Kansas City, Philadelphia arrive in Arizona ahead of Super Bowl LVII
Teams gearing up for matchup set for Feb. 12 in Glendale
A few minutes after Kansas City and quarterback Patrick Mahomes landed in Phoenix, Ariz., the pilot hung a team flag out of the window as players, coaches and staff got off the plane and walked across the runway.
About an hour later, it was the Philadelphia Eagles who arrived in Arizona, with a flag of their own fluttering in the runway as quarterback Jalen Hurts, coach Nick Sirianni and others made their way to a fleet of buses.
Super Bowl LVII is just one week away.
Both teams landed at Goldwater Air National Guard Base in ideal Phoenix winter weather with bright sunshine. Team personnel occasionally stopped to take pictures and videos on the runway.
Former Kansas City star Christian Okoye was on hand to pass out hats to Kansas City's players as they got off the plane. The former star running back lives in Southern California and made the short trip to Phoenix.
"They called me and wanted me to come over here and welcome the team," Okoye said. "So I said `Yes, of course' — my team's over here getting ready to win the Super Bowl."
Oddsmakers are expecting a good game, though they disagree with Okoye and are giving the Eagles a slight edge. Philadelphia opened as a one 1/2-point favourite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
The Eagles routed the San Francisco 49ers 31-7 in the NFC title game. They've looked dominant in the playoffs so far, also beating the New York Giants 38-7 in the divisional round.
Philadelphia is back in the Super Bowl five years after beating the New England Patriots 41-33.
Now a mostly new generation of Eagles — led by Hurts and Sirianni — will come to Arizona to try and win another title.
The teams will both take part in the "Super Bowl LVII Opening Night" on Monday in downtown Phoenix, where all the players and coaches from both teams are available for the annual media extravaganza.
Then it's down to business. Kansas City will practice throughout the week at Arizona State's football facilities while the Eagles will do their preparation at the Arizona Cardinals' practice facility.
No shortage of storylines
There are no shortage of storylines: Kansas City coach Andy Reid goes against his former team — which he led to Super Bowl 39 — in a game that's also the first matchup of Black starting quarterbacks in the Super Bowl with Mahomes and Hurts.
There's also a brother-against-brother showdown between Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce and Philadelphia centre Jason Kelce.
