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EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE SUPERBOWL

People who don't watch football on TV find interest in the Super Bowl.  Perhaps those special commercials command attention, or maybe the cuisine served during the game. 

In any case, coming up at 6:30 ET on Sunday, February 13, is the kick-off for the 57th Super Bowl.  Of course, much of the partying occurs hours before that moment, and extends for another few hours after it's over.  There is a range of activities for fans that began before the Eagles and Chiefs first arrived in Phoenix.  Among the more prominent were:

  • Super Bowl Experience at Hance Park, Thursday to Saturday, pretty much all day.
  • Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest at the Footprint Center, 7PM.
    • Thursday, Paramore, with special guests Bleachers.  Who?...and Who?  To the right is Paramore.
    • Friday, Dave Matthews Band.
    • Saturday, Imagine Dragons.
  • And to come on Super Bowl Sunday:
    • National Anthem by Chris Stapleton.
    • Baby Face will sing American the Beautiful.  Has written 125 Top Ten hits.
    • Sheryl Lee Ralph will do Lift Every Voice and Song.
    • During player warmup, DJ Snake will be spinning live from the sidelines.
    • The flyover will feature Navy women flying an F-35C Lightning II, two F/A-18F Super Hornets and an EA-18G Growler.
  • Halftime show will have Rihanna, who is a 9-time Grammy winner, with 14 of her hits reaching #1 on Billboard.  Guess she is an Eagles fan.  Can you believe half-time performers don't get paid?  But the cost of production is covered.  Here is the evolution of each halftime from 1967 to 2021.  An article ranking the top 15, with Prince #1 in 2007.
  • Super Bowl 1 and 2 featured the Grambling State band.
  • #4  Al Hirt, Lionel Hampton, Doc Severinsen.
  • #7  Andy Williams and Woody Herman
  • #9  Grambling back again, with Mercer Ellington.
  • #11  It's a Small World by Disney.
  • #22  Chubby Checker, the Rockets, and bands.
  • #27  Michael Jackson.
  • #30  Dianah Ross.
  • #32  Tribute to Motown, with Smokey Robinson, Martha Reeves, the Temptations, etc.
  • #34  Tapestry of Nations, with Phil Collings, Enrique Inglesias, Toni Braxton, etc.
  • #36  U2.
  • #38  Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake....and that incident.
  • #39 to #43:  Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen.
  • #46  Madonna, etc.
  • #47  Beyonce and Destiny's Child.
  • #48  Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
  • #50  Coldplay, with Beyonce and Bruno Mars.
  • #51  Lady Gaga
  • #56  Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, Eminem, Mary Blige, etc.

Some basics and history:

  • This is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League, something that first occurred in 1966, when there actually were two independent leagues, the American Football League and National Football League.  
    • It was called the World Championship Game, which was  changed to the Super Bowl in 1969.  The leagues officially merged in 1970.
    • Games #1 and #2 were easily won by the Green Bay Packers, coached by Vince Lombardi, later after his death in 1970 leading to what the winner got, the Vince Lombardi Trophy, from Super Bowl V.
    • The merger was shaky, because the NFL seemed to so dominate.
    • Then came #3, or Super Bowl III, between the New York Jets and heavily favored Baltimore Colts, picked to win by 20 points.
      • Tickets were priced $12, $8 and $6 dollars.  
    • This is the game that Jets quarterback Joe Namath bragged that he personally would guarantee a victory, and was named as the most valuable player when they won, 16-7.
    • The Jets and Colts will never again play in the Super Bowl, for they are now both in the American Football Conference.
    • Some say this was the the greatest football upset in American football history.
    • The public cannot today buy a ticket, unless they are connected, or work through a distributor, where packages range from $5100 to $14,875/ticket.  Oops, forgot to crank in the service fee, which would bring the lowest price to around $6000/ticket.  
    • No, actually, Ticketmaster has seats for  $5881, plus a $2.95 processing fee.
    • Wait a minute, SeatGeek sells a package of 8 tickets not that far from the 50-yard line for $3708 each, fees included.
    • StubHub can still get you 50-yard-line tickets for $22,275 each, plus fees.
    • TickPick will sell you tickets for $5400 each, but you can also attend Guy Fieri's Flavortown Tailgate Party.
    • Got a car and want to park?  Must order ahead of time for $400.
  • The winning team is now awarded the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
  • The game usually commands the largest TV audience of the year in the U.S.  But the World Cup always has a lot more viewers:
  • Because so many watch, commercials are very expensive, leading to companies developing their very best for viewing during the game.
  • Next to Thanksgiving dinner, the Super Bowl is #2 in food consumption.
  • In 1971 roman numerals began to be used to add pomp and gravitas, leading to Super Bowl L in 2016 (and, as the sole exception, was actually referred to as Super Bowl 50) and LVII this year.
My pre-game celebration began yesterday, Friday.  I noticed that the perfect Super Bowl movie was showing, so I began by venturing out to a real movie theater for the first time in more than three years.  I squeezed in lunch at Rinka to insure for good parking, and had a Japanese meal of soba, sushi, plus.
At noon, there was hardly anyone in the theater, and no one within 20 yards of me.   Rotten Tomatoes reviewers gave 80 for Brady a 62% rating.  However, audiences bestowed 90%, and I definitely agree with them.  Go and see this film tonight, so you can be in that quintessential mood for the game tomorrow.

The movie stars Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Sally Field.....and of course, Tom Brady, who was also a producer.  Supposedly built around a true story.  As one of the reviewers said:  The final sequence leading to the end was priceless.
After the show, as I was parked in the Whole Foods building, I did some shopping to add to the weekend festivities.  Finally found some Hard Kombucha (4.5-7.2 ABV), so bought an assortment.  Lavender Roses, they were on sale, and I was told that this is THE color for this Valentine's.  Got 24, but can you find that number below?.  Bought two pieces of New York Strip, also on sale.   Splurged on caviar which was on sale, and had a heck of a dinner, finishing two bottles of vodka.  They were mostly empty anyway.

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