How Super Bowl LVIII Lost the Plot in 2024: Unhinged Moments
Super Bowl LVIII was … something.
Even before the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers took the field on Sunday, February 11, there were some absolutely — for lack of a better word — unhinged moments. Perhaps the biggest example was every press conference where Travis Kelce had to answer a question about his relationship with Taylor Swift rather than his actual preparation for the football game.
There was one sportscaster, however, who refused to lose the plot completely. (This is still somewhat about sports, people.)
“Now Travis, I’m not gonna ask you about your girl, man, that’s not my job,” the brave reporter asked on February 6. Kelce quipped, “That’d be a first.”
As the pre-game conversations continued, Kelce and Swift took center stage. But when the actual Super Bowl game started, the couple wasn’t the only thing people were talking about. Some fans seemed to take their criticisms that the NFL constantly shows Swift and turned the tables on CBS commentators Tony Romo and Jim Nantz, who received some major hate online for their word choices and excitement levels. (The Chiefs beat the 49ers 25-22 in overtime.)
Between the jaw-dropping commercials (that one with the feet washing) and Nickelodeon’s broadcast (complete with commentator Sandy Cheeks), there’s a lot to unpack from Super Bowl LVII.
Keep scrolling for a breakdown of the most unhinged moments:
Travis Kelce’s Press Conferences
It’s hard to choose which of Kelce’s press conferences surrounding his relationship was the most awkward, but Us tried its best. The interview coming out on top was when Kelce was asked — and subsequently moved on — to sing the lyrics to Swift’s “Karma.” Talk about cringe.
The tight end was asked to “complete this lyric” during a February 8 press conference. “Karma is the guy on the … ” the reporter asked. Kelce replied, “Chiefs, definitely.”
However, when the tight end was asked to continue the song, he didn’t bust out those vocals but did ask for the “second question.”
The 49ers’ Weird ‘Harry Potter’ Connection
Since the 49ers don’t have a high-profile couple to fawn over (sorry Olivia Culpo and Christian McCaffrey, it seems your time has passed) reporters decided to delve into the players’ other interests.
George Kittle, an apparent Harry Potter expert, sorted coach Kyle Shanahan and teammates McCaffrey, Brock Purdy and Nick Bosa into Hogwarts houses. Shanahan immediately went into Ravenclaw, while Kittle offered more explanation for his teammates.
“I feel like we all have the character to be in Gryffindor, but I don’t want to say that because that’s just boring,” he explained. “I put Christian in Slytherin because he just kind of got that he knows a lot of people.”
Purdy ended up in Hufflepuff while Bosa ultimately got Gryffindor.
Taylor Swift’s 13 Connection
Swifties didn’t need more of a reason to believe that Swift was a mastermind, but the Super Bowl did offer up multiple 13-related connections.
For those who don’t know, 13 is Swift’s favorite number because of her birthday, December 13, 1989. Everything good in her life, or most things, comes as a result of that number. As numerology will have it, Super Bowl LVIII was Swift’s 13th NFL game since she and Kelce went public in September 2023.
The 58th Super Bowl (5+8=13) and its date, February 11 (2+11 = 13) are other links to the number. It sounds insane, but the connection is truly uncanny.
Mark Wahlberg Repping for Jesus
Some of the commercials this year were … interesting to say the least. Mark Wahlberg, for example, appears to have a connection to the big man upstairs — or at least the Hallow app which assists with prayers on the go for users. Wahlberg appeared in the app’s Super Bowl advertisement while sitting in a church pew.
The Temu of It All
What is Temu, some might ask? Per the website, it’s a “one-stop destination for affordable items,” including clothes, home décor and pet supplies. The site had three ads during the Super Bowl, which was quite confusing to viewers.
“Monday morning emergency leadership meeting with the Senior Director of Marketing at Temu who was supposed to wire $8M for 1 Super Bowl ad and accidentally wired $80M for 10 Super Bowl ads,” one X user joked. Another added, “That Temu commercial looked like it was ordered off Temu.”
The DunKings
Ben Affleck teamed up with his wife, Jennifer Lopez, Fat Joe and Jack Harlow, along with fellow Boston boys Tom Brady and Matt Damon, for a Dunkin’ commercial that left Us speechless.
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At first, Harlow was convincing Affleck that he should not do something. The aforementioned something? Put on a Dunkin’ tracksuit and pitch a rap song to J. Lo, who looked visibly embarrassed.
With “Touchdown Tommy on the keys” (Brady) and his “partner” (Damon) in tow, the DunKings had a truly unforgettable performance. “I’m so sorry,” Damon told J. Lo during their song.
Nickelodeon’s ‘Celebrity’ Appearances
Nickelodeon pulled out all the stops when they hired SpongeBob SquarePants and his friends to help commentate the game. During the show, the animated characters called out all the celebrity fish in the stands, including: LePrawn James, Fin Diesel, Billie Eelish, Herring Styles, Shrimpothée Chalamet, Dua Flipa and Megan Thee Sturgeon.
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