A Super Bowl conspiracy theory spreading around the country has many watching what happens this weekend very closely.
But what is it and why are people questioning?
Here's a breakdown.
What is the Super Bowl logo conspiracy?
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The popular conspiracy posits that the Super Bowl logo in recent years has predicted which teams will compete in the contest.
How did the conspiracy theory start?
After a decade of cookie-cutter Super Bowl logos, the NFL brought color back to the design for the 2021 season with Super Bowl LVI. The logo featured warm red, orange and yellow tones for the game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. Decked out in yellow pants, the hometown Los Angeles Rams went on to beat the orange-and-black Cincinnati Bengals for the title.
The next year, the NFL rolled out a colorful, desert-themed logo for Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Ariz. The Kansas City Chiefs’ red and Philadelphia Eagles’ green were among the hues in the logo, and the Chiefs wound up beating the Eagles to earn their second Super Bowl in four seasons.
One day after the Chiefs lifted the Lombardi Trophy, the NFL unveiled the logo for Super Bowl LVIII. The design goes all-in on Las Vegas, which will host the game for the first time in its history on Feb. 11, 2024.
The purple and red logo highlights the city’s bright lights – and the colors of the top two teams from the 2023 regular season.
What could happen this weekend?
The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers could very well square off at Allegiant Stadium next month. The teams earned the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences, and they will be on their home fields Sunday during the conference championship games.
Should the Ravens beat the Chiefs and the 49ers beat the Detroit Lions, it would not only mark a rematch of Super Bowl XLVII, but a third straight year of the Super Bowl teams’ colors being in the Super Bowl logo.
Two is a coincidence, and three's a pattern. If the favorites in Sunday’s conference championship games take care of business on their home fields, the conspiracy will grow even further.
