A historic three-peat, or revenge that has been two years in the making?
That’s what’s on the line in Super Bowl LIX when the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles at the Superdome in New Orleans on Monday.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes with the Super Bowl LVIII trophy.Credit: AP
From famous faces to key players, here’s everything you need to know to get involved in one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
What Aussie audiences need to know
If you’re watching in Australia, you’ll need to tune in at 10.30 am (AEDT) to catch the start of the match which gets underway at 5.30 pm on Sunday, Louisiana time.
The match will be broadcast free-to-air on Channel 7 and 7mate, but you can also catch all the action on Kayo or Foxtel’s ESPN.
This masthead will be live blogging all the pre-match action and more from 9.30 am on Monday, along with all the match updates, half-time show entertainment and the post-match interviews and presentation.
The Superdome, where the event is being played in New Orleans, is an 83,000 per stadium, and the home of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints. It’s hosted seven previous Super Bowls, and is a fully enclosed, air-conditioned stadium.
Louisiana-born singer Jon Batiste will be singing the national anthem before the game.
The history between the teams and past winners
This Monday’s match is a chance at sweet revenge for the Eagles, who went down 38-35 to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl just two years ago.
In that match, with the scores locked at 35-35 with eight seconds on the clock, Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker landed a 27-yard field goal to clinch victory for Kansas City.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was named the game’s most valuable player in that match, after throwing three touchdowns and 182 yards.
Kansas City has now won four Super Bowls, while the Eagles are chasing a second Super Bowl. The club’s last win came back in 2018 when they defeated the New England Patriots 41-33 in Minneapolis.
Famous faces in the crowd
Yes, the Super Bowl is technically about football, but it’s become so much more. The Super Bowl is a cultural phenomenon where celebrities and die-hard fans flock to watch and parade their attendance on social media.
Of course, Taylor Swift is one of the biggest names expected to be at the Superdome, with boyfriend Travis Kelce part of the Chiefs team.
Taylor Swift watching on at last year’s Super Bowl.Credit: AP
Swift’s A-list friends at last year’s event included Blake Lively and Ice Spice, and while there’s no registrar listing her guests, it’s speculated she could be alongside parents Scott and Andrea Swift, along with Kelce’s parents Ed and Donna.
Other celebrities who could make an appearance include Kansas City fans Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis and Brad Pitt, while Bradley Cooper, Kevin Hart and Will Smith are some of the more famous Eagles fans.
US President Donald Trump will also be in attendance, making him the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl.
The half-time show
The Super Bowl halftime show has almost become as famous as the match itself, and this year Kendrick Lamar will be centre stage.
Fresh from his success at the Grammys, where his Drake diss track Not Like US swept all five of its nominations, Lamar will perform at the Superdome in what’s become one of the most highly sought-after gigs in the music industry.
Will Kendrick Lamar open the Super Bowl half-time show with his recent Grammy-winning diss track, or an age-old favourite?Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
Fun fact, artists don’t actually get paid for the half-time performance.
Fans are confident Lamar will open his set with Not Like Us given its recent success, but some are also hoping for Humble.
Best ads
The Super Bowl has become synonymous with quirky, celebrity-filled advertisements, and that’s where all the money is.
The Super Bowl ad economy is worth hundreds of millions of dollars each year, not just in lavish production costs, but in carved-up airtime. This bottom line has helped expand the telecast to between three and four hours.
The list of companies who have claimed the more than 50-odd slots in this year’s telecast includes high-profile snack brands Doritos, Häagen-Dazs, Pringles and Reese’s, along with beer brands such as Bud Light, Budweiser, and Coors Light.
Delivery apps Door Dash and Uber Eats have also secured coveted airtime, as has Coffee Mate, Duracell, Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Booking.com.
But perhaps the strangest and wackiest of them all is the Taika Waititi-directed Mountain Dew ad in which singer Seal features as a singing seal.
You have to see it to believe it, with the 61-year-old performing a rendition of his famous hit Kiss From A Rose.
Who are the key players?
Finally, we get down to the players who’ll be a major factor in whether their team walks away with a Super Bowl ring.
Of course, rival quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) and Jalen Hurts (Eagles) are the two of the most famous, and crucial, players on the field.
Mahomes is on track to be one of the most successful quarterbacks of all time, as he chases a fourth title, and the 29-year-old has become known for genius decision-making under pressure. Hurts is also known for his consistency and calmness on the field, but is yet to win a Super Bowl.
Other names too look out for include Chiefs tight end Kelce, along with Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, but if Philadelphia is to overthrow the reigning champions, Australian Jordan Mailata will be a reason why. The 207cm, 166 kilogram Mailata is a key figure in the team’s signature play, the “brotherly shove”, otherwise known as the “tush push”, and it could be the single reason they come out on top on Monday.
