By ANDREW DAMPF
SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria (AP) — Lindsey Vonn ’s skiing comeback at the age of 40 means she can’t go to the Super Bowl, an event on her schedule when she was retired for the last five years.
Olympic silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle is rooting for the Eagles on Sunday because he had Jalen Hurts on his fantasy team.
Donwhill contender Breezy Johnson is just “hoping that Kendrick Lamar brings Taylor Swift on stage at the halftime show.”
While the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots tend to be the most popular NFL teams among U.S. Ski Team racers, that doesn’t mean the American athletes competing at the Alpine world championships in Austria are not paying attention to the big game back home featuring the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles.
“It’s a bummer I can’t be there,” Vonn said after a mishap in her super-G race on Thursday. “I kind of got used to going to Super Bowls.”
Cochran-Siegle, who took silver in super-G at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, has been the fastest skier in both downhill training sessions. He’s a member of the “Skiing Cochrans” family that has been producing U.S. skiers for generations. The family is based in Vermont — Patriots country.
“As a Pats fan, I think taking the lesser of two evils I would cheer on the Eagles,” Cochran-Siegle said. “Obviously a lot of respect to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, but I had Jalen Hurts on my fantasy team, so I got to root for him.”
The Super Bowl starts after midnight in the Alps.
“I don’t know if I’ll actually stay up to watch,” Cochran-Siegle said. “It’s pretty late for us. But probably watch the highlights.”
Lauren Macuga, the Utah native who took bronze in super-G on Thursday, is a Broncos fan.
“Luckily we made it to the playoffs. But I think this year I’m rooting for the Eagles,” Macuga said. “I mean it’s cool for the Chiefs to win again but someone’s got to take them down, switch it up a little bit.
“I’m a Taylor Swift fan, but I was never a Chiefs fan,” Macuga added.
Johnson, who has placed second in both downhill training sessions, is from Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
“My dad’s from New England, so we’re New England people,” Johnson said. “It’s been fun seeing everybody saying that the New England Patriots dynasty wasn’t as annoying as they all said at the time.”
So who is Johnson supporting?
“Philly is like very aggressive sports fandom. Obviously, the Chiefs are going for three. It’s definitely a wild time to be a football fan,” she said. “I’m mostly just really hoping that Kendrick Lamar brings Taylor Swift on stage at the halftime show. Not to be that girl, but I am that girl.”
And how about Bryce Bennett, the 6-foot-7 downhiller from Lake Tahoe, California?
“I don’t even know who’s playing in the Super Bowl,” Bennett said. “I’m so not a football guy. I’m a supercross and motocross guy.”
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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
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