55 things to know about Super Bowl LV, even if you're not a big sports fan

Blue skies and favorable weather greet the thousands of fans attending the festivities at Curtis Hixon Park during the NFL's Super Bowl 55 Experience on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021, in Tampa. / Photo by Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP
Blue skies and favorable weather greet the thousands of fans attending the festivities at Curtis Hixon Park during the NFL's Super Bowl 55 Experience on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021, in Tampa. / Photo by Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP

The Super Bowl will look a little different this year because of the coronavirus. Also because of the coronavirus, there's not much else to do on a Sunday night but watch TV.

If you're a rabid sports fan, feel free to check in with our sportswriters for the latest analyses of each team's chances and predictions of how the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will go.

If you're a non-fan tuning in, here are 55 things to know about Super Bowl LV, as gleaned from news coverage by The Associated Press, cbssports.com and other sources leading up to the game.

TIME AND PLACE

1. The game will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Also known as "Ray Jay," the multipurpose facility opened in September of 1998.

2. Super Bowl attendance will be limited to 22,000 people, about a third of the stadium's 65,890-seat capacity. Of those, 7,500 have been given to vaccinated health-care workers.

3. Raymond James Stadium is home to the Bucs, making them the first team to play a Super Bowl on their own turf.

4. For the Chiefs, it's a second trip to Florida to vie for a championship. Last year, they played the San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

5. Earlier this week, NFLonlocation.com, the NFL's official ticket seller, listed the starting price of Super Bowl tickets at just over $5,700 per person.

6. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m.

7. At press time, the National Weather Service forecast called for a Sunday high near 74 degrees and a low around 57. There's a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms during the day, 20% that night. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph.

TV COVERAGE

8. The game will air on CBS, the network's 21st time to broadcast the Super Bowl, the most for any network. You can also stream the game on cbssports.com.

9. With only 22,000 fans in the stands, CBS will be able to position cameras in new vantage points, including a trolley cam for the first time at the Super Bowl. The camera will be positioned to provide the viewing angle of a fan in the eighth row of the stands. It can speed from one end of the stadium to the other on a zipline.

10. This is the second Super Bowl together for announcers Jim Nantz and Tony Romo. At their last pairing, in 2019, they made the rounds of team visits and other pregame events together. This year, because of COVID-19 restrictions, they're meeting up in the broadcast booth a couple of hours before kickoff.

11. Nantz, a veteran broadcaster, is calling his seventh Super Bowl. Former quarterback Romo, who was hired by CBS Sports after his retirement from the Dallas Cowboys in 2017, is marking his second time as a Super Bowl announcer.

12. To prepare for the game, Nantz and Romo did Zoom calls with the Chiefs and Buccaneers in the week leading up to the game.

13. Rather than send everybody to Tampa, CBS is maintaining social distancing by having extra production trucks for employees on-site. Some remote replay operators will be working from home, and other production personnel will work remotely from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York.

14. ESPN and the NFL Network also modified their coverage plans for the game, such as starting their coverage of events later in the week and having smaller presences on the ground.

15. Because of the pandemic, viewers can expect a change in tone for the broadcast. "We're not going to be somber, and we're not going to be depressing, but I think we're going to put everything in perspective," said CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus. "I think we're going to be thankful. It's a time to escape and really appreciate what we have with respect to this country and everything else. So I think you'll see that in our features, and reflect on the fact that we have optimism and that we're all going to pull through it."

THE QUARTERBACKS

16. Let's meet the GOAT, aka Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. This is his 10th appearance in a Super Bowl, the most of any NFL player. He last won in 2019 against the Los Angeles Rams while playing for the New England Patriots (final score 13-3). A win this year would give him an unprecedented seventh Super Bowl title, cementing his reputation as the greatest of all time. Brady is 43 years old.

17. This is Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes' second appearance in a Super Bowl. He's played only four seasons in the NFL and led the Chiefs to the championship twice. He last won last year against the San Francisco 49ers (final score 31-20). A Chiefs win would make him the youngest player to win two Super Bowls, which would best the record set by Brady 18 years ago. Mahomes is 25 years old.

