What team should Michigan fans cheer for in Super Bowl LVIII?

Slowly the pain of the Lions loss is fading away - it will take some time - and Lion fans are left to wonder who to pull for in Super Bowl LVIII.

There are strong connections to Michigan football on both the Chiefs and the 49ers. The Niners have at least five players and one coach with direct Michigan ties, but does a Lion fan really feel like rooting for a team that just ripped out their hearts? Kansas City doesn’t have as many Michigan connections, plus the Lions beat the Chiefs in Week 1.

With every passing minute, the excitement builds for Super Bowl LVIII at Michigan sportsbooks. Golden Nugget and BetMGM each have extensive markets on the game, including player performance, and all the prop bets you’ve come to expect. Remember, in 57 previous Super Bowls, the coin toss is Tails 30, Heads 27.

Reasons to Root for San Francisco

San Francisco quarterbacks coach Brian Griese needs no introduction to University of Michigan football fans. He was the quarterback for the Wolverines undefeated national championship team in 1997. It’s hard to root against him as a Michigan fan.

There are at least five Forty-Niners with direct Michigan ties. Rookie wide receiver Ronnie Bell played at Michigan and has three TD catches, kicker Jake Moody set Michigan records for games (60) and points (355) in his Wolverines career. Defensive back Ambry Thomas went to King High School in Detroit where he won two state titles.

Niners long snapper Taybor Pepper is from Saline, Michigan and played at Michigan State, and offensive lineman Jaylon Moore went to high school in Detroit.

Reasons to Root for Kansas City

It’s kind of a double-edged sword for Lion fans. If Kansas City wins Super Bowl LVIII, we can look back and say, yeah, but we beat them in Week 1. There’s no fresh animosity like there is against San Francisco right now if you’re a Lions fan.

KC doesn’t have as many direct ties to the state of Michigan. Chiefs defensive end Mike Danna played at both Central Michigan and then Michigan. He was born in Detroit and went to De La Salle Collegiate. He’s a good player with 6.5 sacks this season.

Skyy Moore played at Western Michigan before being drafted by the Chiefs. His play has been inconsistent. Back-up guard Mike Caliendo went to Western Michigan, but is originally from Wisconsin.

KC certainly doesn’t need the extra fans, since they will get all the Taylor Swift love.

What’s a Lion Fan to Do?

There’s one other reason to root for San Francisco. The Lions are scheduled to play San Francisco back in Santa Clara in the 2024 regular season. Can you say Week 1 kickoff game? You know the NFL will consider it. It’s tradition that the Super Bowl winner hosts Week 1.

But as a Lions fan, there’s really no good reason to root for either team. If the Chiefs win, it’s a let-down, because the Lions beat the Chiefs. If San Francisco wins, all you can think about is how the Lions were maybe a fourth down catch (or two) away from beating them.

My advice would be to root for some of the players on San Francisco, like Moody, but hope the Chiefs win.

By:Darren Cooper

Born and raised in Louisiana, Darren Cooper has a fond appreciation for bayous, Mardi Gras beads and the sports betting industry. Darren has worked for multiple print and online publications since 1998, primarily as a sports columnist in the Northeast. He’s covered a Super Bowl (it was a blowout), the World Series (same) and the NBA Draft (man, those guys are tall). For the last few years he’s dug deep into the sports gambling industry as it exploded across America, learning how the legal sausage is made and how while all the sportsbooks look the same, they all have different identities and styles. He’s learned to always bet within his means -- and take the under. When not in front of his computer creating, Darren spends time with his three boys. He runs, reads and is always looking for the next big thing to write about.