Long Beach native and former USC Trojan JuJu Smith-Schuster is Los Angeles’ newest Super Bowl Champion, and he has been in the thick of the plot throughout.
The wide receiver—who was once coached by Snoop Dogg in the rapper/entrepreneur’s Snoop Youth Football League—came to the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs this past offseason by way of Pittsburgh, and joined a refreshed receiving corps with the Chiefs. Though he struggled to match his career-best touchdown marks he set with the Steelers, Smith-Schuster posted 78 receptions and 933 receiving yards during the regular season, and stepped up his production for the biggest game of the year.
In the Super Bowl, Smith-Schuster caught seven passes for 53 yards, most of which came in the game’s second half. But the wideout’s biggest contribution came on a play that was initially ruled incomplete.
With 1:54 left to go in the game and the score tied, the Chiefs faced a third and eight from the Philadelphia 15 yard line. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes targeted Smith-Schuster in the back left of the end zone, and the ball fell incomplete, only for the play to be ruled off, because Smith-Schuster was held by Eagles defensive back James Bradberry. The play has been subject to deep scrutiny, with many feeling the call was unwarranted.
The Chiefs drained the clock, hit a field goal, and took the victory. In the immediate aftermath, Smith-Schuster discovered on live TV that the win had earned him a $1 million bonus. Since then, he has been busy gloating and celebrating.
First, the receiver announced to Kansas City kids in one school district that they would have Wednesday off for the Super Bowl parade. He then took to Twitter to offer his fans a Valentine’s Day card. The card, which features a picture of Bradberry reads, “I’ll hold you when it matters most.”
Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody ❤️ pic.twitter.com/skXuZVgrYR
— JuJu Smith-Schuster (@TeamJuJu) February 14, 2023
Philly fans and players are taking the joke just as one might expect, which is to say without humor. Since he posted the card, Smith-Schuster has been feuding with members of the Eagles, comfortable in the knowledge that they cannot take away his Super Bowl ring.
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