SANTA CLARA – Super Bowl hype is here. And there. Are you ready for it, as the girlfriend of a certain 49ers opponent might sing?
That girlfriend, of course, is Taylor Swift, who has combined with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce to make the NFL’s hottest duet this season, all due respect to Brock Purdy’s on-field chemistry with Brandon Aiyuk.
An eternity exists between now and Super Bowl LVIII kickoff at 3:30 p.m. inside Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, where the 49ers will face the Chiefs.
The major storyline: Are the 49ers salivating over the chance to avenge their loss four years ago to the Chiefs, when a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead wasn’t enough to prevent a 31-20 defeat in Super Bowl LIV?
That is not the only overplayed or obvious angle that reporters will drill players and coaches with ad nauseum over the coming days.
To assist their preparation, here are 10 storylines they will be asked to address until the national anthem is sung by Reba McEntire, Post Malone, Andra Day (and hopefully an Elvis impersonator):
1. Brock Purdy wins … over doubters
You’ve already heard enough all season – and the last two months of last season – how some national pundits frown on Brock Purdy’s star power. Those hot takes cooled once Purdy led comebacks the past two playoff wins. So the regurgitated storyline will be how the 2022 NFL Draft’s 262nd and final pick went from (*narrator’s voice*) “Mr. Irrelevant to super relevant.”
2. Brandon Aiyuk, doghouse to penthouse
Kyle Shanahan hates revisiting the 2021 season that opened with Brandon Aiyuk on the bench and perceived to be in his doghouse until a bye-week recalibration. Aiyuk blossomed into an AP Second-Team All-Pro this season. He is poised for a contract extension that could embed him in 49ers’receiving lore, with Sunday’s 51-yard tide-turning catch his entry card.
3. Shanahan and McCaffrey, The Sequel
The last time the 49ers won the Super Bowl was January 1995 with Mike…
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