What comes with the most expensive seats in the house at Super Bowl LVIII? Photo / AP
What comes with the most expensive seats in the house at Super Bowl LVIII? Photo / AP
Despite the name, the Super Bowl is American football’s most hyped event — though you’d be forgiven for thinking it was the world cup of sports catering.
It’s not just pop stars like Taylor Swift threatening to upstage players when the Kansas City Chiefs take on San Francisco’s 49ers.
It’s a day about wagyu hot dogs and commemorative golden popcorn. Beyond the esoteric North American rugby football code, it’s also the biggest day in the US for television advertising — a 30-second ad spot midplay costs more than US$7 million ($11m) — and elaborate finger food.
The cheapest corporate catering packages at the Bowl LVIII will set sportsball lovers back between US$300,000 and US$2.5m for a top VIP suite.
It’s a carnival of consumerism. No wonder the event sounds like an oversized dinner service.
But what will your US$2.5m smackeroos afford you in the priciest buffet on the planet?
Sports journalist Like Sawhook was sceptical about spending his own money, but that didn’t stop him sharing the morsels on TikTok.
From bacon-wrapped hot dogs and burnt-end barbecue burritos to glazed doughnut sundaes with tiny edible footballs, it’s finger food that is anything but relaxed.
Other notable muncheons include lobster and steak nachos and wagyu beef Wiener hot dogs. With these jumped-up snag sandwiches is a side serving of halftime show.
Another important ingredient to the Super Bowl is a celebrity pop show to fill the bite-sized 15-minute interval between football. In previous years the job of the mini pop concert was to steal the thunder from the two squads of football players. Whether that be through the star power of Beyonce Knowles or Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson’s 2004 wardrobe malfunction.
This year R&B musician Usher will be hoping to bring back a bit of the early noughties halftime show drama.
However, the performance everyone is talking about is happening in the wings. Fresh from filling sports stadiums in Japan, Taylor Swift is widely expected to be jetting into Las Vegas to see her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, play No 87 for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Will Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce get engaged at Super Bowl LVIII? Photo / Julio Cortez
Sports bookies are taking odds on Taylor being there in the VIP suites, stealing the thunder of the assembled 106 football players.
Will Taylor Swift be mentioned during the match interviews? It’s (+520) a piece for a call-out by Kansas coach Andy Reid or the most valuable player (MVP), if they mention Taylor in their post-match interviews. Though it’s unlikely Kelce will be MVP (+1200).
Finally, Will Travis Kelce propose to Taylor Swift at the Bowl? Yes (+820)
There’s definitely only one pop star’s name on the lips of those attending Super Bowl 58. Sorry Usher.
