“The pressure is a privilege”

The construction costs for the stage for the 56th Super Bowl amounted to five billion euros: On Monday night, the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals will face each other in the final of the American Football League NFL in the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood (12:30 a.m., PULSE 4).

It’s the home stadium of the Rams, who are officially the away team. That doesn’t change the favorite role of the quartered home side: The Rams have put together a star ensemble to win the Super Bowl for the first time. That increases the pressure: the money that was invested will be missing in the future, as will the draft picks that were exchanged for quarterback Matthew Stafford, for example. “The pressure is a privilege,” said the 34-year-old calmly. The veteran was freed a year ago by the chronically unsuccessful Detroit Lions, who were unable to use Stafford’s qualities for years. He should now make the difference in the Rams: Coach Sean McVay had led Los Angeles to the Super Bowl three years ago, when New England had the upper hand.

Brady ennobles Burrow

Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor was a member of McVay’s coaching staff at the time. The 38-year-old then took over the Bengals, which he developed from the worst team in the league to a Super Bowl participant within three years.

Quarterback Joe Burrow played a key role in this in his second NFL season. The first ended with a cruciate ligament tear, in the second the 25-year-old ignited an offensive firework display that outshined the team’s defensive weaknesses. “If someone had told me a few years ago that I was going to reach the finals with the Bengals, I would have thought that person crazy – now that doesn’t really surprise me,” said the 25-year-old with the confidence he has the “Vince Lombardi Trophy”.

“He has ice in his veins,” said teammate CJ Uzomah, living up to Burrow’s nickname “Joe Cool”. “I love his game,” recently retired quarterback legend Tom Brady ennobled the 25-year-old. “He has tools that I didn’t have at his age.” Burrow wants to use this profitably against the Rams.