8 Takeaways from Superbowl LIX: a Triathlon Coach’s Perspective

Watching MY Philadelphia Eagles win Super Bowl LIX vs the Kansas City Chiefs just 10 days ago (Feb 9, 2025) was pure euphoria. Things don’t come easy to Philadelphia sports fans. Championships are much more likely to be squandered than won. This victory was that much sweeter because nobody (outside of Philly) expected the Eagles to win. 

As I sat there and absorbed the victory, I reflected on all that this team does so well. It struck me that there are a lot of takeaways from this team and this Super Bowl that we can apply to Triathlon. I hope you will find them helpful.

1. “Winning” is in the Fundamentals

Before the game everyone was enamored with the style of the Chiefs’ quarterback, and their defense’s exotic blitz schemes and how that would win them the game. Paradoxically, they also expressed the fundamental truths that football games were won in the trenches and the team that wins the turnover battle wins the game.

Pre-game every prognosticator confirmed that the Eagles were better in the trenches than anyone else in the league. This was proven on game day. And no team had a better turnover margin in the playoffs than the Eagles. Fundamentals won the game, not the exotics and styles.

How to Apply This to Triathlon: It is easy to get enamored with the latest workouts: what everyone else is doing, and the fads and gimmicks of the day. But like football, triathlon can be “won” in the trenches and with focus on the fundamentals.

Dial in consistency, fueling, hydrating, rest, recovery & sleep, and the results will follow. Make most of your workouts a comfortable effort. Make a few at a race effort, and make even fewer workouts faster than that. When you are executing these fundamentals, only then should you consider the one-percents. Focus on the 99%, the fundamentals, not the 1%.

2. Defense Wins Championships

The Eagles defense was able to absorb the pressure of the Chiefs offense, even with (at least) two future hall of famers opposing them. Not only did they absorb the pressure, they piled pressure on of their own, swinging at least 17 points off of turnovers.

How to Apply This to Triathlon: Improve your “defense” and “score more points”. If you define the strength of a football team’s defense as the ability to absorb pressure while not breaking, it is easy to see how that translates to triathlon. A triathlete’s ability to absorb the demands of the course, the climate and weather, and the multitude of other factors that happen on race day is going to define the strength of a triathlete’s “defense”. As a coach, one of our jobs is to prepare you to meet and/or exceed the physical (and mental) demands of race day. And this is exactly what your training should do.

Part 1:

Make sure your training is tailored to the course and climate you are going to be racing in. It seems obvious, but if your course is hilly, train on/with hills (at least some of the time). If it’s hot and humid, consider heat acclimatization. Do your best to mimic the open-water conditions (river, lake, ocean, etc), preferably outside. Just as a football team prepares its defense to a specific offense, your training should prepare you for a specific race/course.

Part 2:

In every post-race debrief I have ever done, it was never a lack of speed that stopped an athlete from hitting their goals, but rather an inability to NOT slow down. Nothing beats base training for being able to absorb miles. Low and slow gives you the strength, durability and capacity to absorb volume and then hit the speed/high-intensity sessions. More base = a stronger defense. Don’t neglect it! The better you are able to absorb the demands and conditions of the course, the better you’ll be able to take advantage of them.

3. Do YOUR Job

Listening to the Eagles post-game was a lesson on knowing your job and doing it to the best of your ability. This sounds simple until you realize that many times a play breaks down because someone did not do their job. Not because they couldn’t do their job, but because they tried to “help”, “go above and beyond”, and do someone else’s job, leaving a hole for the other team to exploit.

How to Apply This to Triathlon: In training it is your job to do YOUR training. Again, sounds simple. But it is easy to get distracted from your job: to be mesmerized by social media posts that glorify “the suffering”, high intensity training, or LONG miles, and to wander down the rabbit hole of thinking more, faster, or harder is better. But your job IS that simple: do the training that is prescribed to YOU. YOUR training. Not someone else’s.

On race day your job is to execute your pacing and fueling/hydration plans. As a coach, I’ve never had an athlete execute these two things and have a bad race. Of course, like Mike Tyson says, “Everybody’s got a plan until they get punched in the face.” Things happen (good and bad). That brings us to Takeaway #4.

4. Have a Plan & Be Ready to Audible

All season the Eagles were able to rely on running the ball to win games. The Chiefs understood this, and decided “you have to pass the ball to beat us”. The Eagles adapted, they audibled, they adjusted their game plan, and passed themselves to victory, using the run game to amplify the passing game. 

How to Apply This to Triathlon: On race day, you are going to have a plan, but a lot can go wrong (or right). From leaking goggles and swallowing water to flat tires, penalties and popped chains, to cramping on the run, it is likely that something, at some point will go awry, and when that happens it is how you react that will determine the outcome of the race. 

The great news is that for just about everything that can go wrong on race day, there IS something you can do/learn to prepare for it. This can be something as simple as practicing “incidents” in the water or learning how to change a flat tire quickly and calmly.

