Whether an athlete at the University or not, students of all kinds are aware of one of the most-watched events on television: the Super Bowl. On Feb. 2, the Kansas City Chiefs faced the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl LIV. The game took place in Miami, Fla. at the Hard Rock Stadium. This year’s game was especially entertaining — with edge-of-your-seat plays, funny advertisements, and a halftime show featuring two of the music industry’s most iconic female artists. Super Bowl LIV was a tough fight, but ultimately the Chiefs were victorious in a 31-20 win over the 49ers.

Aside from the Super Bowl, the Chiefs had an impressive season with 12 wins in the AFC West division. Under the leadership of head coach Andy Reid, the Chiefs outperformed the 49ers. This hard-earned victory was the Chiefs’ first Super Bowl win in 50 years. This also marks Reid’s first Super Bowl win as a head coach, furthering the significance of the historic game.

Game Highlights 

In the third quarter, the Chiefs’ hopes of winning dimmed as the 49ers scored, causing them to trail behind by 10 points. However, one of the Chiefs’ specialties is making comebacks.

Most notably, they scored three touchdowns in the last six minutes of the Super Bowl game, gaining the lead after being 10 points behind originally. Additionally, the Chiefs continued to make impressive feats in the postseason. The team won each of their three playoff games, including the Super Bowl, after trailing by at least 10 points — something no NFL team has ever done.

The Chiefs’ fourth-quarter magic in the Super Bowl proved especially shocking because the team’s quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, was not on his A-game in the earlier quarters. He threw interceptions during the Chiefs’ first two drives in the second half. Because of this, the 49ers led the game going into the fourth quarter. Additionally, the 49ers had 141 yards rushing in 22 attempts. However, 49ers’ quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threw two interceptions, and in their final four drives, San Francisco was unable to score any additional touchdowns.

In the final eight minutes, the Chiefs dominated and took back the game. With 8:53 remaining in the game, Mahomes gained 83 yards for the Chiefs in 10 exhilarating plays. Mahomes quickly found tight-end Travis Kelce for a one-yard touchdown. Unexpectedly, the 49ers were held to a three-and-out, leading Mahomes to further the team downfield. This included a 65-yard drive in just seven plays. The Chiefs’ quarterback then threw the football to running back Damien Williams, who scored a five-yard touchdown that allowed his team to gain the lead. In the fourth quarter, Williams scored his second touchdown of the game with a 38-yard rush to gain a 31-20 lead.

Chiefs cornerback Kendall Fuller solidified their win by intercepting Garoppolo’s throw with less than a minute to go. This nail-biting game made history for the Chiefs.

The fast-paced turnaround of the Chiefs’ playing in the last quarter made the Super Bowl exciting for spectators. “It was a really good game to watch! The lead kept changing, which made [the game] very engaging … which is ideal for a Super Bowl,” Lily Mitchell ’20 said.

Super Bowl Ads

What would the Super Bowl be without their iconic (and expensive) advertisements? 

In Super Bowl LIV, ads showed for as little as 30 seconds and charged each company as much as $5.6 million per advertisement. However, the hefty price proves worthy, as over 100 million people stream the Super Bowl.

Some of the inspiring advertisements included Olay’s all-female commercial, which expressed the importance of gender equality. For every viewer who responded to the ad on Twitter, Olay promised to donate $1 to a nonprofit aimed at closing the gender gap in science and technology fields. Rapper Lil Nas X also appeared in an ad for Cool Ranch Doritos, which provided viewers with some levity. Another popular ad was the reincarnated Planters’ Mr. Peanut as “Baby Nut” and the creation of an online store with “Baby Nut” merchandise.

On the other hand, some ads provoked negative reactions on social media, such as one sponsored by U.S. President Donald Trump. In his advertisement, Trump brought attention to the life sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a 64-year-old African American woman who was wrongly sentenced for a nonviolent drug conviction and who has become the face of Trump’s re-election campaign.

Halftime Show

Some viewers only watch the first half of the Super Bowl for the halftime show, and this year’s halftime show was as good as it gets. The powerful duo of Jennifer Lopez and Shakira ignited the stadium with high energy.

To start off the show, Shakira sang her 2009 hit “She Wolf” in a dazzling red outfit and accompanied by decorated dancers. Shakira also astonished the crowd with her other hits, such as “Empire,” “Whenever, Wherever” and “Chantaje.”

Joining Shakira on stage was another iconic female artist and performer, Jennifer Lopez. Lopez decided to begin with her hit R&B classic, “Jenny From the Block.” In addition, she sang her popular song “Waiting for Tonight,” and then joined forces with Shakira for a mashup of Lopez’s “Let’s Get Loud” and Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time For Africa).” At one point during the performance, Lopez stunned the crowd by climbing a high dancing pole in tribute to her 2019 blockbuster film, “Hustlers.” This glamourous performance embraced diversity and highlighted Latin pop as a leading and significant force in pop culture in America.

All around, the Super Bowl LIV was a success among viewers. “I thought it was overall a really good Super Bowl this year,” Caroline Buck ’22 said. “The game was really exciting with the Chiefs’ comeback and Jennifer Lopez and Shakira were amazing together!”

With over 100 million viewers watching the Chiefs make history with a remarkable comeback, laughing along to some advertisements and singing to an amazing halftime show with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, next year’s Super Bowl has a high bar to meet.