It took a final minute touchdown that brought Los Angeles Rams the win

I’ve known very little about Cooper Kupp and plenty about tennis legend Billie Jean King.

It was the 78-year-old King on bad knees strolling to midfield at sparkling-new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., to toss up the opening coin Sunday for Super Bowl LVI. It was a surprise, but a rewarding one for the recognized  legendary queen of women’s tennis.

She was handed the coin by first-time Super Bowl referee Ron Torbert, the designated Los Angeles Rams visiting team called tails, and up went the high flip by King that landed on heads and the designated Cincinnati Bengals’ home team decided to kick off now and receive the second half kickoff.

And as King strolled back to the sidelines, the announced turnout of 73,437 provided enough applause for the legendary one who has the National Tennis Center in the New York borough of Queens named after her.

Then Kupp came into play, and I finally learned more about this dynamic 6-foot-2, 208-pound top-slot wide receiver who wound up a super third season as the glue-fingered, quick thinking player who was magical in leading the offense of the Rams, and with it went the well-deserved Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award.

Now I know much more about him. Born in the state of Washington, he played both football and basketball for Eastern Washington after starring at All-State at Davis High in neighboring Yakimz. After ringing up numerous All-America honors when at Eastern Washington, he was drafted by Los Angeles in the third round of the 2017 draft.

He sparkled on this biggest National Football League stage before the star-studded halftime show took its stage with a musical contribution that had the crowd in tune and dancing from its seats in the $5 billion stadium built by the LA owner.

From there, the long 75-yard drive had the 6-foot-2, 208-pound Kupp hanging on to a 10-yard end zone pass from veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford as the final minutes ticked down, but it was nullified by a double penalty.

Next came a holding call against Cincinnati, and two plays later, Kupp reached for a short 1-yard touchdown throw from Stafford, Matt Gay kicked the PAT, it was now 23-20, and it left young Bengals’ quarterback Joe Burrow with little time to force an overtime or even win the tight tussle.

So to serve and volley tennis away for now and get to football, the main subject, we could jump ahead and say “Game, set, and match to the Los Angeles Rams, 26-23, with the winning touchdown coming in the final minute of regulation.

It was no doubt an exciting tilt, one that had several lead changes and numerous big plays that included both rushing defenses, the quarterbacking of Stafford and Burrow, the former Heisman Trophy winner while at Louisiana State in his third NFL season, and the veteran Stafford, who previously spent a dozen seasons as quarterback for the Detroit Lions.

With most of the announced 73,476 fans at the 8.5 billion stadium as Rams’ supporters at their home field, NFC champion Los Angeles scored first, a touchdown pass into the end zone from Stafford to dynamic top-slot wide receiver Kupp, and Sean Gay kicked the point-after.

On this biggest NFL stage, he sparkled before the star-studded halftime show that was a musical provided by five elite rappers, and with the crowd right in tune and dancing from its seats. After that, Kupp remained the key target for Stafford, reeling in eight receptions for 92 yards and a trio of touchdowns.

Said Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay in regard to the 29-year-old Kupp: “His mental toughness plays a great role with our team, plus he’s modest, talented and a true team player. I believe he and Matthew spent about 500 extra hours working out plays.”

The Rams scored first when Stafford found wide receiver Odell Beckman, III, with a 17-yard pass in the corner of the end zone. Matt Gay converted the point-after and it was 7-0,

Later in the opening quarter, the 4-point underdog Bengals, the AFC champion, moved to the Rams’ red zone, but was stopped on fourth down and settled for a 29-yard field goal from rookie Evan McPherson and it was 7-3.

n the second quarter, Los Angeles received a field goal from Gay to up its lead to 10-3, but Cincinnati tied it when Burrow directed a drive mixed with some passes and the rushing of Joe Mixon, plus a stellar catch by rookie Le’Mar Chance at the Rams’ 8 made for a first down, Tee Higgins caught the TD pass  and it was soon all even at 10-10 when Stafford found Kupp with an 11-yard TD toss that went seven plays for 72 yards and it was now 13-10 at halftime after Gay booted the point-after.

It was then that Beckham came down with a knee injury and watched the rest disappointed and cheering from the sideline.

In the third quarter, McPherson’s 38-yard field goal put Cincinnati ahead 17-13, but a 23-yard TD pass to Kupp from Stafford made it 20-16 after Gay was pressured and his two-point conversion went wide.

Next came the wild finish. It was strictly the one-two punch of Stafford to Kupp that emerged with Los Angeles celebrating the game-winner.

Stafford was good on 26 of 40 throws for 270 yards and was twice intercepted, while Burrow had no interceptions while connecting on 22 of 33 passes.

LA had more first downs, 18-15, and more total plays, 313 to 305, Stafford was sacked twice, but Burrow, especially down the stretch, was rushed and sacked seven times for minus 43 yards in a campaign that brought a league-best 51 sacks.

Time of possession was as close as the game, with the Rams posting 30:47 and the Bengals 29:13. Mixon led all rushers with 15 carries for 72 yards and the versatile Chase with 89 on five rushes. Penalties? Not many until the final minutes as Los Angeles was whistled for two and 10 yards, but Cincinnati was flagged four times for 31 yards. Not a single fumble throughout.

And while the Rams won their third Super Bowl, the surprising Bengals still have none in losing for the third time, the other two against the San Francisco 49ers, and were playing in its initial Super Bowl since 1993.

Good to see an evenly-matched season finale and the appearance of Billie Jean King flipping the coin toss.