Super Bowl LIX was held in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 8, 2025, and was a thrilling battle between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles triumphed by a crushing 40-22, a record win for the team. Among the celebrity visitors who were present at the occasion, were pop-music icon, Taylor Swift, and President Donald Trump, both of whom received ample media attention. Although the game itself was thrilling, it was also tainted by a number of conspiracy theories that had penetrated public consciousness in a hurry.
One of these persistent conspiracy theories regarding the Super Bowl that has been circulating over the past couple of years is that the players are surreptitiously pre-determined based on the colors of their logos. According to this theory, past matchups like the Bengals vs. the Rams or the 49ers vs. the Chiefs were all part of a hidden pattern. The followers of this theory claim that the result is already decided even before the teams step onto the field and that the logos somehow predict the final showdown. But in reality, this theory is merely a coincidence, since there is no creditable evidence to support such claims, and it’s not founded upon any sound sports analysis or inside information.
Another conspiracy that caught on during Super Bowl LIX was the theory that Taylor Swift’s presence at the game was a curse on the Chiefs, as many fans took to X (Twitter) to propose that “Taylor Swift jinxed the Chiefs.” This accusation stemmed from the idea that Swift’s presence at the game in support of her boyfriend, Kansas City tight end, Travis Kelce, had some influence over the game’s outcome. Yet this logic seems absurd on its face—how would the attendance of one individual at the game have that significant an impact on the performance of an entire team? And, for good measure, it needs to be noted that the Chiefs have won games that Swift was attending previously, so this theory is that much more difficult to take seriously.
Yet another potential jinx some fans believe may have affected the play of the Chiefs is President Donald Trump. While it’s a fact that Trump hasn’t been seen at too many NFL games in recent years, his unexpected appearance at the Super Bowl gave some pause. Adding to the intrigue is his history of making losing sports predictions, which many believe is a bad omen. In addition, no sitting U.S. president had ever attended a Super Bowl previously, and some conspiracy theorists were quick to note that his presence might have been a bad omen for the Chiefs. While this theory relies more on speculation than on anything concrete, it does serve to add another level of intrigue to the outcome of the game.
One of the more popularly debated reasons for the Chiefs’ defeat, however, was the refereeing. A few fans claimed that the refereeing was biased against the Chiefs, saying the referees were being too fair and not biased in favor of Kansas City. But this train of thought fails to take into account the Eagles’ superior talents and how they managed to dictate the flow of the game on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, for all his incredible talent, could not withstand the pressure being applied to him by the Eagles’ defense, and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, for all his reputation as one of the best in the business, was unable to turn the tide in his team’s favor. The truth is, the Eagles simply played better than the Chiefs on the largest of stages, and trying to blame the referees does not do justice to their effort.
While conspiracy theories and superstitions will always trail in the wake of big events like the Super Bowl, it’s worth remembering that the game was decided by the men on the field and not by external factors like jinxes or logo colors. The Eagles just so happened to be the better team that day.
