Los Angeles getting a Super Bowl in this next go-around should have been a forgone conclusion, but the other two games, Super Bowl 53 and 54, were up for grabs.
The NFL announced Tuesday that Atlanta will host Super Bowl 53, South Florida (i.e. Miami) will host Super Bowl 54 and Los Angeles will host its first Super Bowl since Jan. 31, 1993 with 55.
It's ATLANTA!
Super Bowl LIII is coming to @MBStadium in February, 2019! #RiseUphttps://t.co/oYTYArxrQo
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) May 24, 2016
The Los Angeles Rams hosting the big game was a given as owner Stan Kroenke’s stadium proposal in Inglewood should be the premier NFL venue once it’s completed. The Rams stadium, the so-called “City of Champions of Stadium” will cost $.26 billion to complete and won’t be open until 2019. Super Bowl 55 will be played in 2021.
“They had Super Bowls there regularly before there was no team, so with our new stadium and project, it will be unbelievable,” Rams owner Stan Kroenke said. “I’ve been asked about it a lot when I was in Los Angeles. Everyone’s excited. You want it to be perfect, right? When you come back to L.A. after all those years, you want to be perfect. So I think an extra year might be good.”
In case you didn’t know, and I had no clue, this year’s Super Bowl (51 or LI, as it were) will be held in Reliant Stadium in Houston. Next year’s Super Bowl (52/LII) will be in the Minnesota Vikings’ new stadium in Minneapolis, Minn.
#SB53 #SB54 and #SB55 are SET!
🎉🙌🏈🎉🙌🏈🎉🙌🏈 #SBSelection https://t.co/0H9QEJEcSW
— NFL (@NFL) May 24, 2016
The bids for Super Bowl 53 came down to Atlanta and New Orleans. Atlanta got the nod because its own new venue, the $1.4 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium that should be open in 2018. The last time Atlanta hosted a Super Bowl the St. Louis Rams beat the Tennessee Titans 20-19 on a last-second goal-line tackle. It’s widely considered the best Super Bowl of all time.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has sunk $450 million of his own money in renovations to New Miami Stadium and it paid off with their selection for Super Bowl 54.
“We’re very excited to have won the 100th anniversary of the NFL Super Bowl,” Ross said. “It’s going to be great for Miami. It’s great for the Miami Dolphins. And we only going to feel better when we’re playing in the game.”
Steelers Le’Veon Bell says teams targeted him last season
Le’Veon Bell played in only six games for the Steelers last season and only part of that was his fault. While Bell was suspended for two games for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, the other eight games he missed were due to injury. While his back-up, DeAngelo Williams, played well in his stead, the lack of Bell’s presence in the offense, especially in the passing game, could have cost the Steelers a shot at a Super Bowl appearance. In 2014 Bell had 1,391 yards rushing and eight touchdowns to go with 83 receptions for 854 yards and three touchdowns.
Let's just say I tried to ask one #Bengals veteran about Le'Veon Bell's comments, and he "politely" declined. Cincy trying to bury the past.
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) May 24, 2016
Tuesday Bell, speaking to the media after OTAs, said that multiple teams seemed to target him, trying to deliver an injury. He specifically pointed his finger at the Bengals, who just so happened to be the team that knocked him out for the season with a torn MCL. Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict, delivered the tackle.
“I feel there are a lot of teams that try to do that, try to take me out of the game,” Bell said. “I don’t think it was just (Burfict). It felt like the whole team was out there trying to twist my ankles and do little dirty stuff in between piles … I was ignorant to the fact at first.”
Burfict is a well-known dirty player and his antics all but cost the Bengals the game in their Wild Card game with the Steelers back in December. Burfict is currently under a three-game suspension, which he will serve at the beginning of the upcoming season, for cheap shot plays in that Wild Card game.
Bengals Eifert to have ankle surgery
Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert will have surgery on his ankle and suffering an injury in the Pro Bowl, if you needed just one more reason to shut that game down. Eifert will start training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform List, but should be ready before the regular season starts.
