From chicken wings to weddings: Fun facts ahead of Super Bowl LVII
The Lombardi Trophy - One of a kind
Far from the custom in Europe of handing out a replica of the trophy to teams that win a competition, the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which certifies the NFL champion, is made new every year by the prestigious Tiffany & Co. and is worth up to $50,000 (£41,287).
Advertising at a premium
The last television contract signed by the NFL to cede its rights to the networks that broadcast the American football league was for $110 billion (£90.83 billion) over 11 years. That's twice as much as the previous ones and much more than any other sport.
For this reason, those in charge of producing the Super Bowl every year - they rotate and change with each edition - squeeze the brands that want to advertise during the game. A 30-second spot on the most-watched telecast in the US in 2023 will cost around six to seven million dollars.
Rihanna is back in style
After her recent maternity leave and a long time dedicated to her business outside of music, Rihanna looks set to return to the stage.
After refusing to participate in the half-time show in 2019 because of the ostracism to which Colin Kaepernick was subjected after kneeling during the US anthem, the Caribbean artist will be looking to shine again on the stage.
This is one of the most exciting moments of the Super Bowl. We'll see if the Queen of Barbados can beat Katy Perry's record of 118 million viewers in 2016.
Mexican avocados
It is a classic for American families to gather in their homes to eat huge amounts of food while watching the Super Bowl.
It is expected that 130,000 tonnes of avocados will arrive from Mexico for the event on February 12th at the State Farm Stadium. Most will be used to make the guacamole that will accompany thousands of servings of nachos.
A prohibitive resale
Tickets to watch the Super Bowl live go for a whopping $48,500 (£40,000). That's a far cry from the $12 (£9) that the most expensive ticket for the first edition of the game was worth.
In the heat of Miami
The NFL likes to take the Super Bowl to places where good weather is guaranteed. That is why Miami has been the city where it has been held the most times (11). However, curiously, it was also the first place where it was held in the rain.
Teams struggling in the Super Bowl
In a league that tends to have a constant rotation of dominators, it is surprising that four current NFL teams have yet to even play in the Super Bowl. They are the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans.
Then there is the case of the Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills, who have appeared four times in the final showdown and never won. The New Yorkers did it consecutively between 1991 and 1994.
A global event
Nearly 150 million people are expected to tune in to Super Bowl LVII on their television sets. Of these, between 45 and 60 million will be from outside the United States.
The day of the chicken
According to the US National Chicken Council, consumption is expected to be close to 1.5 billion chicken wings during the game. This will require almost 800 million chickens to make their limbs available to NFL fans.
The wild demand for this product will increase the value of chickens for a couple of days according to US Department of Agriculture data.
Beer - The brew of the gods
Food has to be paired with something. Well, US citizens will do so with more than 1.23 billion litres of beer.
All in white
Wearing white usually goes well at the Super Bowl. In the last 18 editions, only the Green Bay Packers (green in 2011), Philadelphia Eagles (green in 2017) and Kansas City Chiefs (red in 2020) have taken home the Vince Lombardi Trophy wearing anything other than white.
Do not get married during the Super Bowl
When we say that the United States is paralysed by the Super Bowl, we mean it.
The weekend of the big game is the weekend when the fewest weddings are registered in the country. We assume that no one wants to remember their wedding day as the one where they attended the party with the fewest guests in their entire life.
Dramatic date for businesses
Businesses are shaking with the Super Bowl hangover. Every year, on the Monday following the Super Bowl, six per cent of American employees miss work due to illness. In addition, some 4.4 million people are late for work.
Hamburger Day
There is no denying that in the United States, hamburgers are one of the most popular dishes. They are delicious. So it is no coincidence that more than 14 billion burgers are consumed during the weekend of the Super Bowl.
