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What It’s Like in Raymond James StadiumBenjamin Hoffman/The New York TimesMy first Super Bowl was at Raymond James Stadium in 2009 and I’ve attended 11 of the 12 Super Bowls since. This year’s is obviously quite a bit different.Here’s a look at the scene inside the stadium → More
AdvertisementContinue reading the main storyHow Tom Brady and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Beat the Chiefs to Win the Super BowlTouchdown! Tampa Bay comes right back with Fournette’s 27-yard touchdown run.Feb. 7, 2021, 9:01 p.m. ETFeb. 7, 2021, 9:01 p.m. ETCredit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesWell that was fast. The Bucs answer the field goal by going 74 yards in six plays — one of them a devastatingly easy Brady-to-Gronkowski completion right down the middle — and Leonard Fournette finishes it off with a 27-yard touchdown jaunt around right end.Touchdown.Just. Like. That.PLAYOFF. LENNY. 🔥 @_fournette @Buccaneers 📺 #SBLV on CBS(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/1ZQRGdJYTF— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) February 8, 2021
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#masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Super Bowl 2021liveGame UpdatesThe CommercialsHalftime ShowTom Brady Endures at 43Fans Still Traveled for the GameAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyThe Weeknd Emerges From the Shadows at the Super Bowl Halftime ShowThe singer’s spectacle featured a hall of mirrors and bandaged dancers as he performed before a cityscape carved into the stadium’s stands.The Weeknd performed a career-spanning set at the Super Bowl halftime show, but was mostly confined to the stands.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesFeb. 7, 2021, 8:57 p.m. ETWhen the Weeknd put out his first mixtape “House of Balloons” in 2011, his identity was largely shrouded in mystery. On Sunday, he took one of the biggest stages in pop, the halftime of Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.The Weeknd (a.k.a. the 30-year-old Toronto singer and songwriter Abel Tesfaye) began his set in the stands, emerging in front of rows of lights to perform “Starboy” and “The Hills” with a choir, then he relocated into a hallway of lights and mirrors for “Can’t Feel My Face” as dancers with bandaged faces swarmed him. With fireworks lighting up the sky, he returned to the open air for “I Feel It Coming,” a large moon rising over the cityscape projected behind him.While a musician in a glittery mask strummed a guitar, the Weeknd turned toward the more optimistic “Save Your Tears” and “Earned It,” accompanied by strings and ending on a long, triumphant note. An army of performers outfitted like the Weeknd dance-marched down the field and the singer energetically sprinted beside them to herald his grand finale: his recent hit “Blinding Lights,” an ecstatic, driving disco-pop song.The Weeknd took the field only for the finale, “Blinding Lights.”Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesThe Weeknd has released four albums since 2013, including his breakthrough, “Beauty Behind the Madness” in 2015. While promoting his latest LP, “After Hours,” he has dressed in a black shirt and red jacket and sported an increasingly banged-up and bandaged face while spinning a narrative in appearances at the MTV Video Music Awards and the American Music Awards, as well as late-night shows and in music videos. (He has said the character he’s portraying “is having a really bad night,” and in music videos the plot involves possibly being overtaken by an evil spirit and committing murder.)“After Hours,” which was released in March after the pandemic lockdown paused live touring, opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with the equivalent of 440,000 sales in the United States. After the demonstrations sparked by the killing of George Floyd, the Weeknd donated $500,000 to nonprofit organizations focused on racial equality and used his acceptance speeches at the V.M.A.s to say “justice for Jacob Blake and justice for Breonna Taylor.” But in what is seen a major snub, the Weeknd received no nominations for the Grammy Awards, which were to take place on Jan. 31, a week before the Super Bowl; the awards were later moved back to March 14 as Covid-19 raged in Los Angeles, where the ceremony will be held.When the nominations were announced in November, the Weeknd spoke out on social media, writing, “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency …” Harvey Mason Jr., the chairman and interim chief executive of the Recording Academy, denied that the Weeknd’s lack of nominations was retaliation for performing at the Super Bowl, as some suggested in theories online.The Weeknd’s halftime show faced a unique set of challenges because of the pandemic. About 1,050 people worked on the show, a much smaller group than most years, and preparations included frequent Covid-19 testing and social distancing in production trailers. This is the second Super Bowl halftime show produced in part by Jay-Z and Roc Nation: Last year, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira performed sets heavy on dancing and Latin pride for fans jammed elbow to elbow on the field — a scenario that was impossible in 2021.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More
AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySuper Bowl Live Updates: Bucs Closing in on ChampionshipThree quick points to start the second half: The Chiefs kick a field goal and it’s 21-9.Feb. 7, 2021, 8:54 p.m. ETFeb. 7, 2021, 8:54 p.m. ETJust as fast as the offense raced upfield, the Chiefs’ drive stalls out. Butker, though, is there again: He kicks a 52-yard field goal, his third of the game. Is 3 points enough to get the Chiefs’ swagger back? It may depend on whether their defense can get a stop or two here. AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More
AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySuper Bowl Live Updates: Bucs Closing in on ChampionshipThe Chiefs settle for a field goal with a minute to go before halftime.Feb. 7, 2021, 8:03 p.m. ETFeb. 7, 2021, 8:03 p.m. ETTwo field goals by Harrison Butker, of 49 and 34 yards, account for all of Kansas City’s scoring.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesThose three plays out of the two-minute warning will disappoint Mahomes, Andy Reid and Chiefs fans everywhere. But they salvage something with a 34-yard field goal by Butker, his second of the game.Of course, they’ve also left Brady a minute to do more damage.Shaquil Barrett’s pressure forces the Chiefs to have to settle for three points.#58 Barrett burst off the line of scrimmage in 0.61 seconds on his way to Mahomes (i.e. pass rush get-off time).#SBLV | #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/VI201Z8BTB— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) February 8, 2021
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AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySuper Bowl Live Updates: Bucs Closing in on ChampionshipTwo halftime views: one inside the stadium, one watching on TV.Feb. 7, 2021, 8:39 p.m. ETFeb. 7, 2021, 8:39 p.m. ETKevin Draper and The Weeknd performing in the halftime show.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesAs always, the halftime view looked different depending on your seat:Kevin Draper, watching on TV: The Weeknd promised a different take on the halftime performance, and he delivered. With enforced social distancing and complicated logistics, he performed from the stands, not in the headliner’s normal spot on the field, on a stage that was not surrounded by hundreds of dancing fans the way it usually is.He opened with “Starboy” on a stage in front of a neon mock city skyline set, accompanied by dozens in a choir, before the set parted and he entered a brightly lit gold hallway surrounded by masked look-alikes. He performed the entirety of “Starboy” before making his way onto the field to sing his mega-hit “Blinding Lights,” accompanied once again by the hundreds of masked look-alikes — all of them wearing sparkly red jackets and black pants and carefully socially distanced for much of the song — as a barrage of fireworks went off.A view of the stadium during the show.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesBen Hoffman, inside Raymond James Stadium: The most striking thing about the performance inside the stadium was how few moving pieces there were. A typical halftime show involves the entire field’s being taken over by stages and fans. The Weeknd simply walked out onto a prebuilt stage in the end zone (only feet away from the stadium’s iconic pirate ship) and began singing. With the performance so confined — and with so much of the crowd on the opposite side of the stadium — most of it didn’t feel much different than if it had been played on a video screen. The crowd swayed around a little, but nothing like in past years where fans of the main performers were brought out specifically for the show. The upside, of course, is the relative lack of cleanup. Even with some dancers — dressed up like the Weeknd’s heavily-bandaged character — taking the field toward the end of the show, the field stayed pristine and was ready to go almost as soon as the performance ended.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More
AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySuper Bowl Live Updates: Bucs Closing in on ChampionshipThe Bucs trade a field goal for a touchdown. It’s Gronkowski again.Feb. 7, 2021, 7:48 p.m. ETFeb. 7, 2021, 7:48 p.m. ETRob Gronkowski celebrates touchdown No. 2. Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesMoments after a Ryan Succop field goal was taken off the board when a Chiefs penalty gave the Bucs a first down, Brady steps back and finds Gronkowski again. It’s 14-3 as we close in on halftime.The Chiefs may be the defending Super Bowl champions but in the first half, in multiple ways, they have played like a fidgety team cowed by the weight of a Super Bowl appearance. The Buccaneers do not score their second touchdown without three Chiefs blunders. It began with a 29-yard punt by Kansas City’s rookie punter Tommy Townsend, who earlier had a 27-yard punt.Townsend’s kick gave Tampa Bay possession at the Kansas City 38. The drive was extended twice by Chiefs errors: First, an interception of a deflected Brady pass was nullified by a defensive holding penalty, and then Kansas City lined up offside on the Succop field-goal attempt. That mistake gave the Buccaneers a first down and on the next play, Brady connected with Gronkowski for his second touchdown reception.Twice as nice 😁📺: #SBLV on CBS pic.twitter.com/ud3uCHFfht— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) February 8, 2021
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AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySuper Bowl Live Updates: Bucs Closing in on ChampionshipBrady turns a couple more Chiefs mistakes into another touchdown.Feb. 7, 2021, 8:13 p.m. ETFeb. 7, 2021, 8:13 p.m. ETLeaving Brady a minute was, in hindsight, a big mistake.But the Chiefs made a few of their own, too: They called timeout before a third-down play to try to force a punt but didn’t make a stop on the ensuing play, then got whistled for a 34-yard pass-interference penalty. A Leonard Fournette run and another penalty put the ball on the 1-yard line with 10 seconds left.And from there, Brady dropped back and rocketed a pass to Brown. Touchdown. It’s 21-6 now, and that Chiefs momentum they just had is gone.BOOMIN 🤙📺: #SBLV on CBS pic.twitter.com/ytAgUhB7Lh— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) February 8, 2021
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