Arguably the biggest sporting event on the calendar is nearly here.
The Super Bowl is a sporting experience that seems to be continuing to grow in stature down under, as the NFL’s popularity keeps rising.
More and more Aussie fans are realising it kicks off at a pretty perfect time to make a day of it.
Here are the key details those thinking about making plans should be across.
Super Bowl 2024 time and date in Australia
10:30am AEDT, February 12
The biggest and final game of each NFL season starts at a slightly obscure time — not the prime time slot of your typical Sunday or Monday night in-season affair.
Who’s in the Super Bowl?
Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers
It’s a replay of the 2020 Super Bowl, which feels like an eternity ago given what the world has faced since then!
Patrick Mahomes and his Chiefs are back, after winning it all last year in a heart-stopper against the Eagles. KC will take on Kyle Shanahan’s team, who will be quaterbacked by sophomore Brock Purdy, who’s had a hell of a ride in his first two seasons, after being Mr Irrelevant.
Where is the 2024 Super Bowl?
Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas
Allegiant Stadium — 65,000 seats — is home of the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL, one of the newest football venues in the United States.
Nicknamed ‘the Death Star’, due to its appearance, it has a fully closed roof and can host games on both grass and turf — which is good, because no football match should be played on a more dangerous, artificial surface and certainly not the biggest match of the year.
The Death Star is also the venue for the NRL’s huge 2024 Vegas season launch double-header.
How much are Super Bowl tickets?
Not cheap. That’s the short answer.
We’re still waiting for more specific detail to emerge around this, but for reference, last season it was around $6,000 USD; around $8,000 AUD. Premium seats closer to the action can cost up to $27,500 USD ($39,000 AUD).
Who is playing at halftime of the Super Bowl?
Usher
The American R&B star will headline the hotly anticipated half-time show for 2024, after Rihanna had the honour in the most recent Super Bowl in Arizona.
While on the topic of artists at the game, get ready for an avalanche of news and information about Taylor Swift’s hurried mission from Japan to Vegas to make it in time. She has been dating Travis Kelce, Chiefs Tight End, for most of this season and has attended plenty of games. Swift has a concert in Japan the day before and will be legging it back to the states in time for kickoff. Logistically, it sounds like she’ll get there.
How did the Playoffs shake out?
Few saw any of this coming.
We should’ve known Mahomes, Andy Reid and their Kansas City Chiefs would find away back onto sport’s biggest stage… but the reality is that it was a down season for the side. They never really properly clicked on offence and had to qualify the hard way; in Buffalo and then Baltimore. The Ravens were the AFC’s #1 seed, but fell short at the final hurdle, in a game where Mahomes and receiving star Travis Kelce found their mojo and put together something close to a perfect performance.
On the NFC side of things, the 49ers were the #1 seed, but can consider themselves very lucky to still be in the hunt for the Lombardi Trophy. San Fran did it the hard way, coming from behind, against both Green Bay and then Detroit — both franchises will replay moments over and over again and wonder how they came up short in Santa Clara.
The moment the 49ers clinched their spot in the SB is epic! pic.twitter.com/kVlcXJJtsy
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) January 29, 2024
How can I impress my mates during the game?
As mentioned, this will be Mahomes’ fourth Super Bowl. He has already beaten the 49ers in one, back in 2020, and also won last year’s against Philly. The other one was Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay getting it done in 2021, in what ended up being a blowout.
So here’s a fun fact: Tom Brady is the only quarterback to beat Patrick Mahomes in a Super Bowl
As far as San Fran goes, the fact that Brock Purdy was literally the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft is kind of wild. Teams aren’t supposed to find franchise quarterbacks that late; pick 262nd overall. But that’s how this 49ers team managed to strike gold, considering they’re sneaky good at wasting Draft picks a lot of the time.
You can also say with some confidence that 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is the best play-caller in the NFL and an offensive mastermind. The way he uses running back Christian McCaffrey is pure genius — whether it’s getting the ball in his hands, or in ways that create more space in the passing game for receivers Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and Tight End George Kittle.
When will the Super Bowl ads be released?
It’s not just about the football with the Super Bowl of course.
The commercials are another fun element of the off-field part of the spectacle, with companies tipping insane resources into ensuring their ad stands out on the coverage that is expected to yield around 100 million viewers (it was 99.18 for last year’s game).
Commercials will air during the coverage, but in today’s age they’re normally ‘leaked’ or thrown around social media before the big day.
Where to watch the Super Bowl in Australia
Stay tuned for a more comprehensive break down of the best venues in each of Australia’s major cities.
But before then, consider checking out some of our Best Sports Bar stories, which contain plenty of strong suggestions — most of which you can guarantee will be showing the big game:
