Portland Trail Blazers have plenty of Super Bowl LVI connections

The Portland Trail Blazers have plenty of connections to the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams, who will face off in Super Bowl LVI on February 13

After a thrilling NFL Conference Championship weekend, the Los Angeles Rams will face off against the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI on February 13. The Rams will actually play in their home stadium – just the second time that has happened in 56 Super Bowls, the first being last year’s in Tampa.

Both teams squeaked their way in with big comebacks. The Rams scored three times in the fourth quarter, including a field goal with less than two minutes left, to overcome a 10-point deficit and beat the San Francisco 49ers 17-14. Cincinnati was a seven point underdog and trailed 21-3 before furiously rallying to send the game into overtime, where Evan McPherson won it with a field goal.

The Bengals were led by LSU alums Joe Burrow and Jamarr Chase, who shared the hallways at Louisiana State University with the Blazers’ Trendon Watford along with Bengals’ defensive tackle Tyler Shelvin. Odell Beckham Jr. and Andrew Whitworth of the Rams also attended LSU, but years before their Bengals and Trail Blazers counterparts.

Rams linebacker Jermaine Pratt and defensive tackle B.J. Hill were both at North Carolina State when Dennis Smith, Jr. spent his lone collegiate year there in 2016-07.

Three other Blazers share an alma mater with players on a Super Bowl LVI roster but were there long before their gridiron classmates. Greg Brown and Bengals center Trey Hopkins are both proud Texas Longhorns, Ben McLemore and Bengals guard Hakeem Adenji share letterman sweaters in Kansas blue, and Larry Nance, Jr. and Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson both have degrees from the University of Wyoming.

So while Watford is probably the most heavily invested in Super Bowl LVI, lots of Trail Blazer eyes will be watching – along with the rest of the world. The game kicks off on February 13 at 6:30 PM Eastern Time and can be seen on NBC, Telemundo, and Peacock.