It could mean reading and understanding the rules better or having better knowledge of the course. For cramping it could mean proactively staying on top of fueling/hydration and always carrying emergency “anti-cramp” drinks/tablets on your person. As I tell my athletes all the time, if you are prepared for the worst, you are prepared. 

You must construct your own “audibles”. Plan out, consider, and visualize how you will respond to various setbacks. That way, when you are inevitably “punched in the mouth” on race day, you will be able to audible and get back to work doing your job.

5. Triathlon IS a Team Sport – You cannot be great without the greatness of others.

Whether it was Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts (quarterback – leader of the offense) telling the world “Defense wins championships”, or Saquon Barkley letting the world know he couldn’t have had the best season ever for a running back without the guys in front of him, it is clear that the Eagles Super Bowl victory is a testament to the collective effort of the whole team.

How to Apply This to Triathlon: if you want to be successful in triathlon, it is important to assemble a great team. This may include doctors, physical therapists, masseuses, coaches, friends and especially family. Without the support of these teammates, you will not be successful. Worse, you may end up hurt, burnt out, or otherwise in dark places. So, before you start, get the buy in and support of your family, then assemble a great team to support you on the way. Your greatness will depend on it.

Importantly, on race day, don’t forget to thank the volunteers and spectators. They will be your most valuable teammates, giving you 10x the energy back that you give to them. Race grateful.

6. Some Days Will be Easy. Some Days Will Be Hard

The Eagles blew out the Chiefs. Everything was clicking for the Eagles. For the Chiefs, nothing was working. It was 24-0 at half time in favor of the Eagles. But the Chiefs didn’t quit, and the Eagles didn’t settle. Both teams stayed in the moment. They knew it was a long game, and anything could happen.

The Chiefs gave themselves positive affirmations, recalling how other teams have overcome similar deficits, and that they could too. The Eagles reminded themselves how they had blown a 10-point lead in the Super Bowl just two years prior. They reminded each other to stay present, and to “do your job” (wink wink). 

How to Apply This to Triathlon: just like in football, some days, some training sessions, some races are just going to suck; conversely, some of those same experiences are going to feel surprisingly easy. Sometimes this can happen within the same day, race, workout, especially in long course training and racing. When it is going great, enjoy the experience, stay on top of your job. Keep executing your plan. You got this. But don’t lose focus on your job!

When it isn’t going great, you need to do the same thing. Triage the situation and stay in the moment. It is easy to get overwhelmed with “all that you have left to do yet”. But you don’t eat an elephant in one bite, but rather one bite at a time. Take another step, and then another, and repeat.

Find positive affirmations like the Chiefs did. Or figure out if there is a job you aren’t doing well right now. You may need to focus on fueling and hydration: eat, drink, be merry. Or you may need to adjust your pace/effort to the course/conditions. There’s a great mantra in endurance sports: “Feel like crap? Check again in 5 minutes.” 

7. Nobody Saw a Blowout Coming

Outside of the most ardent Eagles fans, nobody saw a blowout coming. The betting line had the Chiefs as 1.5-point favorites. The game was supposed to be close, with the Chiefs launching a game-winning drive in the final minutes. NOBODY saw a blowout coming. 

How to Apply This to Triathlon: Breakthrough performances and PR’s don’t come out of nowhere, but they can often come when you don’t expect them. In the middle of a BIG block of training your body is usually never quite fresh enough to realize the fitness you have built.

Then, after a taper, seemingly out of nowhere, you crush all expectations. Be patient. Do the work. Stay consistent. Don’t get discouraged when you don’t see the results right away. Trust the plan. Play the long game. Reap the rewards. Be ready for a breakthrough when you least expect it.

8. Don’t Be Afraid of Change

The Offensive Player of the Year (OPY) was the Philadelphia Eagle, Saquon Barkley, formerly of the New York Giants. Barkley had played his entire career in NY, and he wasn’t looking for a change of teams, but circumstances (or fate) drove him to switch. In a new situation, Barkley had arguably the best season of any running back in NFL history, passing Terrel Davis’s single-season rushing record. A change was exactly what was needed for the Super Bowl champion and OPY Saquon Barkley to have the best season of his career.

How to Apply This to Triathlon: “If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you will keep getting what you’ve been getting.”  If you feel that you have plateaued (or, even if you don’t), inspect everything. Analyze your training, work/life balance, racing, sleeping, etc. What can you change? What needs to change? What could be better? 

Consider hiring a coach. Feeling burnt out from long course? Maybe focusing on short course can reignite your enthusiasm. Or maybe a duathlon is the perfect way for you to continue to compete, even if you aren’t able to swim right now. There are so many ways you can participate in triathlon, including volunteering, that it is truly hard to try them all. But you may find that if you do try to change something up, you just may have the best season of your career.

Those are the 8 key takeaways from Super Bowl LIX for me. My questions for you are:

• What takeaways did Superbowl LIX leave you with? 
• How can/will you apply them to triathlon?