The Super Bowl is arguably the most anticipated sports poster in the United States. An unmissable and unmissable event across the Atlantic, which this year will be broadcast unencrypted on The L’Équipe channel. After offering NFL championship fixtures all season long on its site and on TV, the channel 21 channel is spoiled for its first Super Bowl, with a prestigious poster between the Kansas City Chiefs of defending champions Patrick Mahomes , and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of eternal Tom Brady.
TV and radio host Grégory Ascher and player Anthony Mahoungou, who will comment on the Sunday night of the 55th Super Bowl, told us about this game unlike any other and this tempting opposition between two quarterbacks from exception.
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Konbini Sports | What do you feel a few days before your first Super Bowl as a commentator?
Grégory Ascher | I am totally excited, impatient and enthusiastic. We are coming to the end of a season on lequipe.fr and on the channel, we put everything in place to have a good TV show.
Anthony Mahoungou | We gained momentum, we had good feedback from our fairly new and curious audience, and we are now reaching the apotheosis with this beautiful finish.
Grégory Ascher | They had the good idea to give us a great sporting show with the two best teams, the two best quarterbacks and a halftime show that promises to be good.
How do you prepare for such a meeting?
Grégory Ascher | It is easy to prepare because the poster is easy to sell. Anyone who follows the NFL from near or far knows it’s a dream to have Brady against Mahomes. On the one hand, the storytelling of Tom Brady returning to the Super Bowl with another team playing for the first time in history at home. On the other, we have Patrick Mahomes, who is quite simply the best player today.
Anthony Mahoungou | I still have my mentality as a player and for me the most important game is the one that happens, Super Bowl or not. To prepare, I study the tendencies of each team. As a player, it’s something that I already really enjoy doing, and now, with my consultant’s cap, I’m having fun going deeper into trying to identify each coach’s offensive and defensive philosophies.
This Super Bowl is also (and above all) the opposition between two generations of quarterbacks: the flamboyant youth of Mahomes and the living legend Brady. The promise of a nice meeting?
Anthony Mahoungou | It’s the best poster we could have had this year. We have the defending champions led by Patrick Mahomes, who represents the present and the future. And on the other side, we have the past and the present with the best QB ever, Tom Brady. He was talked about a lot as a system quarterback, meaning he was found to be good because he played for Bill Belichick, one of the sport’s greatest head coaches. But by changing franchise and making it all the way to the Super Bowl, he has the opportunity to show that he’s the one leading the way. You can love it or hate it but, in terms of performance, it’s the best, it’s a winner.
“At some point, a Frenchman will have to play in the NFL”
The Super Bowl is also an opportunity for many French people to watch an NFL game for the first time. What are your tips for enjoying the show?
Anthony Mahoungou | Above all, don’t be afraid of not understanding. With Greg and Peter [Anderson, ndlr], we found a balance to explain the rules in the first 10 minutes of the match, and we keep this pedagogy throughout the game without it being too redundant. For my part, I try to offer game analyzes without being too thorough.
Grégory Ascher | We must also accept that it is not a game of movement, like football, rugby or basketball, but a sport of winning ground. What newbies have to tell themselves if they want to enjoy the spectacle is that they will see an attack against a defense, and not both at the same time like in other sports. Each team must progress little by little and we benefit from precise passes, receptions and folklore.
Anthony Mahoungou | So have some snacks, enjoy the sports, marketing and artistic show at half-time.
Let’s talk about your connection to American football and the NFL. How did you find out about this sport?
Grégory Ascher | I discovered it with the first Super Bowl broadcast in France on Canal + and commented on by legend George Eddy and Philippe Chatenay. Since then, I haven’t missed a single one. I started with Joe Montana, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who, before Tom Brady, was long considered the greatest player in American football. I have all the subscriptions to follow the NFL, I play Madden every year, I host a podcast dedicated to my favorite team, the Philadelphia Eagles, and every year I go to London to see a game.
Anthony Mahoungou | I discovered the NFL thanks to my big brother, when I was still a footballer. Once I started, I was immediately passionate about the collective spirit of the game and the fact that there is a position for any stencil or morphotype. At 16, I had a first revelation during a first camp in the States. I realized that it was not inaccessible and it became my goal, first to play in the first university division [il a évolué chez les Boilermakers de Purdue, ndlr] then in NFL [il a participé à la pré-saison 2018 avec les Philadelphia Eagles, champions en titre, en 2018, ndlr].
With the free-to-air broadcast of matches on L’Équipe channel, can the NFL catch up with the level of enthusiasm and popularity of the NBA in France?
Anthony Mahoungou | Ultimately, I have absolutely no doubt. To get to this level, there has to be a work together. That the mainstream sports press publicize this sport, which was done for the first time this year with a free-to-air season on La Chaîne L’Équipe, and that we have one or more ambassadors in the League. The ideal would be to have a superstar, so that the sports media are not the only ones talking about it.
Grégory Ascher | The NBA is the Olympic Games, Jordan in 1992, Tony Parker… Basketball is played all over the world and it is a sport understood by all. So many arguments that are obstacles for American football. But there is a real demand from the public to better know and understand this sport. I’m sure it will help expand the fan base. For this to happen, you need three conditions. First a free-to-air broadcast on the biggest free sports channel: we did it. Then, our job is to make people love this sport. And finally, it will take at some point for a Frenchman to play in the NFL, a sort of Tony Parker of American football. I hope eventually that it will be Anthony, but if it is not him, it will be another because there are a lot of French people in university and one of them will necessarily end up being drafted and making his place. under the sun.
Anthony Mahoungou | When I was in the United States, it wasn’t really publicized. We only talked about American football when I was doing great things in college and when I signed in Philadelphia. If I manage to come back to the NFL and other French people sign, we’ll get a boost. But we are on a good momentum, it’s important to appreciate every little victory.
It’s time to get a little wet: what’s your prognosis for this match?
Grégory Ascher | For the storytelling and the history of the Super Bowl, I would say Tom Brady, because he comes back with a new team, far from being a favorite – it is often in this situation that he is the strongest -, which for the first time will play at home. I don’t know if we realize the delirium around him, but in the United States, in American sports shows, we only talk about Brady or Jordan for the title of greatest sportsman in history – Tiger Woods and Mohamed Ali are no longer even in the debate. So for the story of the moment, I would say Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But from a strictly sporting point of view, Patrick Mahomes is the best player today. And the Chiefs are more complete. They are able to hurt anyone and score one more touchdown than the opponent. If you gave me a 20 euro bill, I would put it in Kansas City.
Anthony Mahoungou | The Buccaneers’ defensive squad gave them access to the Super Bowl. Against the Saints, they won thanks to their defense. Against the Packers, Brady had a good first half, but in the second half he was less efficient and it was again the Buccaneers defense that lethally stopped Aaron Rodgers [le quarterback des Packers, ndlr]. That being said, the Chiefs’ offense is the best in the league. Granted, the Packers had the No. 1 offense in the NFL, but that’s only statistically. In terms of playing philosophy, fantasy, purpose, originality and efficiency, the Kansas City offense is a treat to watch. I think that with wear, she wins against the defense of the Buccs. And that would please me because we could talk about a new dynasty.
