Super Bowl LVI took place this past weekend on Sunday, Feb. 13. at the brand new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, where the Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals by a score of 23-20.
Super Bowl Sunday is notorious for being the most watched sporting event in the United States, regularly drawing over 100 million viewers each year. Many spectators engage in Super Bowl watch parties, where they gather with friends and family to watch the game and munch on delicious snacks and appetizers throughout the night.
Even for those who aren’t interested in the outcome of the game, many still tune in due to the event’s widespread popularity. Social media is full of discussion about the Super Bowl during and after the broadcast – if you don’t watch the game, you’re bound to feel a little bit left out.
“I mostly watched the Super Bowl just to see who won,” commented one editor. “It’s definitely more entertaining to watch it with your friends, especially if you don’t care about the game very much. I wouldn’t watch it alone.”
“I don’t normally watch the Super Bowl because I’m not a fan of football, but I suppose that if I were to watch it I would prefer to attend a watch party with my friends,” added another editor.
The Super Bowl is obviously popular among football fans, but many viewers aren’t tuning in for the game itself. For some, this is simply because they don’t understand football or don’t choose to follow it closely. Others may enjoy the sport, but they don’t care about the Super Bowl if their favorite team isn’t one of the teams playing in it.
“My family are die-hard Eagles fans, so we didn’t care too much about whether the Bengals or the Rams won,” said a third editor. “We still watched it because we always watch the Super Bowl no matter who’s playing in it, but there’s definitely more on the line when your favorite team is involved. We threw a huge watch party in 2018 when the Eagles were in it. Something about watching your own team makes the whole experience a lot more enjoyable, but it’s still fun to watch no matter who’s playing.”
For many, the greatest spectacles of the Super Bowl are the advertisements and the halftime show. Super Bowl commercials are known for being some of the most entertaining advertisements of the year, largely due to the high production value. Advertisement slots during the game are highly sought after due to the sheer number of people who watch the event – a commercial that runs during the Super Bowl is guaranteed to be seen by millions of people, hence why it cost seven million dollars for a 30-second slot this year.
Super Bowl ads are normally talked about for days after they air, but many of the editors feel that the quality of these commercials has declined in recent years.
“I don’t care about the commercials anymore because the quality has been so bad over the past few years,” said the first editor. “They used to be so memorable, but now none of them really stick with me.”
The halftime show also draws many viewers who otherwise wouldn’t tune in to watch the event. This year’s lineup included several big-name rap and hip hop artists, including Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige. The editorial staff agrees that the halftime show was entertaining to watch, regardless of whether or not you regularly listen to any of the featured artists.
“The halftime show this year was very well executed, and I thought it was spectacular even though I don’t follow any of the artists who performed,” said the second editor.
Between the game itself, the advertisements, and the halftime show, it’s easy to see how the Super Bowl draws such a diverse audience of viewers and remains one of the most watched broadcasts in the media world.
