Dalton Walker
ICT
PHOENIX — Here’s a tip: If you dabble in a friendly bet from time to time, you might want to risk it all on the Philadelphia Eagles winning the Super Bowl.
Why? It’s simple, and it has to do with one of the tribes in Arizona. The last two Super Bowls to take place in the Phoenix valley before this year, the winner stayed at a resort on Native land.
The Gila River Indian Community near the southern edge of Phoenix hosted the 2008 Super Bowl champion New York Giants and the 2015 champion New England Patriots. This time, it’s the Eagles’ turn to spend Super Bowl week at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass in Gila River while the Kansas City Chiefs stay in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Now, the question remains: Will the Eagles make it three straight on Sunday? Both teams are 16-3, including playoff wins, but only one has a unique Gila River connection. Gila River Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis isn’t one to reveal his Super Bowl pick.
“I don’t want to make any predictions, but we have a streak going,” Lewis said with a sly smile during a virtual call this week with ICT.
Lewis had a busy week, to say the least. He helped greet the two NFL teams when they landed in Phoenix on Sunday, gave a land acknowledgement Monday during the opening NFL news conference announcing Super Bowl week, and then, jetted across the country for Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday as a special guest to a U.S. senator.
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The week isn’t quite over, and Lewis is scheduled to speak Friday at a Nike N7 youth football event in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.
It’s all part of the gig. Gila River is known for its corporate partnerships in the professional sports industry and that includes the mighty NFL and its Super Bowl Host Committee. Ak-Chin Indian Community, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Gila and Tohono O’odham Nation are also committee partners.
Lewis said he is scheduled to be at the Super Bowl on Sunday, along with a few dozen other Gila River citizens. As part of the host committee partnership, Gila River received Super Bowl tickets and free passes to the kid-friendly Super Bowl Experience event in downtown Phoenix. Gila River has used its Facebook reach to connect with its citizens on how to get tickets, which in some cases was a lottery.
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Kansas City is staying at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Gainey Ranch, which isn’t all that far from the northwest corner of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Of course the hotel is just as impressive as the Sheraton.
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The Sheraton is tucked away yet near the interstate and not far from Gila River’s flagship Wild Horse Pass casino. It includes four pools, golf, tennis and an equestrian center, and river options like kayaking, boat rides and paddleboarding. The resort has art by Gila River artists throughout it that share the history of the community to its many visitors.
Super Bowl teams aren’t the only ones to look to the resort.. College bowl teams and the NCAA’s March Madness teams have also stayed there.
Lewis said the tribal police department is working closely with NFL security during the Eagles’ stay to help make sure things go smoothly.
“We are proud of our team, it shows that a community could actually host an event and have the infrastructure, have the training to be able to do that,” Lewis said. “From what I heard early on, the NFL has always been so impressed.”
Now, back to the Super Bowl matchup. Most betting services have Kansas City slightly winning. Kansas City has the MVP and more recent Super Bowl experience.
Philadelphia and Kansas City were the league’s only 14-game winners, marking just the sixth time since the 1970 merger that the squads with sole possession of the two best records in the regular season met for the championship.
Basically, it’s a toss up and it has all the makings and buildup for a potential classic game. But remember, only one of the teams stayed in Gila River, and of course, a host winning streak to maintain.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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