Super Bowl LIX: more than a game – a global stage for sports, politics and celebrities

Emeritus Professor David Rowe, from Western Sydney University’s Institute for Culture and Society, weighs in on everything from the game itself, Trump’s attendance, the Aussie who’s after the title and of course, Taylor Swift, ahead of Monday’s Super Bowl.

"The annual Super Bowl is, for many people in the world, the only game of American football they ever watch. The 60 million+ media audience outside the USA is mostly attracted by the half-time entertainment and even the lavish advertisements rather than the actual sport on offer, which is full of arcane rules and frequent stoppages in the action. Over a 4-hour+ broadcast and a 3-hour game, the ball will actually be in play for less than 20 minutes."

"There will be plenty of American politics packed into the show, with the usual rampant patriotism and militarism, and at this year’s event in New Orleans a sitting President will be in attendance for the first time. Donald Trump has history with the NFL, includingdemanding that players who visibly supported Black Lives Matter should be fired.

"During his candidacy last year, Trump courted NFL team owners and made a big play for the anti-trans male football vote with the advertising tagline “Kamala is for they/them; President Trump is for you.

"For people watching from Australia, Super Bowl LIX has the added interest of Sydney-born Jordan Mailata playing for the Philadelphia Eagles and, for the country’s Swifties, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce will be watched in the stadium by his partner Taylor Swift.

"In 2024, this century’s David and Victoria Beckham dream sport-pop music couple were the subject of a bizarre conspiracy theory that the match would be fixed so that the Chiefs would win, followed by Kelce proposing to Swift on the field of play, who would respond by saying ‘yes’ and endorsing Kamala Harris for President.

"There has been little speculation about such drama unfolding at this year’s Super Bowl, but Melbournians will get a taste of the spectacle to come in 2026 when the Los Angeles Rams play at the MCG."

ENDS

7 February 2025

Lauren Coskerie, Senior Media Officer

Photo credit: Dave Adamson via Unsplash

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