For football fanatics, armchair quarterbacks, and people who just enjoy watching commercials, Feb. 7 is the biggest day of the year: Super Bowl LV! After a strange season that saw the NFL hold games in empty stadiums, it all comes down to this. Of course, with everything going on these days – political upheaval, insane winter weather, Cardi B’s new single – it’s okay if you missed a few details about the upcoming sports extravaganza. If you’re wondering how to watch, who’s involved, and all those other Super Bowl details, look no further. We’ve got your back.
What time is the Super Bowl?
Super Bowl LV, aka Super Bowl 55, will occur on Sunday, February 7, 2021. It will take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, in front of roughly 22,000 fans (7,500 of which will be vaccinated healthcare workers who have been fighting the battle against COVID-19.) Kickoff time is approximately 6:30 PM EST. However, the entire day is an American football fiesta.
For those who want to catch every single commercial, they better plan to have their snacks, cocktails, and beers ready for a full day of pigskin extravaganza. Football-related coverage starts at 11:30 EST (check local listings) with That Other Pregame Show, followed by Road to the Super Bowl (12 pm EST), the Tony Romo-helmed Tony Goes to the Super Bowl before the official NFL Pregame Show – Super Bowl Today – begins at 2 pm EST, leading up to the clash of these gridiron titans.
What channel is the Super Bowl on?
So, all those previously mentioned shows and football-related programs? They’re all airing on CBS because this year, Super Bowl LV airs on CBS.
The three major networks – FOX, NBC, and CBS – take turns broadcasting the game, with the Super Bowl airing on a different channel each year. Last year, the Super Bowl was on FOX. This year, CBS. Next year, when Super Bowl LVI goes down at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, those who can’t make it to catch it in person will be able to watch the game on NBC.
Interestingly enough, NBC was originally scheduled to air Super Bowl 2021, but it and CBS swapped years for NBC to have both the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics in 2022. That, of course, is assuming that the COVID-19 pandemic is under control by then.
How to watch the Super Bowl.
Because the Super Bowl is on CBS, the easiest way to watch it is…to turn on CBS via your cable or satellite provider. If you have a quality digital TV antenna, you could watch the game via Over-the-Air. How retro! For those who don’t want to dig out the antenna or don’t have a television, the game can be watched online via the CBS All Access App. For those cord-cutters, CBS is included in the bevy of streaming television services that you know and love: Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, YouTube TV, etc.
Viewers can also tune into the game this weekend with Fire TV by streaming live on the CBS All Access app or for free on the NFL App or the CBS Sports App. You don’t even need a remote. Just simply say, “Alexa, find CBS Sports,” or “Alexa, find the NFL App.”
For those with a Roku box, the 2021 Super Bowl will air for free on The Roku Channel. In Roku’s guide, they suggest that fans can “watch the Super Bowl for free on CBS Sports and the NFL app,” start a free trial of CBS All Access or authenticate the channel with a participating pay TV provider login to stream the game,” or for those with a Roku TV, they can use an antenna and “tune into broadcast TV.” So, everyone has options!
Who is in the Super Bowl this year?
Get ready for Tom Brady! The man many consider to be the greatest quarterback of all time will lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into battle against the Kansas City Chiefs. This is rather incredible if you consider that 1) Tom will be 43 when he steps on the turf of Raymond James Stadium 2) this is his first season with the Bucs after spending two decades building his legacy in Boston with the New England Patriots 3) this marks his tenth Super Bowl appearance and 4) for the first time in NFL history, the Super Bowl is taking place at the home stadium of one of the competing teams.
Who is performing at Super Bowl?
There are so many performers at this year’s Super Bowl that people who aren’t football fans have a reason to turn in. Miley Cyrus has teamed with TikTok to headline the NFL TikTok Tailgate at Super Bowl LV, per CBS Sports. The pregame festivities will take place on location for those previously-mentioned 7,500 vaccinated health care workers.) Fans can tune into the NFL’s TikTok page at 2:30 PM EST for two hours of live content. Part of the performance will be shown on the CBS Super Bowl LV Pregame Show. The TikTok Tailgate will also feature other TikTok Creators, surprise musical performances, and other gameday features.
“She’s pretty tight-lipped surrounding details of her performance at this point,” a source told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY, “because she doesn’t want to ruin any surprises. But there are rumors she’ll be mixing up some of her signature classics like ‘Party In The U.S.A.’ and ‘We Can’t Stop,’ along with her newer hits,”
The actual Super Bowl will kick off with a mixture of country, and R&B. Eric Church will join Jasmine Sullivan for the singing of the national anthem, with Grammy-winning H.E.R. will perform “America the Beautiful.” Considering how much H.E.R. shreds, who knows if she’ll pull a “Jimmy Hendrix doing the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ at Woodstock” and do it completely as an instrumental. Check out a list of the greatest National Anthem performances here.
When halftime rolls around, fans better get ready because The Weeknd will take center stage (which will be on the 50-yard line) to headline Pepsi’s Super Bowl Halftime show. In a commercial for the halftime show – because those are a thing, now – everyone from midnight grocery store clerks to pool cleaners to TSA workers jam out to The Weeknd’s massive hit, “Blinding Lights” (which might be a subtle jab at the Recording Academy, who failed to nominate The Weeknd, “Blinding Lights,” or his After Hours album for a single category in the 2021 Grammy Awards.)
It’s a safe bet that The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) will play “Blinding Lights” during his halftime special, but who else will join him in the middle of Raymond James Stadium? The “surprise performer” has become an expected feature ever since Missy Elliott popped out of nowhere during Katy Perry’s halftime show in 2015. Some fans think that Ariana Grande might join The Weekend for a performance of their collaboration, “Love Me Harder.” Abel is about to drop a greatest hits collection called The Highlights on Feb. 5, per Elle, which includes “Love Me Harder,” and really – for Arianators, that’s enough “evidence” to get them hyped for a possible appearance from their idol.
Another possible “surprise performer” might be Maluma. He and The Weeknd teamed up for “Hawái (Remix)” in 2020, which saw Abel sing in Spanish. With the growing number of Spanish-language music in the Billboard Hot 100 / Top 200 albums chart, it wouldn’t be surprising if Abel practiced his bilingualism in Tampa.
Who won the Super Bowl last year?
Last year, it was Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs who emerged victorious at the end of Super Bowl LIV. The Chiefs defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 31 to 20. The Chiefs are looking to become the first NFL team to win back-to-back championships since…Tom Brady pulled off the feat in 2004 and 2005. Both Patrick and Tom have something to prove, so Super Bowl LV should be one for the history books, no matter who wins.