The Squiz

After weeks of will-she-make-it speculation (breathe, she arrived yesterday), analysis of American football’s ‘Swift Lift’, and even a life-size cake of Taylor Swift in a Chiefs sweater, the 58th Super Bowl – aka American football’s grand final – is finally upon us. The game will see the defending champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, take on the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas. R&B star Usher will be performing during the iconic halftime show, but the real stars will be the pop music sensation and her beau, Chiefs tight-end (yes, that really is his position) Travis Kelce.

Why is this such a big deal?

Dubbed ‘the greatest show on turf’, the Super Bowl is the National Football League season final, where the top 2 of 32 teams – some worth US$5 billion or more – compete for the title. And it’s not just bragging rights on offer… Members of the winning team take home a bonus of US$164,000 – on top of their already huge salaries – and a seriously blinged-out ring. It’s a really big deal for American football fans who have forked out an average of US$10,000 for a ticket. Over 100 million more Americans – about a 3rd of the US population – will also be watching at home, plus millions overseas. But the real winner is CBS/Paramount, which has the broadcast rights… It will rake in nearly $1 billion from Super Bowl ads, each costing US$7 million for 30 seconds, as the world’s largest companies try to outdo each other with (hopefully) viral celebrity cameos. 

Who’s going to win the game?

The Chiefs are the reigning champs and have the highly-rated quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who’s played in 4 of the last 5 Super Bowls. It will mark Kansas City’s 3rd title in 5 years if they emerge victorious today. However, even though the 49ers haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1994, bookies have them as favourites to win. But with Swift set to be in the crowd for a 13th time this season – and after her Grammys triumph last week – Kelce says he wants to bring home a trophy of his own so he won’t be an Anti-Hero. You can check out all the action from 10:30am AEDT on Seven. And if that hasn’t enticed you, there’s always the Puppy Bowl…