatness does come again. And Kmet will certainly have a say, as the life-long Bears fan gets to play tight end for his hometown Bears. Hopefully the next time he’s crying at a Super Bowl, it’ll be because the Bears won a Super Bowl. Hey, a Bears fan can dream, right?

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