Liam Previews the Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the mecca for American sports, and probably the closest thing to a sporting national holiday in the states, and the NFL’s influence is spreading across the Atlantic more and more every year.

I’m a sports journalist and an American Football player, and I’ll show you exactly why this sporting event is, for me, up there with the World Cup final.

I hope I can also persuade you to brave the late night and dip your toe into the ocean of American Football.

THE MAIN EVENT:

This year the Super Bowl is between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles and will be held at the State Farm stadium in Glendale, Arizona .

The two teams have won their respective ‘conferences’ and will now face-off for the ultimate prize.

One family that will be happy either way is the Kelce family, as brothers Travis (Tight end for the Chiefs) and Jason (Center for the Eagles) will line up against each other on the biggest stage. They have been talking up the occasion all week on their podcast ‘New Heights’ (which I highly recommend by the way).

The two teams are well-matched, with the top-ranked attack (offence if you want to get technical) in Kansas City playing the second-ranked defence in Philadelphia.

The star players of the Chiefs are no doubt; MVP (think player of the year) favourite Quarterback Patrick Mahomes II, who comes into the game after playing the conference championship (semi-final) on basically one foot, and defensive end Chris Jones, who will be a constant worry for the Eagles QB Jalen Hurts.

The Eagles will be looking to Hurts for inspiration and there are few better at what he does, and with his offensive line, which is one of the best in the league and AJ Brown at wide receiver, the National Football Conference winners will not roll over for the Chiefs.

THE HALFTIME SHOW:

The halftime show brings another element of spectacle to the event, with the interval lasting 20-30 minutes, depending on how long the clean-up takes.

Some of the biggest music acts in recent history have performed, including Snoop Dogg, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Jackosn, Prince, and Beyonce with Destiny’s Child among the performers.

This year Rihanna will take to the stage much to the delight of her fans.

The halftime show can be cringe at times, from the Weeknd’s performance being immortalised in a gif to the Black-eyed Peas rolling out slash to do an awkward cover of Sweet Child o’ Mine.

ADVERTS:

This one EVERYONE at home can enjoy, you may not have a golden ticket, but you can enjoy a star-studded cast of A-list celebrities to feature in the Super Bowl ads which reportedly cost between $6-7 million on Fox Sports’ broadcast.

There are also usually a couple of blockbuster movie trailers and first looks thrown in for good measure, with Scream 6, Fast 10 and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania already announced to show full trailers at the Super Bowl.

SUPER BOWL PARTIES:

Now usually us members of the Celtic brotherhood (I’m Irish btw) don’t need an excuse to get legless, but this is a great opportunity to get your mates around, throw on that jersey that you bought on holiday in the states and you never wear because your afraid of being mistaken for a fan and get drunk and eat wings and pizza all night.

Even make it into a drinking game (please drink responsibly), every flag thrown, take a drink, everytime a touchdown is scored, down a pint, etc. There are loads that people do available online, have fun with it.

Just be sure to have the next day booked off (or power through and call in sick the next day, we won’t judge, it’s the super bowl after all).

Overall, the Super Bowl is a great way to spend time with friends and start watching a sport that may seem convoluted at first, but once you absorb it a little, you’ll see why the NFL has had games in London for 15 years.

So, tune in at 11.30pm tonight on ITV1 or Sky Sports and enjoy the show.