18. Brady won an NFL record six Super Bowls with the Patriots, and he also played in three others during a 20-year career in New England that ended when he signed with the Buccaneers as a free agent last March.

19. This is the first Super Bowl between quarterbacks that each has been named an NFL MVP and a Super Bowl MVP.

THE TEAMS

20. Compared to other teams around the league, the Bucs and Chiefs suffered modest effects from the coronavirus. Four of the Chiefs and four of the Bucs who landed on the COVID-19 list didn't miss a game, and at press time both teams were at full strength for the championship game.

21. The Chiefs are 14-2 coming into the Super Bowl. The Bucs are 11-5.

22. In their regular season game on Nov. 29, the Chiefs edged out the Bucs 27-24.

23. If the Chiefs win the Super Bowl, this will be their second consecutive championship. Last year, they rallied to beat the San Francisco 49ers.

24. A win for the Bucs would make them the seventh team in 14 tries to defeat an opponent in the Super Bowl that it lost to in the regular season.

25. In the regular-season game, Mahomes completed 37 of 49 passes for 462 yards and a trio of touchdowns to wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who finished with the 14th-most receiving yards in any game in NFL history and the most since Atlanta Falcons star Julio Jones notched 300 against the Carolina Panthers in 2016. Brady was 27-of-41 for 345 yards with three scores and two picks.

26. It's been nearly a decade since the NFL finale has pitted the same teams in the same venue in a rematch from the regular season.

27. For this matchup, the Bucs will wear white jerseys and pewter pants. The Chiefs will wear red jerseys and white pants.

THE OFFICIALS

28. Sarah Thomas, a down judge, will make history as the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl.

photo Sarah Thomas, a down judge, will cap her sixth NFL season by becoming the first woman to officiate the Super Bowl in NFL history. / AP Photo/Peter Joneleit, File

29. Referee Carl Cheffers will lead the officiating crew. This is his second Super Bowl.

30. Altogether, the seven on-field game officials have 88 years of NFL experience with 77 combined playoff games.

THE ADS

31. For the first time since 1983, Anheuser-Busch won't advertise Budweiser, its signature brand, during the Super Bowl. Its four minutes of ad time will focus on Bud Light, Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade, Michelob Ultra and Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer. The company said it will donate the money saved in Super Bowl advertising to coronavirus vaccination awareness efforts.

32. Don't look for a Pepsi commercial either. PepsiCo. says it will concentrate its spending on sponsorship of the halftime show. You can expect to see advertisements for PepsiCo brands Mountain Dew and Frito-Lay.

33. Volkswagen, whose commercials have been among all-time favorites, does not plan to buy ad space this year.

34. Even without Volkswagen in the mix, there are at least two Tennessee connections among this year's ad buys. Singer Dolly Parton has reworked the lyrics to "9 to 5" for a Squarespace ad, and former University of Tennessee star quarterback Peyton Manning will appear in ads for Frito-Lay and Michelob Ultra.

35. Other veteran advertisers sitting out the game include Coca-Cola, Audi and Avocados From Mexico. Among the returning brands are M&M's, Pringles and Toyota.

36. This year's newcomers include Triller (a TikTok rival), Fiverr (an online freelance marketplace) and Vroom (an online car seller).

37. Also new is DraftKings Inc., whose two 15-second ads will drive viewers to a free-to-play contest that ultimately will award $55 million to contestants who answer the most questions correctly. Sports betting is now legal in Tennessee, FYI.

38. The cost of advertising is estimated at $5.5 million for 30 seconds.

39. Anheuser Busch is the exclusive beer sponsor for the Super Bowl, so beer maker Molson Coors is attempting to get in your head before the game. Working with Harvard psychologist, author and dream expert Deirdre Barrett, the company has been promoting Coors Light and Coors Seltzer with a technique called targeted dream incubation. The ad uses specific audio and visual stimuli meant to make you dream about their products.

