The biggest game of the year takes place this Sunday. Super Bowl 54 will feature a clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. The game has become a television spectacle, attracting viewers who don’t even care about football. Of course, the Super Bowl is more than just a championship game.
This week, we present five things you need to know about this year’s Super Bowl.
The Matchup
Last year in the NHL, the St. Louis Blues went from last place to Stanley Cup Champions. The San Francisco 49ers aren’t trying to do the exact same thing, although they have accomplished a similarly impressive feat; the 49ers are just the third team to make the Super Bowl after winning four or fewer games the year before. The 49ers, who last played in the big game back in 2013, have not won the Super Bowl since 1994. They also won in 1981, 1984, 1988, and 1989. Throughout the year, they finished with a record of 13-3. The 49ers path to the final included playoff victories over the Vikings (27-10) and Green Bay (37-20).
The Chiefs, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, finished the season with a record of 12-4. During their playoff run, they came from behind to defeat Houston (51-31) and then capped it off with a win against the Tennessee Titans (35-24) on Jan. 19.
The Chiefs enter the game as slight favourites.
Taking a Gamble
Do you like to gamble? You have plenty of opportunities to do so with the Super Bowl. In addition to betting on the outcome of the game itself, there are plenty of “prop” bets as well.
What exactly can you bet on? Pretty much everything, thanks to Westgate Superbook. This includes the result of the opening coin toss, which team will finish the game with the most penalty yards, whether there will be missed convert, which team will score first, the yardage of the longest field goal, whether there will be a two-point convert attempt or not, the total number of punts made by both teams, whether the Toronto Raptors will score more points in their game against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday than Travis Kelce of Kansas City will have in receiving yards…and so on.
Food, Glorious Food
Super Bowl Sunday is the second largest “food holiday” in America, trailing just Thanksgiving. Of course, takeout is really popular; the Super Bowl is the busiest day of the year for pizza joints in the United States. Last year both Domino’s and Pizza Hut expected to sell over two million pizzas during the game. Americans also like to fire up the grill, with the Super Bowl acting as the second busiest grilling week of the year (the Fourth of July takes the top spot). The National Chicken Council estimates a record 1.4 billion chicken wings will be consumed this Sunday. Any way you look at it, a staggering amount of food will be consumed at Super Bowl gatherings this weekend.
The Ads
For some, the Super Bowl is as much about the commercials as anything else. Each year, companies spend millions of dollars on flashy ad campaigns because they know it is the one night of the year that viewers will be paying attention. There are just 10 TV programs that have averaged 100 million viewers — nine of which are Super Bowl broadcasts (the other being the M*A*S*H finale).
Of course, Canadians don’t always get access to the big budget American ads. Fortunately, these days most ads are released online ahead of the game to generate buzz. As a result, you can already view many of this year’s offerings. You can expect lots of celebrity cameos, including Ellen DeGeneres, MC Hammer, Jimmy Fallon, John Cena, Chris Evans, and Bill Nye the Science Guy. Several big Hollywood releases will also drop a trailer during the game as well.
The average cost for a 30-second Super Bowl spot this year is valued at $5.6 million. Marketers spent $412 million on last year’s game. It’s a costly gamble that doesn’t always pay off if advertisers receive negative feedback.
The Half-Time Show
This year’s half-time show will feature Jennifer Lopez and Shakira.
While the half-time show has become a larger-than-life spectacle, it hasn’t always been that way. In fact, it wasn’t until 1991 when the New Kids on the Block that the show started to become so grandiose. Prior to this, the half-time show featured marching bands and acts like Up with People (who performed at several shows).
Once popular artists began showing up, the floodgates were opened. The 1991 show was followed by a performance from Gloria Estefan. In 1993, Michael Jackson performed and over 500 million viewers tuned in. The half-time show was now appointment viewing for people who didn’t even bother watching the football game. Since that time, the show has been played by The Rolling Stones, Boyz II Men, Aerosmith, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga. Even Indiana Jones once took part in the big show.
Whether you’re interested in the football, the snacks, the commercials, or the half-time show, the Super Bowl will surely be a great time this Sunday!
