Either the Kansas City Chiefs or San Francisco 49ers are now only hours away from hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
After weeks of predictions and analysis—plus speculation on Taylor Swift's travel schedule—Super Bowl Sunday has arrived. Four years after the Chiefs defeated the 49ers on the sport's biggest stage, the rematch is about to go down, and there are storylines aplenty. Patrick Mahomes and company are going for their third Lombardi in five seasons, Brock Purdy can cement his "Mr. Irrelevant" rise with a ring, Kyle Shanahan and Christian McCaffrey may follow in the footsteps of their fathers, and the list goes on. Just be sure not to miss out.
Here are the essentials about Super Bowl LVIII as kickoff approaches.
When Does the Super Bowl Start?
Super Bowl LVIII is scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. ET inside Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. This is the first Super Bowl ever set in the city.
Super Bowl LVIII Streaming Options, TV Channel
Football fans not in attendance for Sunday's game have a few options for how they can watch at home. The main broadcast will air on CBS, with Jim Nantz (play-by-play) and Tony Romo (analyst) on the call. And for the first time, Nickelodeon will also be airing the big game. Noah Eagle and Nate Burleson will receive some assistance in the booth from Spongebob and friends.
As far as streaming, Paramount+ will air the Chiefs-49ers showdown, as will services including YouTube TV and Fubo TV.
Who Is Singing the National Anthem?
Country music star Reba McEntire will sing the National Anthem ahead of this year's Super Bowl. Joining McEntire in the pregame musical festivities will be Post Malone, who will perform "America the Beautiful," and Andra Day who is set to perform "Lift Every Voice and Sing."
Super Bowl Halftime Performer
Usher will hit the Super Bowl halftime show stage when the first two quarters of play wrap up on Sunday. The headliner will perform for a whopping 15 minutes, and is expected to be joined by some surprise guests that could have fans shouting, "Yeah!"
Chiefs, 49ers Super Bowl LVIII Uniforms
Just like when these two teams played four years ago, the Chiefs are considered the home team (the AFC and NFC swap home/away designations each year) in Super Bowl LVIII. That means, once again, the Chiefs will be taking the field in red jerseys and white pants, while the 49ers will don their white tops and gold bottoms.
Kansas City is 6-4 this season in that uniform combination, according to ESPN, and San Francisco is 4-1. And for some extra fashion analytics, the Chiefs are one of only three teams to win a Super Bowl since 2004 while wearing their team colored jersey, per ESPN stats and info.
Who Is Officiating the Super Bowl?
Bill Vinovich will lead the officiating crew on Sunday, marking the third time that he has served as referee for a Super Bowl. That includes, yes, the first Chiefs-49ers showdown. As opposed to the regular season—when crew stick together week-to-week—the National Football League (NFL) assembles an All-Star team of sorts for the Super Bowl.
Here's the list of officials joining Vinovich on the field.
- Umpire: Terry Killens
- Down judge: Patrick Holt
- Line judge: Mark Perlman
- Field judge: Tom Hill
- Side judge: Allen Baynes
- Back judge: Brad Freeman
- Replay official: Mike Chase
Killens, the former Tennessee Titans linebacker, is about to become the first person ever to both play in and officiate a Super Bowl.
Super Bowl LVIII Betting Odds
Only hours before kickoff, San Francisco has maintained its position as Super Bowl LVIII's betting favorite. The NFC's top seed has a 1.5-point edge over the defending-champion Chiefs at DraftKings Sportsbook as of Sunday afternoon. DraftKings lists the over/under at 47.5 points, and of course—as an annual tradition—there are a variety of prop bets available at several sportsbooks.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Robert Read is a Sports Reporter at Newsweek based in Florida. He previously spent four years working at The Daily ... Read more
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