This year’s Superbowl was a special one for several reasons. Tom Brady broke several records; he received MVP for the fifth time and also became the oldest player to receive the honor as well as winning a Super Bowl as the starting quarterback. Another record that was broken, is not really a positive one. But this year’s Super Bowl was the least-attended Super Bowl in history due to the pandemic. In this article we will go through this year’s Super Bowl.
The prelude
As we have written in another article, it was unavoidable, that the pandemic would affect the NFL. The prelude to the Super Bowl LV was unlike any other years of the Super Bowl. As in many other sports, halftime shows, and on-field entertainment were forbidden and had been forbidden since the beginning of the season. Other precautions were taken, and the NFL was even used as an example of testing and contact tracing for Covid-19. Americans were fearful, that there was a chance of Super Bowl being delayed as far as February 28. But in October 2020, the league planned a minimum attendance of 20% of capacity. The usual events leading up to Super Bowl were also heavily reduced. Many Americans were speculating how the anticipated halftime show would be.
The predictions
As for the two teams, predictions of who would take home the trophy were fairly divided. Maybe some of you did some NFL betting to take home some money. Several bookmakers had Kansas City Chiefs on the top of their list, with good reason. They are a dangerous football team, who has won back-to-back titles, but most importantly they have the top star, Patrick Mahomes. Essentially this year’s Super Bowl was also a showdown between Mahomes and the NFL veteran, Tom Brady. Seeing as Tampa lost to Kansas City earlier this season, several NFL experts predicted, that Patrick Mahomes would be too much of a mouthful for the Buccaneers. But experts were divided in terms of which top star would take the title as Super Bowl MVP. Was it going to be the GOAT? Would this be Patrick Mahomes’ time to shine?
The events
Sunday, February the 7th was the night of the 55th edition of the Super Bowl. A pre-game concert was held on the TikTok app, where singer Miley Cyrus was headlining. The other music performers were Alicia Keys, singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and the national anthem were sung by country musician, Eric Church and singer, Jazmine Sullivan. This was the second time ever, that the national anthem was sung as a duet. The National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, who recited at the President’s Inauguration, also performed with a poem. For the first time ever, a woman officiated a Super Bowl. Alongside six other judges, Sarah Thomas was the down judge of the game.
Kansas City Chiefs won the coin toss, but as we all know now, Kansas City Chiefs were defeated 31-9 and could not follow up on their victory from last year. But even though the Buccaneers could bring home the Vince Lombardi-trophy as a team, the big winner of Super Bowl was of course the NFL veteran, Tom Brady. The teamwork between Brady and Rob Gronkowski were crucial for a victory, which led to the fourth Super Bowl, they have won together. In the second quarter, their teamwork resulted in the first scoring, and after that, Brady assisted Antonio Browns’ touchdown to 21-3. After that, Kansas City Chiefs basically didn’t have a chance and Tampa Bay Buccaneers could see victory on the horizon.
The half time show
The very anticipated halftime show was headlined by Canadian singer The Weeknd. The artist spent a whopping US$7 million in order to create a scenic experience not only for the audience, but also for the viewers at home. He brought well-known hits such as “Blinding Lights” and “Can’t Feel My Face’. But the most remarkable thing were the dancers in red blazers and neckties, who had their faces covered in bandages. Although the performance brought a special concept and interesting aesthetic to the table, his performance received a mixed critical reception.
This game was memorable in many ways. Tom Brady showed why he is one of the best football players ever in history. He broke a long list of records that night, but still remained humble after the game. Even though the pandemic got in the way of the Super Bowl, this year was still one for the books.
