Happy Super Bowl 58 week!
If you’re a San Francisco 49ers or Kansas City Chiefs fan, things are about to get wild. But if you’re a fan of the other 30 NFL franchises, it can be much less stressful to watch the biggest NFL game of the year with no rooting interests.
But maybe you do want a team to root for here, besides the fact that you might have betting interests in one side or the other.
That’s what this list is for — here’s a guide, fanbase by fanbase, for which team you might want to root for this Sunday, with some reasons why:
1
Buffalo Bills: 49ers
Obviously, given how many times the Bills have lost to the Chiefs in recent years, this is a given.
2
New England Patriots: Chiefs
This might be one of those “root for the AFC team!” situations, but there’s also the Joe Thuney connection (although we’ll see if he can play).
3
Miami Dolphins: Chiefs
Thanks for the Tyreek Hill trade!
4
New York Jets: Chiefs
Gotta root for that Mecole Hardman connection that lasted … uh, five games in New York.
5
Pittsburgh Steelers: 49ers
The Chiefs beat the Steelers in their last two playoff matchups, so gotta go for the NFC team.
6
Cleveland Browns: Chiefs
Travis Kelce is famously from the area!
7
Baltimore Ravens: Chiefs
You want to root for the team that beat you in the playoffs so that you can say you lost to the Super Bowl winner.
8
Tennessee Titans: Chiefs
Warren Moon once played for both franchises! That’s … something.
9
Indianapolis Colts: 49ers
Colts fans have to thank the Niners for the DeForest Buckner trade.
10
Houston Texans: Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes is a Texas native.
11
Jacksonville Jaguars: Chiefs
12
Las Vegas Raiders: 49ers
You can’t be a Raiders fan and root for an interdivision rival. Also, the Bay Area connection was once there in Oakland.
13
Los Angeles Chargers: 49ers
See above. Also, go California teams!
14
Denver Broncos: 49ers
No way Broncos die-hards root for the Chiefs.
15
Dallas Cowboys: Chiefs
There’s a lot of 49ers and Cowboys rivalry history.
16
Washington Commanders: 49ers
Kyle Shanahan was once the franchise’s offensive coordinators!
17
New York Giants: Chiefs
Go former defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo!
18
Philadelphia Eagles: Chiefs
Sure, they beat the Eagles last year. But how can you root against Andy Reid?
19
Green Bay Packers: 49ers
Again: You want to say you lost to the eventual Super Bowl winners.
20
Minnesota Vikings: 49ers
Go NFC! Also, the Chiefs beat the Vikes back in October.
21
Chicago Bears: 49ers
Are Bears fans really going to root for current Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy?
22
Detroit Lions: 49ers
The same “we lost to the champs, nothing we could have done” rationale.
23
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Chiefs
The last time the Bucs met the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, Tampa won a title. Now, they’ve got to return the favor!
24
New Orleans Saints: 49ers
Your future offensive coordinator is Klint Kubiak, who will be coaching the Niners. Ergo, you should root for him.
25
Atlanta Falcons: 49ers
Go Kyle Shanahan!
26
Carolina Panthers: 49ers
Go Christian McCaffrey!
27
Arizona Cardinals: Chiefs
No NFC West fanbase is going to root for the Niners.
28
Los Angeles Rams: Chiefs
See above.
29
Seattle Seahawks: Chiefs
See above.
30
Cincinnati Bengals: 49ers
Given their recent rivalry, the Bengals probably don’t love the Chiefs right now.