THE ENTERTAINMENT

40. The singing of the national anthem will feature an unlikely duo: R&B star Jazmine Sullivan and country star Eric Church. They had not met before landing the Super Bowl gig.

41. Emmy-nominated musical director Adam Blackstone will arrange and produce their rendition. He also arranged the live music performed at President Joe Biden's inauguration.

42. Betting on the time it takes to sing the national anthem is one of the most popular proposition bets of the Super Bowl. Oddsshark.com has the over-under at 1 minute, 59 seconds.

43. The last time a duo has sung the national anthem was 2006 with Aaron Neville and Aretha Franklin. Their version lasted 2 minutes, 8 seconds.

44. Grammy winner H.E.R. will sing "America the Beautiful."

45. Deaf rapper and recording artist Warren "WAWA" Snipe will accompanying the singers in American Sign Language on "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "America the Beautiful."

46. Three-time Grammy Award winner The Weeknd will perform the halftime show. Often another star will join the headliner onstage, but there were no early leaks about who that might be.

photo Three-time Grammy winner The Weeknd will present the Super Bowl halftime show at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. / Photo by Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP, File

47. This is the second year that Jay-Z's Roc Nation company is executive-producing the halftime show.

48. Last year, Jay-Z and superstar wife Beyonce were criticized for remaining seated during Demi Lovato's performance of the national anthem. They said later it wasn't a protest but rather they went into "artist mode" as producers making sure everything was working technically.

49. Amanda Gorman, who wowed at President Biden's inauguration with her poem "The Hill We Climb," will recite a poem before the Super Bowl. She said the new poem will honor three Americans - Los Angeles educator Trimaine Davis, Florida nurse manager Suzie Dorner and Pittsburgh-based James Martin, a Marine veteran who volunteers with the Wounded Warrior Project and who has taken in local kids facing issues at home - for their work during the coronavirus pandemic. The three have also been named honorary captains for the Super Bowl by the NFL.

50. If you're looking for counterprogramming, consider the Puppy Bowl, airing on Discovery+ and Animal Planet ahead of the game. Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg will host.

FOOD AND DRINK

51. If you're watching the game at Feed Co. Table & Tavern, 201 W. Main St., you'll want to order one of the signature drinks - one for each team - a creative collaboration by bartender Holly Reynolds and manager Ashley Kirby. "We very much wanted to have a drink that appealed to both fan bases," said general manager Michael Earhardt. The rum-based drink to cheer on the Buccaneers is called Pirates Punch. It's made with Malibu coconut rum, Myers dark rum, amaretto, pineapple, cranberry, orange juice, cherry and orange garnish. The Chief Mahomes, for toasting Kansas City, is a blend of Chattanooga 91 whiskey, amaretto, cranberry juice, lime juice and cherry garnish. The tab for each is $7.

photo Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Specialty cocktails Pirates Rum Punch and the Chief Mahomes will be available for Super Bowl Sunday at Feed Co. Table & Tavern.

52. Several regional and national chains will run food and drink promotions, including Krystal, whose 10-10-10 deal - 10 Krystal sliders and 10 wings for $10 - is available through Monday. It's valid at participating locations or through third-party delivery apps, including DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grub Hub.

53. Buffalo Wild Wings' promotion happens after the game - maybe. If the game goes into overtime, everybody in the United States and Canada can get six bone-in or boneless wings for free on Feb. 22 between 4 and 7 p.m. in whatever time zone you live. The offer is good for pickup or dine-in.

54. Did you know each team has an official supermarket sponsor? The Chiefs' is Hy-Vee, a chain in the Midwest. The Bucs' is Publix, which has locations in six Southern states. Each company has game-day recipes posted on their websites: hy-vee.com and publix.com.

55. A survey by AdTaxi, a digital marketing agency, found that 84% of Super Bowl viewers plan to make some sort of purchase in preparation for the game. Among those, 79% plan to buy snacks, 61% soft drinks, and 48% noted alcoholic beverages. Indicating the growing popularity of meal delivery, 41% plan to purchase prepared food from a restaurant.

Email Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com.

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