Super Bowl stars share their first memories of the big game, from Tom Brady to eating finger foods

• The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs are set to face off in Super Bowl LVII.
• Insider asked players what they recalled as their earliest Super Bowl memories.

PHOENIX — Playing in the Super Bowl is the culmination of a lifelong dream for the athletes on the field.

The days in peewee football, the Friday night lights of high school, and the Saturday rivalry games in college, all led up to the NFL, and now, the Super Bowl.

This year, thousands of young fans watching from home will record their first Super Bowl memories. Whether it's a mind-bending play, an unthinkable comeback, or a tragic defeat, most football fans have an early Super Bowl memory imprinted on their brain.

Insider spent the opening media day of Super Bowl week asking players on the Eagles and Chiefs about their earliest memories of the big game.

For a lot of players, early memories were formed by early fandoms

While a player's allegiances to their childhood team fades when they head to the pros, it's no surprise that it makes an impression when their home team makes the Super Bowl.

"I'm from Jersey, so my first memory is when David Tyree made the helmet catch," Chiefs fullback Michael Burton told Insider.

But not all the early Super Bowl memories are good ones.

"The first one that comes to mind is — I'm from Arizona, so when the Steelers and the Cardinals played. Santonio Holmes had some crazy catch in the end zone," Matt Bushman, a reserve tight end for the Chiefs said.

"I grew up in Buffalo, so I remember the Bills going four years in a row," Eagles punter Brett Kern told Insider. "I definitely remember Scott Norwood."

The Bills reached those four Super Bowls, but lost them all. The most painful of those losses was probably the first, when Buffalo kicker Scott Norwood missed a 47-yard field goal attempt with 8 seconds left to play and the Bills trailing by a single point.

Norwood's kick went wide right.

Sometimes it was pure drama that captured the hearts of young players

For Chiefs running back Jerick McKinnon, the first Super Bowl memory that stands out was from Super Bowl XXXIV, when the Rams and Titans fought until the final play.

"The guy reached out but he was short. That's the first one that comes to mind," McKinnon said.

"The guy" was Titans wide receiver Kevin Dyson, who was tackled by Rams linebacker Mike Jones just short of the goal line on the final play of the game.

McKinnon said the moment made clear just how slim the margins are at the peak of professional football.

Beyond pure drama, unparalleled greatness can stick out in the mind of a young fan.

"Tom Brady," L'Jarious Sneed told Insider of his first Super Bowl memory. "What he did in the Super Bowl." Sneed didn't have one particular Brady Super Bowl, but how could you? The man has won seven of them.

Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker fittingly recalled a memorable kick.

"Colts v. Bears. Adam Vinetari kicking off to Devin Hester. Hester takes it for the touchdown."

A few players remembered more about the vibes of the day than the details

Not everyone playing in this Sunday's Super Bowl grew up obsessed with football.

For Eagles tackle Jordan Mailata, who grew up in Australia, the Super Bowl was a more casual viewing event than high stakes battle of will.

"I'm telling you man, I didn't understand the sport," Mailata told Insider of his earliest Super Bowl memories. "I was probably just bandwagoning it. Hop on the Brady bandwagon is probably what I did, to be honest."

When pressed, two Super Bowls stood out in Mailata's mind: Broncos v. Panthers in 2015, and Patriots v. Falcons in 2017. But Mailata admits that he missed out on Brady's epic comeback.

"I watched half the game and the Falcons were up, and I was on way to rugby practice," Mailata said. "And then I got to rugby practice and they lost. I was like what is going on. So didn't really watch that one, just watched half of it."

Chiefs guard Andrew Wylie was always more of a fan of the spread of food than the game growing up.

"I just remember Super Bowl Sundays at the Wylie household," he said. "Making some good food with the family. We always get together in the living room and watch the game together. It's always finger foods. I love the appetizer foods."

Eagles kicker Jake Elliott decided rather than going back to his childhood, he'd instead share a memory from his previous trip to the Super Bowl five years ago, when the Eagles took down the Patriots.

"The first memory was getting off the plane in Minnesota," Elliott said. "It was like negative 20 degrees out. I remember that very distinctly."

Luckily for Elliott, and the rest of the players preparing for Sunday's game, wind chills are expected to stay well above that this week in Arizona.