Super Bowl Experience Matters, But NOT This Time

Super Bowl experience matters, but not this time. Both the Chiefs and Eagles have plenty of coaches and players that have been there, done that! In fact, these teams played each other in the Super Bowl two years ago.

But in the past I've had numerous people who have played or coached in a Super Bowl tell me that they try to treat it like a normal game. Except it isn's a normal game.

First of all, the two week build up is unlike any game they've ever played. The constant daily media sessions can can wear a player out. Ticket requests need to be handled. Family plans need to be made. At some point early on a player needs to shut himself out from the rest of the world and prepare for the biggest game of his career.

Super Bowl Experience Matters! Then there is game day. I've had players tell me they've warmed up before the game as usual. But by the time they add the pomp and circumstance of the introductions, the national anthem, and patriotic flyovers, they are physically and mentally exhausted by kickoff.

And halftime is twice as long as a normal game. Mega-performances by super stars chew up a huge amount of time. Then players have to get their bodies warmed up and ready to go again. Tom Brady once said you have to treat each half like two separate games. And it may feel like two games because a normal NFL game usually takes three hours but a Super Bowl takes more than four hours.

Normally a team with more coaches and players having Super Bowl experience matters. It gives them an edge. But most of the guys on the field with the Chiefs and Eagles this Sunday have already gone through this experience and neither should have an edge there.

For more Super Bowl talk and analysis tune in each weekday to Craig Shemon and Company on ESPN Southwest Florida from 2-6pm.