Rául Sáenz's favorite for Super Bowl LVII 1:34
(CNN) --
The countdown to this year's Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles is on, and in addition to being the biggest sporting event in America, it will also be an event of firsts.
Black players and coaches will make history
This Sunday's game will be one for the record books, as it will be the first in Super Bowl history to feature two black starting quarterbacks, with Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts facing off to lead their teams to glory.
Black quarterbacks have appeared in and won the Super Bowl in the past, but have never started for each squad in the same game.
This year will mark the first time two black quarterbacks will start on each team.
Mahomes became the third black quarterback to win the Super Bowl in 2020. Now he could become the first black quarterback in NFL history to win multiple Super Bowls.
Meanwhile, Eagles quarterback Hurts could become the fourth black quarterback to win the Lombardi Trophy if Philadelphia beats the Chiefs on Sunday.
"It's special," Mahomes said before the game.
“I've learned more and more about the history of the black quarterback since I've been in this league,” the 27-year-old told reporters.
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“The guys that came before me and Jalen set the stage for this, and now I'm glad we can set the stage for the kids that are coming out now.
It will be a great game against two great teams and another great quarterback.
I'm excited to go out there and do what we can against a great team."
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“I think it's history,” Hurts said.
“I think it's something worth mentioning and it's history.
He has come a long way.
I think there have only been seven African-American quarterbacks to play in the Super Bowl, so to be the first to something is great.
I know it will be good."
This is a sentiment shared by Doug Williams, the first black quarterback to start and win the Super Bowl in 1988.
"I had tears of joy for the opportunity to witness this," Williams told TMZ.
"Sitting there, looking at that, I was like, 'Man, we've got two black quarterbacks in the Super Bowl,'" he said, adding that he had similar feelings when Obama won the 2008 presidential election.
Meanwhile, Eagles assistant coach Autumn Lockwood will be the first black woman to coach in a Super Bowl, and the fourth woman to do so.
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“This is very important to a lot of people, especially black people and women who were not yet fully represented in the coaching ranks in NFL managerial roles,” said Steve Wyche, NFL Network chief national reporter. to CNN Sports.
A story of two brothers
This year, in a rivalry so heartwarming it could be fiction, brothers Travis and Jason Kelce will square off when the Chiefs and Eagles meet at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on February 12.
It is the first time in NFL history that two brothers have played against each other in a Super Bowl.
Both Chiefs tight end Travis and Eagles center Jason have had remarkably similar careers thus far: They both attended Cleveland Heights High School and the University of Cincinnati, both only played for one team, and both They already won the Super Bowl: Travis with the Chiefs in 2019 and Jason with the Eagles in 2017.
The outcome of this game is sure to give a brother some serious bragging rights.
The brothers won't actually take the field at the same time, though, as they both play offense -- Jason is an All-Pro center and Travis is an All-Pro tight end -- but they're sure to be fiercely competitive.
Travis and Jason Kelce
“It's great to see these guys duke it out, they're clearly very close.
They do a podcast together, they went to the same college to play before they got to the NFL," Wyche explained.
"You know, their teams will be playing each other, they won't be going head-to-head, but to some degree, this is like Venus and Serena Williams playing each other," she added.
Wyche added that this game is sure to be a special one for the brothers, particularly Jason Kelce, who is contemplating retirement.
“This could be his last game, due to his age, he plans to retire early, playing his brother in the last game has to feel special.
“The hard part is when all is said and done, one of them is going to be very heartbroken.
While the other will be very ecstatic.
“Within a month, they'll be cracking jokes about everything else.
But right after, there will be mixed emotions,” she added.
The mother of all games
Jason and Travis' meeting won't just put men in the top flight: Their mother, Donna, will officially become the first mother to have two sons play against each other in the Super Bowl, according to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Professional American Football.
“They already got the first win to their credit, so this is going to be pure joy.
We're really going to enjoy this, have a good time,” he told the Today Show.
“Obviously, there will be someone who goes home heartbroken.
They won't have bragging rights at the Thanksgiving table, but this is going to be an amazing event and I'm looking forward to it.”
Sure, another Super Bowl win would be nice for Jason, but if it did happen, it might not be the best thing to happen for him this month.
His wife, Kylie, will be 38 weeks pregnant at the game, he said on his podcast, adding that his doctor will travel with her to the game, just in case.
Pregnancy is considered full term at 39 weeks, according to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
"If she has the baby in the stadium, it's officially written," he said in a conversation with his brother on his New Heights podcast.
However, having a baby on Super Bowl day wouldn't be the first time.
Last year, while celebrating winning the Lombardi Trophy on the field, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Van Jefferson discovered that his wife was in labor.
"I was overwhelmed with so much joy, from winning the Super Bowl to finding out my wife was having our child," he told CNN at the time, adding that his wife attended as much of the game as possible "until she couldn't further".
Adding to these scoops, Wyche added that this weekend's game is sure to be a spectacle.
“The Philadelphia Eagles spent this offseason gathering all these really good players through trade and free agency.
While the Chiefs got rid of a couple of their best players in Tyrann Mathieu and Tyreek Hill and replaced them with young players who led their team back to the Super Bowl.
It will be a fantastic game.”
CNN's Ben Church, Ben Morse and George Ramsay contributed reporting.
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