The Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs is rapidly approaching. Here are some things to know ahead of Sunday’s game:
How do I watch?
The game begins at 5:30 p.m. Chicago time on Sunday and can be viewed on Fox, Fox Deportes and the NFL+ app. It can also be streamed on multiple services, including YouTube TV. The national radio broadcast is on Westwood One, which will be on 670-AM in the Chicago area.
What number is this Super Bowl?
It’s the 57th annual Super Bowl. The roman numerals are LVII for number 57. The first Super Bowl was in Jan. 15, 1967.
Who are the teams and players?
The Kansas City Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl for the third time in four years after winning another AFC Championship. The Chiefs won Super Bowl 54 against the 49ers after the 2019 season but lost to the Buccaneers after 2020.
The Chiefs are led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who claimed his second MVP award on Thursday night. They’ve also got several other stars, led by tight end Travis Kelce and defensive lineman Chris Jones.
The Philadelphia Eagles won the NFC championship and are trying to win their second Super Bowl in six years. They’re led by quarterback and MVP finalist Jalen Hurts, receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and linebacker Haason Reddick.
Are there any Bears connections?
Former Bears coach Matt Nagy is the Chiefs’ quarterbacks coach. Our Patrick Finley spoke with him about his Bears tenure, he said “I ‘failed in a lot of areas,’ but it will make me stronger.”
Defensive end Robert Quinn was traded from the Bears to the Eagles on Oct. 26. He never wanted to leave Chicago. It still bothers him that he was traded, but the result — a Super Bowl appearance in his 12th season after never winning as much as a playoff game until this season — was enough to coax a crooked smile out of him.
General manager Ryan Poles had been employed by the Chiefs for 12 years — starting as a scouting assistant and working his way up — when the Bears hired him last year. Poles quickly made his first hire: Ian Cunningham, who had spent the previous five years with the Eagles.
And the infamous almost-Bears quarterback: Every time the Chiefs get into the big game, the McCaskey family, which owns the Bears, can count on a boatload of stories about how their franchise decided not to draft quarterback Patrick Mahomes in 2017. Sunday will be Mahomes’ third Super Bowl in the last four seasons. He’ll face the Eagles this time.
Where is the game being played?
The Super Bowl will be played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, which is home to the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals. Glendale is a suburb of Phoenix.
It’s the third Super Bowl the stadium has hosted.
The Phoenix area is no stranger to big events: In fact, two of them are happening right now. The Super Bowl is obviously attracting a lot of attention but the yearly WM Phoenix Open is also this week, drawing thousands of golf fans — and a steady stream of private planes — to the city to watch players like top-ranked Rory McElroy.
Who is favored?
The Eagles are favored by 1 1/2 points to beat the Chiefs, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, and the line has stayed fairly constant over the past two weeks. The over-under is 50.5 points.
However, four out of five Chicago Sun-Times experts are going with the AFC-champion Chiefs.
Picking the game’s winner is one of the basic ways to bet, but there are many, many prop bets gamblers can also choose.
Sportsbooks have taken advantage of the increasing popularity of prop bets, which could range from whether there will be a safety to whether the Chiefs or Eagles will score more points than NBA stars LeBron James or Steph Curry when their teams meet the day before the big game.
Professional sports bettors tend to make the more traditional wagers and look for value in the props if they believe they can find a betting number to exploit. For the most part, the props belong to the general public.
Who is on the broadcast?
Fox Sports’ Kevin Burkhardt and former Bears tight end Greg Olson are both calling their first Super Bowl. The duo was elevated to Fox’s top crew after a game of broadcaster musical chairs that saw Joe Buck and Troy Aikman leave for ESPN.
Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi will be the the broadcast’s sidelines reporter. And rules analyst Mike Pereira will be on-site for needed explanation for any questionable calls.
What’s the Fox pre-game schedule?
11 a.m. — “Road to the Super Bowl” Watch how the Chiefs and Eagles made it to the Super Bowl through the lens of NFL Films.
Noon — “Fox Super Bowl LVII Pregame” The casts of “Fox NFL Sunday” and “Fox NFL Kickoff” combine for 5½ hours of programming.
5:30 p.m. — Super Bowl LVII begins.
Who is singing the national anthem?
Before the game, eight-time Grammy winner Chris Stapleton will be performing the national anthem. One of the most popular prop bets for the Super Bowl is betting on the anthem length. This year, the over-under is around 122 seconds (2:02), depending on which sportsbook.
What’s the halftime show?
Nine-time Grammy Award winner Rihanna is the headline act of this year’s halftime show.
She’s had 14 No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits, including “We Found Love,” “Work,” “Umbrella” and “Disturbia.” She and rapper A$AP Rocky recently welcomed her first child.
“The setlist was the biggest challenge. That was the hardest, hardest part. Deciding how to maximize 13 minutes but also celebrate — that’s what this show is going to be. It’s going to be a celebration of my catalog in the best way that we could have put it together,” Rihanna said.
What to expect with the commercials
The Super Bowl is advertising’s biggest stage, with advertisers jockeying to get their products in front of the more than 100 million people who watch each year. Mark Evans, executive vice president of ad sales for Fox Sports, said a few ads went for more than $7 million for a 30-second spot. Most sold between $6 million and $7 million.
Anheuser-Busch remains the biggest advertiser with three minutes of national airtime. The beverage giant gave up its deal to be the exclusive alcohol advertiser this year, so Heineken, Diageo, Remy Martin and Molson Coors are also in the game. Other big categories advertising include packaged food like Doritos and M&Ms, movie studios and streaming services, automakers and tech companies, Evans said. Out this year: crypto companies.
What’s on TV right after the Super Bowl?
With the Super Bowl broadcast being the highest-rated television show of the year, networks are strategic in deciding which show should follow the Super Bowl and get the benefit of millions of eyeballs for a ratings bump.
This year for the “lead-out show,” Fox is airing the second-season debut of “Next Level Chef,” a culinary reality show hosted by Gordon Ramsey.
Contributing: AP, Staff Reports
