Super Bowl 2022: How to watch the halftime show and everything else you need to know
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The ball finally dropped: Tom Brady, widely considered the greatest quarterback of all time and seven-time Super Bowl winner, has officially announced his retirement from the game. That leaves only the bigger questions of what an NFL would look like without Brady and what the future holds for the league. But for now, you can count on one traditional event to ease you into the future — Super Bowl LVI.
It's the showdown football fans are familiar with, full of pomp and excitement as the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals face off today at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
Read on below for all you need to know about the big game, including the much-anticipated halftime show, crowd-pleasing commercials, and where you can stream the Super Bowl this year.
Who is playing?
Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images; Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Los Angeles Rams, led by head coach Sean McVay since 2017, and the Cincinnati Bengals, under Zac Taylor since 2019, will face off in Super Bowl LVI. The Rams last played in the Super Bowl in 2019 when the team lost against the New England Patriots 13-3, and the Bengals last made it to the championship game in 1989 against the San Francisco 49ers, losing the game 20-16.
Although Super Bowl 2022 will take place at the Rams' home stadium — SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, which it also shares with the Los Angeles Chargers — it's the Bengals who will serve as the home team this year with the Rams as visitors, observing the Super Bowl's tradition of alternating home team picks between the AFC and NFC champions. It's also the first time in nearly three decades that the Super Bowl is returning to Los Angeles; the last game played in the area was 1993 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., where the Dallas Cowboys beat the Buffalo Bills 52-17.
What time is the Super Bowl and what channel is it on?
Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, Feb. 13. The Super Bowl will be broadcast on NBC, which is also carrying coverage of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics this year from Friday, Feb. 4 to Sunday, Feb. 20.
Streamers can also watch the Super Bowl this year on Peacock, NBC's own streaming service, or the NBC Sports website and app. Without Peacock, NBC is also available as a channel on DirecTV, YouTube TV, Hulu Live TV, FuboTV, and Sling TV.
Who's singing the national anthem?
Mickey Guyton, the country music star who is nominated for the 2022 Grammy Awards in the Best Country Album, Best Country Song, and Best Country Solo Performance categories for her album Remember Her Name and its eponymous single, will sing the national anthem. Jhené Aiko, the six-time Grammy-nominated singer, will perform "America the Beautiful," with actress Sandra Mae Frank performing both the national anthem and "America the Beautiful" in ASL.
Who's performing the halftime show?
Pepsi Super Bowl LVI halftime performers: Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar
The NFL announced an impressive lineup for the halftime show this year, with Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, and Eminem set to take the stage under longtime Super Bowl halftime show director Hamish Hamilton. You can get a sneak peek at the performance below in a trailer directed by Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray, titled "The Call."
Making the performance even more epic is the addition of famed deaf musicians Warren "Wawa" Snipe and Sean Forbes, who will sign the halftime show in American Sign Language. This marks the first time ASL performers have ever been featured in the Super Bowl halftime show.
Are there any preshows?
The 2022 Super Bowl Music Fest will take place from Thursday, Feb. 10 to Saturday, Feb. 12 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, with Halsey and Machine Gun Kelly performing on day one, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani taking the stage on day two, and Green Day and Miley Cyrus performing the final night. Tickets for the shows went on sale last November and are still available.
On the day of the big game, EDM star Zedd will be the official pregame DJ; you can catch his set during warmups.
What commercials will play during the Super Bowl?
This year's ads are looking as funny, outrageous, and expensive as prior years: Gwyneth Paltrow takes a bite out of her infamous vagina candle in a commercial for Uber Eats, Zendaya stars in Squarespace's ad (her first-ever Super Bowl commercial), Mila Kunis and Demi Moore poke fun at how much they have in common for AT&T, and Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd are best buds preparing for a wedding with Lays.
Budweiser, who redirected its ad money last year to the Ad Council for raising COVID-19 vaccine awareness, is back this time around with the Chloé Zhao-directed commercial "A Clydesdale's Journey." Its sister brands Bud Light and Busch Light, owned also by Anheuser-Busch, called upon Guy Fieri to rule over the "Land of Loud Flavors" and Kenny G to be the smooth "Voice of the Mountains."
What's happening after the game?
The sought-after post-Super Bowl spot this year is not going to any show or movie. Instead, NBC will return straight to its 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics coverage at 10:45 p.m. ET/ 7:45 p.m. PT with the spotlight on ice dance, figure skating, and monobob. Team USA Olympians Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Madison Hubbell, Zach Donohue, Kaillie Humphries, and Elana Meyers Taylor are expected to compete for medals in the three fields.
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