Super Bowl LVII

The History of the Super Bowl:

The Super Bowl is an important part of American culture and history. Nearly 100 million watch the Super Bowl each year, with last year reaching 99.18 million American viewers. The most watched in its history was Super Bowl XLIX, reaching 114.44 million viewers in 2015, where the New England Patriots won against the Seattle Seahawks.

The very first Super Bowl was actually called the “AFL-NFL World Championship Game.” This game was held on January 15, 1967, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in California. The game was held between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs, with the Packers securing a victorious 35-10 win.

This year, Super Bowl LVII took place on February 12, at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Kansas City Chiefs faced off against the Philadelphia Eagles at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, with the game streaming on Fox.

Opening Ceremonies:

Chris Stapleton, a well-known country singer,  performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Sunday’s game. Stapleton has won 8 Grammys, 15 Country Music Awards, and 10 Academy of Country Music Awards. He is best known for his song “Tennessee Whiskey.” Performing the ASL interpretation of the national anthem was Tony Kostur, on behalf of the National Association of the Deaf. Kostur is the first deaf man to win an academy award, won for his work as Frank Rossi in the movie “CODA.”

Babyface, a 12 time Grammy winner, performed “America the Beautiful” during opening ceremonies, with Colin Denny performing the sign language. Sheryl Lee Ralph, known for her performance in “Abbott Elementary,” performed the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Justina Miles performed the ASL for Ralph, and for Rhianna during the halftime show.

Another Chiefs Win:

The Kansas City Chiefs won over the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35. This meant that Patrick Mahomes scored his second Superbowl title. The Chiefs were coached to victory by Coach Andy Reid, now two-time Super Bowl champion. Reid has been coaching since 1978, and has been coaching the Kansas City Chiefs since 2013.

Super Bowl LVII reached 113 million viewers on Sunday, one of the highest streamed tv shows and Super Bowl events.

At the end of the first half, Mahomes was seemingly injured in his ankle after a bad tackle from the Eagles. However, he was able to recover during half-time and helped his team secure the win. The ending was almost anti-climactic, as the Chiefs had pulled ahead by the end of the fourth quarter. They were able to hold off the Eagles for the last few minutes of gameplay to secure the title.

Catch Controversy:

Throughout the game there was confusion on what the NFL counts as a catch. Even after the game, fans were confused on what counts as a catch. The NFL defines a catch as requiring: secure control of the ball in either their hands or their arms before they hit the ground, remaining with both feet inbounds with the secured ball when they hit the ground, and the player maintaining control of the ball long enough to perform a ‘football act.’

During the game, Eagle’s player Devonta Smith had his catch overturned during timeout after being initially ruled as a catch. However, Dallas Goedert of the Eagles was determined to have made a secure catch. The difference in these catches was Goedert’s ability to keep his foot firmly placed while securing the ball.

Halftime:

The Super Bowl Halftime show has consistently been a major attraction to get non-football fans to tune into the Sunday game. Originally it featured marching bands and military drill teams. It has since evolved, and now features famous music artists to perform a mash-up of their songs

Rihanna performed at the Super Bowl halftime this year, gathering much anticipation for her performance. 118.7 million viewers tuned in to see Rhianna step out wearing an all-red outfit, with her dancers in all white. The stage was a more simple design, with seven suspended platforms lifting and lowering throughout the show.

Her last album release was “Anti” in 2016. Rihanna’s  last performance came two years afterwards, at the 2018 Grammys. While she released her song “ Lift Me Up” last year for the movie “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Rihanna has commented to her fans to be patient for new music, as it may be years before her next album while she focuses on motherhood.

It even became a trend on tiktok for people to predict and suggest ways for Rihanna to open her show. Rihanna performed a plethora of her hit songs: “B***h Better Have My Money,” “Where Have You Been,” “Only Girl (In The World),” “We Found Love,” “Rude Boy,” “Work,” “Wild Thoughts,” “Pour It Up,” “All of the Lights,” “Run This Town,” “Umbrella,” and closing with “Diamonds.”

However, Rihanna’s show gathered many mixed reviews. While a percentage of her die-hard fans seemed to love it, casual fans and others were unimpressed by the show. Rihanna appeared to be lip-syncing throughout the show, frequently lowering the microphone and not moving her mouth while her vocals remained loud and consistent. Many fans were disappointed that she neglected to play multiple hit songs, such as “Pon De Replay,” “Don’t Stop The Music,” “Shut Up and Drive,” and “Disturbia.”

Others were also anticipating a special guest to appear during the performance. It was predicted to be Jay-Z, Drake, or even Taylor Swift. However, no one performed with Rihanna, with her skipping over the collaborative verses of her famous tracks. During the show, Rihanna did promote Fenty, her make-up brand, and revealed her second pregnancy. Fans are theorizing that either the baby or Fenty beauty were the supposed ‘surprise guests.’

Many felt her performance was underwhelming. It was a general consensus that she did not put in enough effort. Overall, despite her many hit songs, Rihanna is thought of as an underwhelming live performer.