The second weekend of February, for the first time, is home to Super Bowl Sunday and it’s an event that gets more popular every year in Ireland.
Super Bowl LVI - or 56 for those of us not wearing togas - sees the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Los Angeles Rams in the Rams’ home stadium in Inglewood, California.
The Rams seek their second Super Bowl in their fifth appearance - their first since returning to California from St Louis, Missouri in 2016.
By contrast, the Bengals have never won the Super Bowl but this is their third appearance at the event, having settled in Cincinnati, Ohio ever since their foundation in 1967.
American football hasn’t always been box office on this side of the pond but the sport’s growing international presence has seen a marked increase in interest here.
Super Bowl Sunday - somewhat of a misnomer in an Irish context as most of it happens on Monday our time - becomes more of a fixture on the Irish sporting calendar each year.
It hasn’t always been easy for American football fans to watch NFL action here, not least because nighttime games in the States happen deep into the early hours here.
American football is quietly thriving in Ireland, however, with American Football Ireland's league encompassing three divisions of full-contact and flag teams.
The Super Bowl has the added complication of a long half-time show, which has been headlined by legends like Prince and Madonna, while another was headlined by Coldplay.
With the average NFL game averaging over three hours, that means anyone who wants to watch to the end of Super Bowl LVI will need the constitution to stay up until at least 3 a.m.
So whether you plan to throw litres of coffee down your gullet to stay up or plan to ring in sick to the office and enjoy yourself, here are your options to watch the big game.
What date is the match?
Sunday, February 13, 2022.
What time is kick-off?
Kick-off is 11.30pm Irish time (3.30pm Pacific Standard Time).
Where is the match?
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California, United States.
Who is the referee?
Ron Torbert, from Hanover in Maryland, is the referee for the night.
It’s Torbert’s first Super Bowl, having been named an alternate for Super Bowl LIII in 2019, and the 58-year-old is in his twelfth season with the NFL and eighth as a referee.
Torbert, who works as an attorney outside refereeing, is the third Black referee to referee the Super Bowl after Mike Carey in 2008 and Jerome Boger in 2013.
Are there tickets available?
Ye mad?
Where can I watch it?
The game will be broadcast live in Ireland on BBC One and Sky Sports.
Coverage on BBC will begin at 11pm, half an hour ahead of kick-off, while Sky will begin their pre-show on Main Event and NFL stations at 10pm.
Can I stream it online?
Sky Sports subscribers on Now TV can access the stream through the Now TV app.
Who are the coaches?
Rams coach Sean McVay is the youngest coach in Super Bowl history, having led his side to the final game in 2018 at 33.
At 36, McVay is also now the second-youngest coach at 36, and his innovative and modern approach has proven a revelation in the sport.
His opponent, Zac Taylor , is the fifth-youngest to coach at the Super Bowl at the age of 38 and would be the second-youngest, after Mike Tomlin, to lift the trophy.
The pair have, in fact, worked together before as Taylor spent two years on the Rams’ staff, from 2017 to 2019, before taking the Bengals job.
Who are they key players to watch?
It goes without saying that the performance of the quarterbacks, the Rams’ Matthew Stafford and Bengals’ Joe Burrow , will be central to both teams’ chances.
Rams coach McVay made a bold decision to bring in Stafford , 34, in the off-season ahead of his 2018 Super Bowl QB Jared Goff, who was traded to the Detroit Lions.
While the Rams’ average points per game is down nearly six - from 32.9 in 2018, the tenth highest in Super Bowl history, to 27.1 this year - the post-season requires different skills.
Stafford is much more of an instinctive ballplayer than Goff, who struggled against aggressive defence in the post-season, and his performance on Sunday will be key.
Also key for the Rams will be Cooper Kupp , who finished the regular season as top touchdown receiving scorer, top yards receiver and with the most receptions.
On the Bengals side, 25-year-old Burrow will be equally key for his side from the QB position.
Burrows leads the league for the number of times he’s been sacked this season - a Super Bowl first - but also for adjusted yards (9.0) and completion percentage (70.9%).
So Burrows makes himself more physically vulnerable when he takes the snap, but he’s longer and more accurate than his opposite number (they both wear nine) when he does.
Bengals running back Joe Mixon is a nightmare for NFL defences, the 6’1 flyer as adept as eluding tacklers as he is making the extra yards out of contact.
Quotes Corner:
"We're very confident," McVay said after Rams team practice in Thousand Oaks on Friday.
"We're ready to go. Then we've just got to play great in that window that we've got. There's a good look in their eyes.
“I think there's a good urgency, but also I just have a good feeling about this team. I feel excited to watch them go and do their thing."
Taylor said: “[We’re] just trying to follow our routine the best we can in the season. That’s the routine our guys know.
“We finish with red zone and then we have about 50 hours until kickoff and it’s mental from here.”
Betting:
Los Angeles Rams 1/2; Cincinnati Bengals 13/8.
