Super Bowl 58 proved to be an exciting event from beginning to end, breaking records and setting the bar for football events to come.
As history has proven repeatedly, there may be nothing that brings more people together while at the same time separating them further apart than the Super Bowl. Fans from all over the world tune in to watch their favorite teams go head-to-head in perhaps America’s greatest sporting event.
On Feb. 11, Las Vegas hosted Super Bowl 58 between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs in a match-up that certainly lived up to the hype. There was no shortage of entertainment offered by the Sunday night football game. From the exhilarating, record-breaking game, to the choreography for Usher’s elaborate ensemble in the half-time performance, major A-list celebrity appearances and Travis Kelce throwing a temper tantrum, there was something for everyone to enjoy.
Perhaps one of the main attractions and possible reasons for this year’s Super Bowl becoming the most watched program of all time with 123.4 million viewers, Taylor Swift made an appearance alongside actress Blake Lively and musician Ice Spice in support of her ongoing, highly televised relationship with Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce.
As expected, we saw a plethora of “Super Bowl” ads stocked with all our favorite Hollywood stars. In the past, these commercials have been met with mixed opinions and even bad reviews from fans, but this year, I think I speak for the majority when I say most of them were entertaining at the least. The 36th USA Today Ad Meter competition ranks State Farm’s “Like a Good Neigbaaa,” starring bodybuilders’ celebrity crush Arnold Schwarzenegger and comedy favorite Danny DeVito.
With spring break right around the corner, Michelob Ultra’s “Superior Beach,” featuring Lionel Messi (the GOAT), Jason Sudeikis and none other than Dan Marino, was building the anticipation to get out of this predictable, unpredictable North Idaho weather and to warm yellow sand and vibrant blue water.
Pringles’ “Mr. P” was possibly the highlight of the whole evening as Chris Pratt sported an epic handlebar stash.
Given the latest trends, it would be an insult to disregard Kawasaki’s “Mullet.” This commercial, without a doubt, embodies the spirit of Super Bowl ads and masculinity as everything, including a bald eagle, a bear and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, spontaneously grew a mullet to rock and roll in the background.
Apart from the commercials, meme culture has already claimed a moment sure to go down in Super Bowl history: Travis Kelce screaming at the Chiefs’ Head Coach Andy Reid. After a fumble by teammate Isiah Pacheco, who took Kelce’s spot, Kelce appeared beyond irritated, even grabbing the head coach. In press conferences, both “cleared up” that Kelce was only saying, “Just put me in, I’ll score,” and joking, “I was only telling him how much I love him.” However, fans are skeptical. Afterwords, he can be seen throwing his helmet to the ground forcefully, seemingly out of rage.
Fans were on the edge of their seats as the game went into a thrilling overtime for the second time ever in 58 years of Super Bowl history. Unfortunately, for West Coast people such as myself, Kansas City, with big plays by Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and the game-winning touchdown by Mecole Hardman, emerged victorious. With the 49ers’ fans expecting an easy victory after Kansas City’s underwhelming performance in the first half, KC came back in the second half and overtime—within seconds of defeat.
However, given the new overtime rules, each team gets one possession, so even if the clock ran out on the Chiefs at goal, they would have been able to finish their possession.
Despite your team winning or not, Super Bowl Sunday was the perfect day to celebrate the end of the season, filled with beer, games and football. If you ask me, that is not a bad way to go into the week.
Tanner Allen can be reached at [email protected]