Picture the scene, it’s early February and the dreaded Monday 9am lecture is upon you. Before you muster the courage to get out of bed, you perform the daily morning scroll of your social feed. However, on this Monday morning, you start to feel like you’ve missed out on last night’s events. Posts upon posts, clips upon clips, memes upon memes, fill your timeline all bearing the #SuperBowl. You continue your scroll, unconscious to the time, as the double taps become more frequent. You witness barrels of Gatorade poured on coaches; commentators making you turn your phone volume down from the sheer excitement in their voices and the hundreds upon thousands of ‘Halftime Show’ reviews critiquing the multi-millionaire, platinum winning, most streamed artist’s performance.
You try your best to form an opinion after 15 minutes, but you can’t because you missed it. You were asleep. You arguably missed the sporting event of the year. And yes, I know, it’s a bold claim, but I am one to stand by it. For all you rookies out there, it’s not just about the 11 minutes of play action, there is plenty more to keep your engagement and I’m here to tell you all about it.
Let’s start off basic with some rules of the game. Two teams face off over four 15-minute periods, known as quarters, in a ‘Defence’ vs ‘Offence’ format.
Touchdowns, which are the most important aspect of the game for any new viewer, are when the “offensive” team in possession progresses the ball into the opposition’s ‘End Zone’ by throwing to a teammate or running into said ‘End Zone’. A touchdown is worth 6 points and upon its completion the team has a decision to make. Kick through the posts for a 1-point conversion or go for a ‘2-point-play’. To simplify the definition of a ‘2-point-play’, lets apply it to a rugby context. Imagine you score a try, but instead of kicking for a conversion, you start the ball at the 22 and go for a second try in one attempt. Now, these aren’t that common, but in a high stakes game like the SuperBowl, I’d keep a beady eye.
Now, there are a few more things I need to mention. To progress the ball up the field, teams can throw and catch or get their fastest player to run with the ball to gain yardage. Upon each possession, teams are aiming to gain 10 yards closer to the oppositions end zone within 4 attempts. To make life easier, the TV broadcasters will have an ‘Orange’ line on the TV. This is what the team in offence are trying to get to. Teams might go backwards and be further away from the orange line, this would most likely be the case when the quarterback with the ball is ‘Sacked’ or tackled with the football. This is the most ideal situation for the defensive team, and this is what they aim to do on every play.
Congratulations, you’ve just completed your crash course on the basic rules of American Football. If I’ve missed any, please always keep your phone by your side while the game is in play, just in case you’re unsure.
Who is competing for this year’s SuperBowl?
Before we get on to that, lets tell you what’s actually happening at this year’s Superbowl. Play gets underway at approximately 23:30 GMT on Sunday evening just after a rendition of Star-Spangled Banner by Charlie Puth. Hopefully following an exciting first half of play, a halftime fiesta conducted by Latin American sensation Bad Bunny, the Levi’s stadium in Santa Clara, CA should surely be swinging from left to right, but not too far right, fingers crossed. Expect a wet and driecht day on the west coast according to my experts at BBC weather, but not a cold one, 19 degrees Celsius, a nice change from some of the blizzardy conditions we’ve seen in the previous games leading up to the Superbowl. So, I hear you ask, who are the two teams?
Let’s start with the designated home team, who could not be geographically further away if they tried, the New England Patriots. The Manchester United of the NFL some like to say. Coming off the back of a dominant dynasty that spanned several years led by coach Bill Belichick and the megastar Tom Brady, the Patriots have been in rebuild mode for the last few years. Led now by ex-player turned coach Mike Vrabel, the Patriots were a surprise package in this year’s NFL season. Recording just 3 losses all season, the Patriots are looking to secure a 7th SuperBowl title making them the greatest championship franchise of all time. 2nd year quarterback Drake Maye has taken the Patriots to a record 11th appearance in the SuperBowl, their first in 7 years. However, there are slight concerns on the fitness of the North Carolinian, who has been said to have pain in his right shoulder.
