The Super Bowl is a national treasure that holds a dear spot in many people’s hearts. It is the biggest football game of the year, and some people will pay up to $24,995 on Ticketmaster to attend, with the cheapest ticket listed for $2,800. There are so many appeals to this event, some of which include the halftime show, the special commercials that air on TV throughout the game, the parties that friends and families host, and the delicious snacks that people eat while watching the game. This year’s Super Bowl game ended up with 127.7 million average TV viewers, and it is no surprise considering all that the event had to offer its audience.
This year was the 59th Annual Super Bowl or the Super Bowl LIX. It was held at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The teams who played were the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. The game ended with a score of 40-22, with the Eagles winning the game. This broke the Chiefs’ two-year winning streak and won the Eagles their second Super Bowl; their last one being in 2018. This was especially devastating to the Chiefs and their fans because the victory would have broken the Super Bowl record for the number of consecutive wins.
The game started on Feb. 9 at 3:30 pm and turned out to be a very surprising game. One ESPN article titled “Super Bowl 2025: How the Eagles Dominated the Chiefs” explains the major fan disappointment surrounding the overwhelming defeat of the four-time Super Bowl winning Chiefs. Senior ESPN writer and author of the article, Bill Barnwell, expresses how underwhelming the game was to the Chiefs fans. “If you had told [a Chiefs fan] that Mahomes was about to go 6-of-14 for 33 yards with two interceptions in the first half of the Super Bowl, that fan could have done more productive things with a free Sunday.”
On the other side of the game, the Eagles fans were feeling the furthest thing from disappointment. These fans were so ecstatic and hyped up from winning the game that they took to the streets to rejoice, and ended up causing mass damage in the city of Philadelphia. To celebrate the victory of their beloved team, Eagles fans gathered in the streets, set off fireworks, climbed street lights, and set fires. According to ABC News, The “Philadelphia police reported nearly 50 arrests,” in which “five people were arrested for assault on police.” There were also “two arrests for aggravated assault, one for recklessly endangering another person and one for misdemeanor disorderly conduct in the third degree.” Philadelphia certainly partied hard that night.
Despite the quoted “uneventful” game of football, the Super Bowl still had much to offer its audience, including the halftime show, the commercials, and the opportunity to spend quality time with friends and family while watching.
The Apple Music halftime show was very interesting to watch, and featured rapper Kendrick Lamar performing alongside guest performers SZA, producer Mustard, actor Samuel Jackson, and former Olympic tennis player Serena Williams. Lamar’s performance was met with a variety of reactions, with people online claiming it was “the most political and revolutionary show the Super Bowl has ever witnessed,” while some others simply stated it “didn’t do anything for them.”
Regardless of the show’s contrasting opinions, it is undeniable that this performance contained a meaningful purpose that Lamar wanted to display at this extremely public and widely viewed event during Black History Month.
Starting the performance in a game-controller-themed stage, Samuel Jackson appears on stage dressed as Uncle Sam and says “This is the Great American game.” Then the camera switches to Lamar, who starts his performance, and says a very significant line; “The revolution about to be televised, you picked the right time but the wrong guy.” Lamar continues on with his performance, and dancers wearing red, white, and blue enter. During this, “Uncle Sam” complains about the music, saying it is too loud, reckless, and ghetto, and asks “Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game? Then tighten up!”
The beginning of the halftime show sets the tone for Lamar’s performance and establishes the theme of how America puts down things that challenge the status quo, the current political state of the country, and the quoted “American game” that is being played in front of our eyes.
Lamar’s performance continues with the dancers taking the formation of an American flag but symbolically divided in the middle, creating two distinct sides. The lights in the audience also spell out “WARNING WRONG WAY” during the show, adding to the many symbols that further enhance Lamar’s intended purpose and relate to the growing political divide in the country.
Along with the political and cultural message that he is showing the world, Lamar also added a few digs at Drake, another rapper who recently has been in a massive public feud with Lamar. He brings up his song “Not Like Us,” which is targeted towards Drake, and teases at the lawsuit that Drake recently filed against Lamar because of this song. He eventually played the song, and it was a big hit with the audience as expected considering this song won five Grammys this year.
For the rest of his performance, Lamar brings out singer-songwriter SZA to sing two of their duets, providing another symbolic moment where only the dancers in the “inner circle” live (the rest fall down), brings out former Olympic athlete and Compton native Serena Williams to dance during “Not Like Us,” and welcomes famous producer Mustard onto the stage.
A protester holding up a Pro-Palestine flag to support Gaza and Sudan was also on stage but was not televised and got tackled by security shortly after. Lamar ends the halftime show with the lights in the audience spelling out, “GAME OVER.”
Whether people liked it or not, this performance was created with an important and meaningful purpose. Kendrick Lamar used his limited time on one of the most televised events in the world to send a message to a massive audience about the importance of culture and shed light on the current problems with our country; focusing on the ideas that we are heading the “wrong way,” and that there is major cultural and political division in our country, which will eventually lead to a “game over.” These themes were very significant and well incorporated into Lamar’s performance, and provided for an interesting and engaging halftime show. Lamar’s intended purpose was also timed perfectly considering President Trump attended the Super Bowl.
No sitting president has ever gone to the Super Bowl, and President Trump being the first to do so makes Lamar’s half-time performance even more significant to the current political state of the country. President Trump’s attendance was short-lived, though, as he was seen leaving the game during the second half of the game. A statement was made that claimed Trump had always been scheduled to leave the game early, but rumors have been popping up that theorize he left early due to the landslide game and disappointing performance from his favored team the Chiefs, or possibly from the controversial half-time show that called out many issues in the country, including it’s leadership, the current politics and changes in government, and the criticism of diversity and inclusion.
There are tons of people who do not like football or even care much about the sport; despite this, many of these same people still love the Super Bowl and look forward to it every year. The Super Bowl brings all kinds of people together to enjoy each other’s company and share an experience, whether it be the game or the chicken wings you love most. This year’s Super Bowl will certainly be one to remember with all that happened alongside the game, and it leads fans to wonder what next year’s Super Bowl LX will entail.
