An Engagement Announcement, Explosive Performances, Women Making History—Show-Stopping Moments From Super Bowl 55
It's definitely a sporting event to remember!
Americans everywhere were deathly worried about COVID-19 ruining one of the most unbreakable American traditions ever to exist: having a great night filled with cheering, beer, and BBQ with a whole lot of football on TV, or for the even more fortunate, seeing it unfold live at a stadium.
In the end, they were only half right. Though COVID-19 did extend long enough to last until 2021's National Football League season a.k.a. Super Bowl 55, it wasn't a full stop for the annual affair as audiences everywhere were still able to enjoy Super Bowl 55's highlights.
Organizers, athletes, and selected performers alike managed to find creative (and in some instances, really impressive) ways to get around the COVID-19 problem and make Super Bowl 55's highlights some of the most memorable in all of NFL history.
The season's just begun, and if it continues with this kind of enthusiasm and energy, we'd say that the pandemic was just a minor setback, and that the show always goes on.
Check out Super Bowl 55's highlights so far in the gallery below!
Super Bowl 55's Highlights in Pictures
Super Bowl 55's Highlights in Pictures
Empty stands
For the first time ever, stadiums were devoid of live audiences and their deafening cheering during the Super Bowl's opening. COVID's social distancing rule ruined this part of the fun as a very, very limited number of NFL fans were allowed to watch the game live. To make up for it, organizers literally printed out thousands of faces and body standees as makeshift "audience members" in the stands. It was all to help raise players' morale and make light of an otherwise disheartening situation.
Photo Credit: @nfl
Sarah Thomas, a new feminist icon
This is Sarah Thomas. She's wearing a referee shirt, because she is an NFL referee but not an ordinary one. She's the first woman of all time to become an NFL referee and on top of that, she's already slated to officiate the Super Bowl 55's championship game. Whoever thinks women have no place in football has to rethink things.
Photo Credit: @nfl
Unlikely duo
Billy Idol and Miley Cyrus are pretty eccentric artists on their own, but when you put them together onstage, they make a very odd, but awesomely entertaining duo! The two performed class crowd favorites ("White Wedding" and "Hey Mickey") plus a ton of other hits that a live audience would have surely danced their hearts out to. Making this even better was when Joan Jett, an 80s rock star icon, joined them.
Photo Credit: @mileycyrus
No holding back for The Weeknd
You might give a free pass to singers who might not give their best performances when there's just a teeny tiny crowd in front of them, but that's something The Weeknd wasn't guilty of at the Super Bowl. He earned the coveted halftime performance gig (Shakira and J.Lo were last year's smoking hot halftime performers, if you remember) and boy did he not disappoint. His set design was one of the best scene of all time in NFL history, and it has a story to tell besides its obvious wow factor. Reportedly, it was meant to be a disorienting background to The Weeknd's familiar hits - symbolic of the weird, disorienting 2020 we had and the 2021 that's just beginning.
Photo Credit: @mtv
Aaron Rodgers, engaged?
First off, Aaron Rodgers was named one of two 2020 @FedEx Air and Ground Players of the Year. And then, in his acceptance speech, he casually mentioned that he was engaged but didn't name his mystery wife-to-be. Rumor has it that it's actually Hollywood actress Shailene Woodley who he started seeing last year. Everyone was caught off guard by the sly engagement announcement!
Photo Credit: @nfl
Soul at the Super Bowl
H.E.R mesmerized everyone when she performed her version of "America the Beautiful." Her shredding guitar solo was the cherry on top of the tasty, tasty cake. Also, her outfit was pretty awesome.
Photo Credit: @mtv
The Star-Spangled Banner
Another black performer made headlines this year for a wow-worthy performance. Jazmine Sullivan sang the National Anthem in tandem with beloved country singer Eric Church, sending a message of unity in a time of deep racial divide in the country. Their performance marked the first time the song was sung by as a duet in the last 15 years.
Photo Credit: @mtv
No. 7
Football golden boy Tom Brady and husband to supermodel Gisele Bündchen did it again. He won his 7th title, the most that anyone in the sport has ever won. He made sporting history!
Photo Credit: @tombrady
Lead photos from @theweeknd @mileycyrus @aaronrodgers12
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