What made this year’s Super Bowl so special?

This year’s Super Bowl saw the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in overtime with a score of 25-22.

Every year the game attracts an enormous audience with approximately one-in-every-three people in the United States tuning in to watch the match.

The 2024 Super Bowl was no exception. It saw the highest number of viewers to date. The game, played on 11 February, was watched by an average of 123.4 million people in the US, making it the most-watched broadcast since the Moon landing in 1969.

Since Swift was first seen at a Kansas City game, sales of Kelce’s replica jersey have risen by 400%

Part of this high spectatorship was due to Taylor Swift. Swift was seen regularly attending Kansas City games throughout the autumn. In December, she confirmed her relationship with their player, Travis Kelce. She flew from Japan, where she was performing in her ‘Eras’ tour, to support her boyfriend in this year’s Super Bowl.

A poll from Seton Hall University in New Jersey discovered that 41% of 18- to 34-year-olds who planned on watching the 2024 Super Bowl said Swift’s presence influenced their decision to watch, or the decision of someone that they live with.

The singer not only brought fans to the Super Bowl, but also fans to the National Football League (NFL). Her impact, which has been coined as the ‘Swift effect’, has supposedly boosted the brand value of the NFL and Chiefs by $331million (£260 million).

Many appreciate how she has brought a new demographic to the game, but others see her as a distraction from the sport itself

In addition to this, since Swift was first seen at a Kansas City game, sales of Kelce’s replica jersey have risen by 400%.

Swift’s attendance at the Super Bowl attracted a significant amount of media attention. She was filmed arriving at the Allegiant Stadium and was repeatedly shown during the match as she watched from the stands, sitting next to actress Blake Lively.

When the Chiefs won, the camera panned to Swift. Following Kelce’s interview, where he clutched the Vince Lombardi trophy, Swift was pictured embracing him – this clip too was shown around the world on numerous media platforms.

Before the match, Kelce was asked about Swift’s success at the Grammy’s. He said that her becoming the first artist to win Album of the Year four times had inspired him.

The impact of Swift on the NFL is controversial; many appreciate how she has brought a new demographic to the game, but others see her as a distraction from the sport itself.

It can be argued that Swift’s presence has detracted attention from the stars on the field, including Christian McCaffrey, who was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year. A conspiracy theory even gained traction; the MAGA-verse theory was that the Democrats and the NFL were somehow linked and would use Swift to rig the game to help Joe Biden get re-elected.

In total Americans spend $17.3 billion on food, drinks, merchandise, and decorations

Although the Super Bowl is always extremely popular worldwide, Swift has simply amplified its presence.

This year’s game was initially dominated by the defensive players, and it was not until the fourth quarter that fans saw Kelce, Swift’s boyfriend, perform to his full potential. Kelce linked up with Patrick Mahomes several times, bringing his team back into the game, and forcing overtime. It was in overtime that the Chiefs secured their victory.

While some say that the Super Bowl should focus on the American football played on the pitch, it has always been about more than that.

The half-time show has seen some of the world’s biggest stars perform, including, but not limited to, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, The Rolling Stones, Beyoncé, and Paul McCartney. This year’s game saw Usher perform a 15-minute-long half-time show in which Alicia Keys was one of his guests.

The adverts that play in between the Super Bowl also feature big celebrities. It reportedly costs companies $7 million for a 30-second advertising slot during the break.

Furthermore, it is not only companies that splash out on the Super Bowl. In total Americans spend $17.3 billion on food, drinks, merchandise, and decorations to prepare for the game. Approximately 1.4 billion chicken wings are said to be consumed, and 2 billion pints of beer are drunk.

The Super Bowl exemplifies how modern-day sporting events are not only about the sport being played. For many fans it’s the experience of game day: the food, the atmosphere, the entertainment provided, and, in the Super Bowl’s case, the celebrities that are in the stadium watching.