What You Need to Know About the 2019 Super Bowl
Lifestyle
The annual Super Bowl, which is the pinnacle of the American football season, now has a global reach. It is regularly watched by over 100 million Americans and is increasingly popular in Japan, UK, Mexico, Sweden, Germany and Australia as well as at home. The 2019 edition of the competition will be the 53rd Super Bowl which marks the end of the normal season for professional American football sides. The annual contest is played out by the two winners of each of the sports conferences, the AFC and the NFC. The excitement generated by the Super Bowl remains as solid as ever and the 2019 encounter looks set to be a classic. This guide will tell you everything you need to know about Super Bowl LIII.
1. Where and when will the game take place?
This 2019 Super Bowl will take place on Sunday, February 3rd. The venue that has been chosen is the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Under normal circumstances, this is the home venue of the Atlanta Falcons. It is a relatively new stadium that was first opened in 2017 at an estimated cost of around $1.4 billion. This ultra-modern stadium can accommodate 71,000 spectators for a football game but can be expanded to 75,000 for other events. The game will begin at 6:30 pm local time which is 11:30 pm GMT.
2. Who will win Super Bowl LIII?
As of 22 January 2019, there are two sides left in the competition with the chance to be named champions for the season. They are the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots. Most sports betting outlets in Europe consider the New England Patriots to be the current favourite, although US bookies did have them as underdogs to the Rams for a brief period. Some will definitely be tipping the Rams as the smart money but, like anything in sport, only time will tell. The Patriots are now appearing in the Super Bowl for a third consecutive year, and Tom Brady, whether you love him or hate him, will surely go down at the greatest of all time if New England retain the crown.
3. Who will perform during the half-time show?
The live performance which takes place midway in the proceedings during the Super Bowl is one of the biggest televised entertainment events in the American calendar. Indeed, performing in the half-time break of the Super Bowl is considered to be nothing less than an accolade in the US music industry. Last year, Justin Timberlake delivered a performance for the crowd. In the past, legends such as the Rolling Stones, Prince, Michael Jackson, the Who, Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney have all been invited to take part in the half-time programme of entertainment at the event. It has been announced that Super Bowl LIII's half-time show will be presented by the pop band Maroon 5. The group will be joined on stage by Big Boi of Outkast and Travis Scott as guest acts. The half-time show is sponsored by the soft drinks brand Pepsi.
4. Who will broadcast Super Bowl LIII?
In the United States, the national broadcaster CBS has the rights to televise this year's Super Bowl, the twentieth time the company has done so. A Spanish language version will also be made available throughout America. In Canada, CTV will be providing live coverage of the game. The UK has two confirmed broadcasters which will show the match, BBC Sport and Sky Sports. The state broadcaster will have coverage on BBC2 as well as online. ProSieben will broadcast the final in Germany.
5. Pre-Game Build Up
These days, the Super Bowl is much more than a mere sporting event. Pre-game events will be taking place in the run-up to the Super Bowl in downtown Atlanta, just as they have in other host cities in recent years. For example, the State Farm Arena is scheduled to host Super Bowl Opening Night event on the Saturday before the game itself. In addition, the Georgia World Congress Center will stage a Super Bowl Experience exhibition for fans to enjoy. There is also a Super Bowl Live event which will be staged at the city's Centennial Olympic Park which will offer attendees the chance to see the players before they go into action. In addition, State Farm Arena is the venue for a three-night series of concerts which are being billed as the Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest. These concerts will be headlined by Ludacris and Migos on the first night with Aerosmith rounding off proceedings on the second night. Bruno Mars and Cardi B are the headline acts for the third night.
