Kansas City Chiefs versus Baltimore Ravens is the first game of the new NFL season. A duel that is also important with regard to the Super Bowl, as both teams are considered two of the strongest title contenders. They cannot meet in the final, due to the NFL system. The 32 teams are divided into two leagues, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). Within each of these leagues there are four groups: North, East, South and West. The winners of the AFC and NFC always meet in the Super Bowl. Since both the Chiefs and the Ravens belong to the AFC, it is not possible to see both teams in the final.
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift are considered the dream couple of the NFL © AP / John Locher
The road to the title leads through the Chiefs
The NFL’s rising stars, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs, have the chance to create history. No team in NFL history has ever managed to win the title three times in a row – also known as the “three peat”. After the last two years, there is no way around the Kansas City Chiefs this year. But that’s not the only reason they’re making headlines. Travis Kelce has been in a relationship with superstar Taylor Swift for a good year, which has helped the team gain even more attention – even outside of sport. Many fans are hoping for a proposal from Kelce at the potential third Super Bowl party.
The NFL is considered to be closely contested
The fact that not even Tom Brady, who is considered by many to be the best NFL player of all time, has been able to win three times in a row shows how competitive the league is. The reason for this is special rules that are designed to weaken strong teams and improve unsuccessful teams. For example, the team with the fewest wins has the first pick in the draft (in the NFL draft, the best young players are selected and signed by clubs), while the Super Bowl winner has to make do with the last pick in each round.
This year is considered to be particularly exciting, as the group of favorites includes a large number of teams. Fans of the Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals can hope to win the hotly contested title. Even outsiders in the league are always good for a surprise, as the Houston Texans, among others, proved last year. The team of the only active Austrian, Bernhard Raimann, is considered a strong underdog.
Final in New Orleans
As in the Champions League, the NFL Super Bowl is held in different stadiums. This year it is the Caesars Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints in the US state of Louisiana. Tickets for the final have been rising in price for years, with the average price for a ticket being over 9000 USD (approx. 8000 euros).
For all local football fans who don’t want to travel to the USA specifically for a game, there is also the option of watching one of the “International Games”. The NFL also plays some of its games in European cities, so this year there are three games in London and one in Munich.
NFL im Free-TV
In Austria, the NFL can also be seen live on TV on several channels. Selected games on each game day are shown on free TV on RTL, and one game is shown on RTL+ for a fee. For real super fans, there is the NFL Game Pass, which can be subscribed to via DAZN. Since last year, you can watch every game live here for 179.99 euros per year, including documentaries and the “Redzone” conference. DAZN itself offers the conference and a live game at any start time. The opening game of the Chiefs against the Ravens can be seen live on all providers.
