Aside from the game itself, here’s what you missed from the Superbowl last night
By Lauren Heskin
08th Feb 2021
08th Feb 2021
Surprises, sweet moments, performances and yes, insanely expensive, celebrity-filled ads.
Tom Brady led his team (Googles it…) Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a surprise (according to my search results) win against… Kansas City Chiefs last night at the 55th Superbowl.
Despite our evident disinterest in American sports, we’re starved for live cultural events at the minute so we’ve rounded up all the best moments from the event, minus the sport itself. From the insanely big-spend ads (you’ve already seen Timothée Chalamet as Edward Scissorhands I’m sure) to the live performances and the genuinely lovely moments of the broadcast, here’s what you need to see.
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There was a crowd… of cutouts
Among the #SuperBowl crowd are 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers and 30,000 cardboard cutouts https://t.co/hgxQIkzYEX
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) February 8, 2021
Rather than have an empty stadium, the Superbowl welcomed 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers and, at first glance, you might think they seate them all together, which would be odd and not very socially distant. But no, healthcare workers were actually surrounded by 30,000 cardboard cutouts. which, if you ask me, is kind of creepy no?
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Gwen Stefani poking fun at her fiancé
Americans ride hard for this relationship in a way I don’t quite get – although I’m glad Gwen found happiness after nannygate with her ex Gavin Rossdale. Here she pokes fun at her unusual pairing with country musician Blake Shelton in the T-Mobile Superbowl advert.
Amanda Gorman
The National Youth Poet Laureate knocked it out of the park (wrong sports metaphor I know) with her poem, “Chorus of the Captains”. It celebrated the three honorary captains of the day: James Martin, a Marine veteran who volunteers with the Wounded Warrior Project and works with at-risk kids; teacher Trimaine Davis and ICU nurse manager Suzie Dorner.
Hear her recite the poem below.
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Miley Cyrus got choked up
Cyrus was performing at the Superbowl pre-game tailgate (the most American event ever) where she also brought on 1980s rockstars Billy Idol and Joan Jett to perform some of their hits.
One of her last songs was her break-up ballad “Wrecking Ball” and the singer got visibly choked up as she sang. Afterwards, she said that the song is “about feeling completely broken and shattered, I know that one of the main reasons I’ve missed live music so much is seeing all of you out here relating to me, relating to my lyrics. Everyone’s suffering is different, even everyone’s threshold of pain. I like to think I’ve got a pretty high tolerance. I wear a lot of glitter and I wear a lot of armour and I also wear my heart on my sleeve, but it gets broken a lot.” You can watch the performance here.
Miley also trained hard for the performance, posting videos as she ran full-tilt on a treadmill while singing at the top of her lungs and not even needing to catch her breath.
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Amy Schumer too knows this feeling. Setting up a camera to film her one-year-old son Gene’s reaction to Mom dressed as a “fairy godmayo” for the Hellman’s Superbowl ad, she adorably watches him as he, in fairness, very attentively watches the ad. At the end, she asks Gene “was what Mommy?” to which he concisely replies, “no”.
Tom Brady spotting his family
Tom Brady when he saw his family ??
(via @NFLUpOfficial)pic.twitter.com/6b9xgTgOKP
— ESPN (@espn) February 8, 2021
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In a broadcast where you asked yourself multiple times over, “Jesus, imagine how much this cost?!”, this was a genuinely lovely moment amongst all the madness. ESPN caught Tom Brady’s reaction when he spots his family in the crowd after the game and, however you feel about Brady, it was very sweet.
The Weeknd’s meme-able Halftime Show
So the halftime show was an epic as you would imagine, especially with The Weeknd spending $7 million of his own money to get the aesthetics of the show just right. You can watch the full performance here.
Unfortunately for The Weeknd, the biggest takeaway from his halftime show were the memes inspired by all the trippy up-close camera work. He should get on to Bernie, see how he managed to turn meme life into good business.
Here’s just a taste:
The Weeknd looking like he’s live-streaming a haunted house pic.twitter.com/KfMUzBQGUD
— Kristin Chirico (@lolacoaster) February 8, 2021
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When your parents try to talk to you on FaceTime pic.twitter.com/gXMpjOKe6L
— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) February 8, 2021
me looking for the arrows to the model rooms in the ikea lighting section pic.twitter.com/slt1zFlmsj
— hot girl morg (@morgan_sung) February 8, 2021
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What my food sees while in the microwave #PepsiHalftime pic.twitter.com/o28gcN0ZHp
— Rene Gallardo (@realtypapi) February 8, 2021
when mom says you can pick out one cereal from the cereal aislehttps://t.co/PpOkQ5P5CB
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) February 8, 2021
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Amazon Alexa’s ad starring Michael B. Jordan
Okay, saving the best for last here, truly. This got released early last week but it’s worth revisiting because of Michael B. Jordan. That’s all.
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