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It’s the most wonderful time of the year - when the nation bonds over a football game, or let’s be honest, the commercials, food and halftime performance. Here’s what you need to know about the big game taking place between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Cheifs on Sunday, February 7, 2021 in Tampa, Florida.
Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan will be singing the national anthem and H.E.R. will sing “America the Beautiful.” Be prepared to be blinded by the lights of The Weeknd as he performs at halftime. He spent $7 million of his own money to make the halftime show more “cinematic” so you’re in for a treat. Spoiler alert: None of the performers are paid for their appearance at the Super Bowl, but the NFL does pay for the production costs (minus the above and beyond that The Weeknd is paying for). MUSIC TO OUR EARS
Three familiar brands you won’t see paying $5.5 M for a 30 second Super Bowl commercial this year are Coke, Pepsi and Budweiser. The three big brands join Audi and avocados from Mexico in skipping the big game advertising altogether. Budweiser is reallocating the media investment to raise awareness about the COVID-19 vaccine, in partnership with the Ad Council. Pepsi (Mountain Dew and Frito-Lay) and Anheuser-Busch (Bud Light, Michelob Ultra and their seltzers) will still promote other products but not their iconic brands. As a side note, because of COVID there will be no viewing parties and people are hungry for something to watch so experts expect this Super Bowl to be one of the biggest viewing audiences in history. THE RIGHT MOVE?
For the first time in NFL history, it’ll be a home game for one of the teams vying for the championship title. The Bucs were awarded the Super Bowl back in 2017 when NFL owners voted to move the Super Bowl to Tampa Bay from Los Angeles. (L.A. will host the 2022 Super Bowl). WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?
Let’s talk quarterbacks. There’s quite the age difference between the two starting quarterbacks - Tom Brady, who is the oldest quarterback in the league and Patrick Mahomes, who is one of the youngest. Mahomes was six-years-old when Brady played in his first Super Bowl. In fact, Brady is 7 years younger than Mahomes’ professional baseball player father. THAT STINGS A BIT
You don’t have to know diddly squat about football to place a bet on Sunday’s game, thanks to prop bets. You can bet on anything from which song will be the first song of The Weeknd’s halftime performance, to the winner of the coin toss or will the Church-Sullivan rendition of the anthem be under two minutes? YOU CAN BET ON IT
Two women making history this Sunday are youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman and Referee Sarah Thomas. Gorman will recite an original poem that will honor three pandemic heroes who are the honorary captains of the game. It will be the first time a poet participates in the Super Bowl pregame festivities. Thomas will be the first woman to ever officiate at the Super Bowl. JUST THE BEGINNING
Attendance at the game will be limited to 22,000 people, about a third of the more than 65,000+ capacity of Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Of that 7,500 will be vaccinated health care workers who received free tickets. THANK YOU!
At age 43, Tom Brady is playing for his seventh Super Bowl ring in his 10th Super Bowl. The 25-year-old QB from the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes will be the first QB in NFL history to start two Super Bowls at the age of 25 or younger. If he wins, he’ll be the first QB to win two Super Bowls at the age of 25 or younger. YOUTH VS. EXPERIENCE
The Bucs will be wearing their white jerseys when they play at home. They reportedly chose the white jerseys because Tom Brady is 4-1 in Super Bowls while wearing white. In 13 of the last 16 Super Bowl games, the winning team was wearing white jerseys.
Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest calorie intake day in America after Thanksgiving. The average person will consume 11,000 calories - more than four and a half times the recommended daily calorie intake.
Americans consume:
1.3 billion chicken wings (the most popular Super Bowl food)
325 million gallons of beer (Coors Light is the most popular followed by Miller Lite and Bud Light)
200 million pounds of avocados
88 million pounds of cheese
10 million pounds of ribs
2 million pizzas
Want something delectable to serve at your COVID-friendly get together for the game? Check out our Tailgate Treats for inspiration. Cooking skills not necessary.
