Super Bowl Sunday is America’s favorite holiday filled with football, star-studded commercials, and spectacular half-time performances. This year, the country watched as the Philadelphia Eagles stunned the Kansas City Chiefs winning 40-22 in a rematch two years in the making.
The game opened in New Orleans with 22-time Grammy nominee Jon Batiste singing the national anthem. The Chiefs won the coin toss and deferred the ball to the Eagles to start the match.
Caesar’s Superdome saw many celebrities in attendance including President Donald Trump, Taylor Swift with guests Ice Spice and the HAIM sisters, Lionel Messi, Pete Davidson, Miles Teller, Bradley Cooper, Jon Hamm, Jay-Z, and his daughters, Adam Sandler, Anne Hathaway, Paul Rudd, Jessica Alba, and more!
Football fans anticipated a much closer rematch between the two teams after a nail-biting game in Arizona two years ago where the Eagles lost 35-38 to a last-minute field goal from kicker Harrison Butker, following a comeback led by Mahomes.
This year, the Chiefs could not pull off the same feat. The Eagles soared to victory against the back-to-back champions, leading 24-0 just at halftime and including a touchdown from Philadelphia rookie Cooper DeJean on his 22nd birthday.
The Chiefs, aiming to become the third team in NFL history to win three straight championships, regained some ground in the second half but ultimately succumbed to the Eagles’ defense. The Eagles sacked Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes six times, the most in a single game in his whole career. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, however, took home the Super Bowl MVP award after a stellar performance.
Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show brought out special guests Samuel L. Jackson acting as Uncle Sam, Serena Williams as a dance feature, his producer DJ Mustard making a cameo on stage, and SZA singing featured songs “luther” and “All The Stars.” Coming full circle with his escalated feud with fellow rapper, Drake, Lamar performed the diss track, “Not Like Us,” a week after the record won two Grammys. Lamar delivered a spectacle of a performance–a powerful political critique of America’s current culture and climate. Widespread debate, discussion, and analysis of the performance quickly ensued throughout the media.
While a staple of the Super Bowl experience, commercials this year failed to make the same cultural waves as in years past. Viewers gave mixed reviews, most pointing out a decline in quality and failure to meet their expectations, with only a few standout ad successes. While the commercials had the same star-studded casts as always, the consensus seems to point to the lackluster creativity of these ads.
Super Bowl LIX will nonetheless be remembered for the compelling narratives and standout moments in New Orleans–a Sunday that will be talked about for years to come.