When is America's premier sports final, the Super Bowl 2022?
The Super Bowl is the main US match. In the USA, the game will be broadcasted by NBC in New York at 18:30. The Super Bowl is a bit longer than usual - it lasts over 3.5 hours.
Bet on NFL Super Bowl LVIWhy is the Super Bowl so popular in the USA?
Because American football is the number one sport in the country, this game is in the top 40 highest-rated events on local TV; at least 35 are NFL games. The Super Bowl has already entered the cultural code of the country's residents. Many even want to either move the game to Saturday or make the Monday after the game a national day off.
You also have to understand that the NFL season is short - only 17 game weeks plus a month of playoffs. Teams give their best in every game, so the Super Bowl concentrates on everything teams, and the league has been doing for five months. There are no random teams here, with the strongest players in a given year. The game's audience is once again expected to be impressive - over 100 million viewers, so it's no surprise all the hype surrounding the meeting.
Also, an important detail: American football is a sport of personalities. The entire game is built on short confrontations between individuals. Consequently, such micro duels are easier to sell to the masses, and there is a real cult following around some of the athletes. Of course, there is Tom Brady and all the others, but these all remain in the folklore of the people of at least one of the 50 states for centuries.
Who is invited to perform at halftime of the NFL Final?
Because of the huge TV audience, stars are willing to pay themselves to perform at halftime. Last year, for example, The Weeknd spent several millions for a 13-minute show.
This year, rappers Eminem, Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Mary J Blige will be entertaining the audience of millions.
Each individual could qualify to appear on the Halftime Show, and instead, this "supergroup" could put on one of the best shows ever. True, a few days before the match, information surfaced about a sex scandal with Snoop Dogg, but the league has said nothing so far.
The headliner will be Dr. Dre, who revealed Eminem and Kendrick Lamar to the world. The last time the rappers performed at the Superbowl was three years ago. Travis Scott was then, and he failed. Americans didn't embrace the show, marking it one of the worst in history.
Is the Super Bowl a match for commercial purposes?
Because of this, everything about the Super Bowl loses its relevance, even the quadrennial events. Tickets start at $5,000 and average $9,000 on the secondary market. The huge TV audience generates insane competition among advertisers. As a result, the cost of a 30-second slot this year is $6.5 million.
Generally speaking, the history of the creation of the Superbowl was commercial and sporting. In the 60s, businessmen who wanted to, but could not buy NFL clubs, created their league - the AFL. It became a formidable force. To determine the strongest club in the country, it was decided to create a championship game. After the leagues merged, the AFL became the American Football Conference within the NFL.
So it's no surprise that tens of millions started to follow the game. And where there's that kind of audience, there's money and business. Many people complain about the glut of commercials and long breaks, but without them, there would be no giant TV contracts and no big salaries for the players. And it's the money that drives the athletes to be better and give a real show.
Who plays in the Final?
The Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals will meet in the NFL playoff final, and it's one of the most unexpected pairings in almost all of league history. If the Rams' participation was still more or less predictable, although they were far from being favorites in theirs, the Bengals' hit was an absolute sensation.
Cincinnati were the worst team in the league two years ago. A year ago, they were fifth from the bottom. The Ohio team's participation in the Super Bowl, for example, is comparable to Ajax's possible entry into the Champions League finals. And of the major world competitions, perhaps it was unexpected as Croatia in the 2018 FIFA World Cup final. But that was an experienced team, and the Cincinnati leaders are not yet 26 years old.
The LA Rams are a team made up of veteran and established players such as Matthew Stafford, Odell Beckham-Jr., Vonn Bell. There are some very old players too, such as tackle Andrew Whitford, now 40, or 37-year-old free safety Eric Weddle, who has already finished his career but returned to the field for a championship ring. Apart from experience, they have arguably their best player of the season - the wide receiver Cooper Kupp.
Almost all of the USA, except for the western states and some states in the east, such as Pennsylvania, will be rooting for Cincinnati. However, bookmakers consider the LA Rams to be the favorites for the upcoming game, and that's no surprise, as the Californians will have both the home field factor (although technically they are guests) and experience.
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