A lack of Super Bowl parties is just the excuse some people needed.
They don’t care about football and only gathered with people who did because it was the social thing to do, but not this year. So rather than fried food, beer and a game that could seem as long as a month in the pandemic, they’ll opt for a charcuterie spread, a Napa Valley cab and a marathon of “The Great British Bake-Off.”
Others, however, need a guide to the NFL showdown between the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who face each other in Tampa, Florida, Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
Since you probably haven’t spent the past five months glued to the games and ignoring your family, we’re not going to bother with most of the football stuff. We’ll stick to what really matters to most: the things that happen before and between the plays.
And considering you can bet on most things involving the Super Bowl, let’s look at the sure things, solid bets and longshots that can happen at the Super Bowl.
The sure things
Country star Eric Church and soul singer Jazmine Sullivan will sing the national anthem. It will not be as good as Whitney Houston’s version in 1991.
In case you missed the Pepsi commercials promoting his appearance during every playoff game, The Weeknd is performing the halftime show. He said there will be no guests, breaking with a recent trend. He also is not expected to pole dance the way Jennifer Lopez did last year.
CBS announcers Jim Nantz and Tony Romo, widely considered the best team in broadcasting, will talk a lot about the record age difference between the starting quarterbacks: 18 years. ESPN pointed out last week that the No.1 song when the Buccaneers’ Tom Brady was born in 1977 was Andy Gibb’s “I Just Want To Be Your Everything,” and the top title when the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes arrived in 1995 was Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise.”
A little more than 22,000 fans are expected to attend the game – including 7,500 frontline workers who have been vaccinated – in a stadium with a capacity of 65,890, but seeing even that many people could bring on a case of the heebie-jeebies.
Solid bets
Most of the commercials will make you think the reported $5.5 million to air a 30-second spot could have gone to something far more useful, and some familiar brands sat this one out. The Anheuser-Busch offering from renowned director David Fincher, however, goes longer and deeper than most with its tribute to family and friends. Its tagline: “It’s never just about the beer. It’s about being together.”
The Chiefs’ high-powered scoring show should prompt the conversation about how their offensive coordinator, Southern California native Eric Bieniemy, was overlooked again in the latest cycle of coaching hires and how no Black coaches were hired for this year’s seven openings. Approximately 70 percent of the NFL’s players are Black, by the way.
Longshots
Speaking of long, this won’t be a typical game length. The average game time for the past five Super Bowls was 3 hours, 39 minutes. Bet that it will go over because of a lot of passing and scoring. Also, consider a decent chance that it will feature only the second Super Bowl overtime and plan those restroom breaks accordingly.
Be prepared for someone at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium to break the rules and fire off the cannon that blasts when the Buccaneers score in normal games. This is supposed to be a neutral site, so the cannon was outlawed except for during the Bucs’ introductions and until after the game for a potential celebration. But a dramatic touchdown might be a cause to rebel.
The lines makers expect the game to be close, but eight of the past 20 Super Bowls were decided by 10 or more points and a few were routs. There’s no shame in punting on the Chiefs and Buccaneers and getting your fix from a different type of football with a rewatch of “Ted Lasso.”
Source: Orange County Register
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