10 surprising facts about super bowl 2017

It’s that time of the year again: the Super Bowl is inching closer and closer. On February 5, 2017, the 51^st Super Bowl, Super Bowl LI, will be played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The game will be held between the team that is the champion of the National Football Conference (NFC) and the champion of the American Football Conference (AFC).

The Super Bowl is one of the most popular sporting events in the world. This annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL) draws in huge crowds both at the stadium and in terms of viewership as well.

Here are a few surprising facts about the Super Bowl that you may not have been aware of.

1. Lady Gaga is Headlining the Half-Time Show

In September, it was announced that Lady Gaga would return to the Super Bowl, but this time as the host of the half-time show.

Next year’s half time show will be sponsored by Pepsi and is called The Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl LI Halftime Show. The Super Bowl half time show is one of the most watched musical events of the year; last year, more than 116.5 million viewers tuned in.

2. This is the Third Time Houston Has Hosted

In 2017, the Super Bowl will be played in the Lone Star State. This will be the third time that Houston, Texas, has hosted the Super Bowl. The first time was in 1974 with Super Bowl VIII and the second time was in 2004 with Super Bowl XXXVIII.

3. Commercial Prices are Sky-Rocketing

In addition to all of the sporting and musical excitement that the Super Bowl has to offer, audiences also look forward to watching the commercials. Historically, Super Bowl commercials have been examples of some of the finest works in advertising. Getting a 30 second slot is known to be extremely expensive. This year, that figure is expected to hit an all time high.

Fox Sports is seeking to charge more than $5 million for a 30 second commercial during the broadcast of the upcoming Super Bowl.  While some ads in the past may have cost this much, it was never the case that all ads would be charged this much. The commercials which are longer than 30 seconds will also cost substantially more.

4. CBS, FOX, and NBC have signed on for NFL television agreements

The Super Bowl is the most watched sporting event in the world. It therefore comes as no surprise that a number of big networks fight tooth and nail for the chance to broadcast the event. A recent deal has been struck up between the National Football League and FOX, NBC, and CBS for the airing of NFL games.

These packages essentially make NFL games free to watch on regular over-the-air television. The networks have signed nine year extensions of their Sunday broadcast packages which will last till the 2022 season. Part of the deal states that each of the three networks will get to televise three Super Bowls during this period:

• NBC will televise the event in 2015, 2018, and 2021
• CBS will televise the event in 2016, 2019, and 2022
• FOX will televise the event in 2017, 2020, and 2023

5. Viewership is Increasing Yearly

Viewership for the Super Bowl consistently shatters records. According to statistics from Nielson, Super Bowl 50 drew in a whopping 111.9 million viewers. It is estimated that on Super Bowl Sunday, more than 72% of homes in the U.S. are tuned into the Super Bowl telecast.

These figures are expected to rise even further in 2017.

6. Super Bowl LIVE is promising to deliver!

The Super Bowl isn’t just one large sporting event; it has a lot more to offer. Part of the Super Bowl festivities is a giant fan festival known as Super Bowl LIVE. The festival will run from January 28 to February 5 in the Discovery Green area of Downtown Houston.

Super Bowl LIVE is a free event which features entertainment, food, attractions, music, and so much more! That means that even fans that don’t have a ticket to the actual game can join in on the festivities. It is estimated that over one million people will attend this festival.

One of the biggest attractions which will be at the festival is Future Flight. This ride features a 90 foot drop from above Discovery Green and gives riders a 360-degree view of the Red Planet, Mars. This virtual reality ride has been created in partnership with NASA.

7. 10,000 Volunteers are needed for the Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is a massive event and therefore requires a large number of volunteers. During the 10 days leading up to the event, over 10,000 volunteers will be needed. Recruitments for volunteers for Super Bowl LI began in August 2016. Over 15,000 people were interviewed in order to create the team of 10,000 volunteers which will be assisting in all of the Super Bowl activities.

8. A Huge Plus for Charities in Houston!

The city which ends up hosting the Super Bowl benefits in many ways. One of the huge advantages of the Super Bowl is how much is given to local charities during this time.

Touchdown Houston is the name of the Host Committee’s charitable giving program. This program will be donating $4 million to Houston region non-profit organizations.

There are three principal areas of focus for charitable giving. These include:

• Health and wellness
• Education
• Community enhancement

9. The Super Bowl Mascot is TD!

The mascot for Super Bowl LI is TD! TD will be wearing a football jersey with the number ’51’ on it to represent the 51^st Super Bowl.

Leading up to the game, fans can expect to find TD at all of the major Houston Super Bowl Host Committee’s events. If you don’t see him there, you can always catch him at the game.

10. Expect another Kia commercial!

Although the Super Bowl is still a few months away, we already know one company that will definitely be advertising at Super Bowl LI: Kia!

Last year, Kia had a commercial which featured Christopher Walken promoting the 2016 Optima. In the hilarious ad, Walken tried to explain the car using a pair of socks.

Kia has already confirmed that they will be advertising at the Super Bowl in 2017. Let’s see how they can top last year’s commercial.