Their opponents, the Seattle Seahawks, come into this matchup as favourites on paper. Like the Patriots, the Seahawks are also emerging from a period of rebuild and were also considered underdogs over the season. Mike MacDonald, the leagues youngest defensive coordinator / head coach, is looking to give the citizens of Seattle its first SuperBowl title since 2014. With quarterback Sam Darnold at the helm of the offence, the Seahawks are looking to double their tally in SuperBowl wins. Sam Darnold has really been a breakout star this season. Having stints at the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers and the Minnesota Vikings, Sam Darnold has never been able to perform to his highest potential since his drafting back in 2018. Let’s see what he brings to the table on Sunday night.
What happened the last time they met in the SuperBowl?
February 1st, 2015, Arizona. Idina Menzel performs ‘Star Spangled Banner’ as SuperBowl 49 is about to begin, the New England Patriots vs the Seattle Seahawks. After a dreadful 1st quarter with no points on the board for both teams, the game was tied 14-14.
Halftime saw Katy Perry ride in on her giant golden lion.
As the teams entered the arena for the second half, the Seahawks took the game by the scruff of the neck with some big plays by all-star quarter back Russell Wilson putting his team up by 10 going into the 4th and final quarter. Tom Brady’s Patriots managed a dramatic comeback to take a 2-point lead with 2 minutes to go. On the Seahawks’ final drive to win the game, Russell Wilson looked to throw long hoping for a receiver to be on the end of it. The ball looked all but gone as it fell towards Wide Receiver Jermaine Kearse who seemingly dropped the ball. Yet, before the ball hit the field, Kearse managed to grab it, flicking it through his fingertips safely. Still to this day, Kearse’s catch is regarded as one of the most miraculous catches in the history of the NFL. With seconds left, and the Seahawks only a few meters from victory, a lapse in concentration and a costly play call by the Seahawks bench led to the Patriots intercepting the ball on the goal line and running down the clock to claim their first Superbowl win in 10 years and the 4th in New England’s history. One of the most dramatic endings to a Superbowl there has ever been.
What are the fans saying and what to expect from the game?
Don’t be disheartened if this game turns out to be low scoring, the census is that this game will not reflect their last meeting in the Superbowl 11 years ago. This promises to be a gritty defensive orientated game with quite a lot of kicking for field goals and punting. I understand that can sound a bit disappointing for the newcomers, but I assure you, give defence a chance. Yeah, it might not be the prettiest sequences in the world, or the prettiest players as a matter of fact, but they are the most crucial. Watch out for big hits and QB sacks, there should be plenty in this matchup with both teams having incredible defensive records across the season.
The Novelties
There are so many other aspects of the SuperBowl off the field and between play that make the event enjoyable. Starting back in the 1980s and developing throughout the 90s, predicting the novelties of the SuperBowl started to become a household tradition throughout America. The obsession grows year on year, and people’s predictions become more absurd than the year before. There are some mainstays, for example, the length of the National Anthem, the halftime shows performer’s first song and the colour of Gatorade the winning coach will be drenched in at fulltime. However, this year, there are a few that are borderline nonsensical. One notable superstition: will Stefon Diggs, wide receiver for the New England Patriots, propose to his global superstar partner Cardi B! Rumours have circulated online after Diggs stated in a press conference that ‘It’s on the agenda’ when asked about presenting a ring to his potential fiancé to be.
One of the other novelties of the Superbowl is the ‘Commercial Breaks’ due to the sheer amount of money it costs companies to have a small snippet of advertisement. Due to the high volume of viewers, it is estimated that a Superbowl advert can cost around the figure of $233,000 dollars per second. That equates to around $8-$10 million dollars for a 30 second ad break. In 2022, an Amazon commercial featuring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost cost Jeff Bezos’ company a staggering $26,000,000, yep you read that write 26 million dollars. The ad promoted the new Alexa personal assistant. And we sit here and wonder what’s wrong with the world!
Well, it’s safe to say you’re all clued up now! It’s a free pass to miss the 9am, you’d be a fool not to take that.
So, grab your friends, despite their reluctance, head out into town and soak up the atmosphere. Promise them that this will be a great night. Take my word for it!
