Fly Eagles Fly: America Is (Narrowly) Rooting for Philadelphia in Super Bowl LVII

The Philadelphia Eagles are the betting favorites to win Super Bowl LVII, albeit by a slim margin. Similarly, Americans are narrowly hoping the Jalen Hurts-led NFC champions can capture the Lombardi Trophy over the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 12, according to a new Morning Consult survey. 

America says ‘Go birds’ 

• More than a third of U.S. adults (35%) said they want the Eagles to win their second NFL title in five years, compared with 31% of Americans who hope the Chiefs capture their second Super Bowl since 2019 and third championship overall.
• More than 2 in 5 self-identified NFL fans (42%) and self-identified sports fans (41%) are rooting for the Eagles, while nearly half of self-identified sports bettors (47%) are also siding with the green and white.
• Much of the Eagles’ support came from millennials, as 41% of the group said they are rooting for the team, 11 percentage points higher than the share who said they’re pulling for Kansas City.
• About 1 in 3 Gen Zers (32%) said they’re cheering for the Chiefs, making them the only generational cohort whose Super Bowl rooting interest skewed toward the AFC champions. Perhaps that’s because Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ brother, Jackson, is a well-known TikToker — though his use of the platform has prompted criticism in recent years.
• Americans’ minds also match their hearts, as 36% of adults think the Eagles will win, the survey found, compared with 31% who believe the Chiefs will be victorious. The Eagles are currently favored by 1.5 points on the betting app DraftKings.

Who will win the Andy Reid Bowl?

Sunday marks the Andy Reid Bowl, as the Chiefs’ head coach plays in the big game against the team he coached for 14 seasons, from 1999 to 2012. It’ll be the fifth time a head coach has faced his former team in the Super Bowl. 

In last year’s game, Americans rooted for the underdog Cincinnati Bengals, according to a Morning Consult survey, though they said they expected the Los Angeles Rams to win. The Rams won 23-20 to secure their first title since 1999. Eagles fans are hoping America makes it two in a row. (Americans incorrectly picked the Chiefs to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV in 2021. Tom Brady and the Bucs won 31-9.)

Reid winning his second Super Bowl with the Chiefs would likely reignite talks of a “dynasty” following the team’s loss in the Super Bowl two years ago. If that happens, America might never pick against them again.

The Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 2023, survey was conducted among a representative sample of 2,205 U.S. adults, including 1,573 self-identified sports fans, both with unweighted margins of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. The survey also included 1,488 self-identified NFL fans and 644 self-identified sports bettors, with unweighted margins of error of plus or minus 3 and plus or minus 4 percentage points, respectively.