The Morning: Guide to the Super Bowl

We explain the teams, the halftime show, the prop bets and more.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story February 11, 2024 By The Morning Team Good morning. Today is the Super Bowl, and we've got a guide to the game. Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Doug Mills/The New York Times A national holiday Nothing brings together more Americans — not awards shows, not television series finales, not even presidential debates — than the Super Bowl. Will this year's game, between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, be the most watched ever? By one measure — the total number of people watching — it seems likely to be. Last year's game set the record, with 115 million viewers in the U.S., and it did not have Taylor Swift. Swift's expected presence at the game, to cheer on her boyfriend, the Chiefs' tight end Travis Kelce, has the potential to help it break the 1982 record for the highest proportion of Americans who watched: 49 percent. In the rest of today's newsletter, we'll tell you what you need to know about this year's Super Bowl; the teams, the strange bets, the halftime show and more. The teams Kansas City Chiefs: If you're someone who watches football only on Super Bowl Sunday, it may seem unremarkable that the Chiefs are playing today. They've reached the Super Bowl in four of the past five seasons. Yet this season was not a great one for the Chiefs. They lost six games, the most they have since Patrick Mahomes took over as starting quarterback. Their offense struggled with turnovers and dropped passes. Kelce's performances seemed to falter even as his celebrity grew; he failed to score a touchdown in the final six games of the regular season. Since the playoffs began, though, the team has looked more like the Chiefs of old. Kelce has scored three touchdowns in the past two games. And the defense has been excellent all season. San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers, on the other hand, were great during the regular season, but have looked beatable in the playoffs. The star of their offense is Christian McCaffrey, a running back who led the league in rushing yards and touchdowns, and who is also an option on passing plays. The team is full of such multiskilled players: George Kittle, a tight end who is also a great blocker; Deebo Samuel, whose ability to both catch and run led him to create a new name for his position, the "wide back." At the center of the operation is the quarterback, Brock Purdy. Less than two years ago, the 49ers drafted Purdy 262nd — making him the last pick in the last round, a distinction known in the N.F.L. by the nickname "Mr. Irrelevant." Now, after a season in which he was, by some metrics, the league's best quarterback, Purdy will be the first Mr. Irrelevant to lead his team at the Super Bowl. The setting Las Vegas is hosting its first Super Bowl today. The city has a fraught history with professional sports because of its association with gambling, and leagues have kept teams away to maintain their sports' appearance of integrity. That changed in 2018, when the Supreme Court cleared the way for legalized sports betting. Vegas officials, eager to boost tourism, lured professional baseball and football teams to the city. Hosting the Super Bowl is a crowning achievement. Not everyone is happy about the transformation, though. Officials provided $750 million in subsidies to help build Allegiant Stadium, where the Super Bowl will take place, even as the city's public schools have languished. "It just represents that we don't care," LaTasha Olsen, who works at a local elementary school, told my colleagues Ken Belson and Jenny Vrentas. The halftime show Usher, the headline act at halftime, is a showman made for the Super Bowl. He sings, he dances, he boasts a three-decade-long catalog that makes for recognizable medley fodder. But tonight's performance is more than a nostalgia trip. Usher has experienced a recent renaissance, prompted by a Las Vegas residency. (Last year, videos of him serenading celebrities, including Keke Palmer and Issa Rae, spread widely on social media.) Usher has framed his performance as a celebration of his career. It's also a moment in the spotlight for his genre: "This night was specifically curated in my mind to have R&B take the main stage," he told Vogue. The bets Industry experts expect this year's Super Bowl to be the largest sports betting day in American history, with more than 67 million people wagering on the event. The most traditional type of bet is predicting the victor, with the underdog — in this case, the Chiefs — spotted a few points. But a growing trend in recent years has been making so-called prop bets, which allow you to gamble on just about anything, including: Whether the game's shortest touchdown play will be under 1.5 yards. Whether it will take Reba McEntire under 90.5 seconds to sing the national anthem. Any number of Swift-related uncertainties: Will her lipstick be red? How long will it be before she appears onscreen? And which of her songs will the announcers refer to first? The favorite is "Bad Blood." The Athletic put together its own prop bets, which you can play along with here without risking your money. What to cook Editors from Cooking suggest three recipes, depending on where you'll be watching. If you're hosting a Super Bowl party: This turkey chili from Pierre Franey has over 15,000 ratings — and is ready in under an hour. If you need a dish to bring to a friend's party: Show up with charred scallion dip with lemon and herbs. If you're watching at home: Whip up a tray of baked Buffalo wings. They come out of the oven crisp and tender, as though they were deep fried. More Super Bowl coverage Bark Purdy, right, and Athena. Animal Planet The other big game: This year is the 20th outing of the "Puppy Bowl." A Times reporter went behind the scenes to learn how the Animal Planet show comes together. The Athletic asked N.F.L. coaches to predict who would win. They gave the edge to the Chiefs. The N.F.L. promised to compensate former players for medical problems stemming from concussions. But the settlement routinely fails to deliver money and care, a Washington Post investigation found. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT NEWS Politics Donald Trump Sean Rayford for The New York Times Donald Trump said that as president he told other NATO leaders that he would encourage Russia "to do whatever the hell they want" to countries that owed the alliance money. An emergency funding bill for Ukraine and Israel faces a critical vote in the Senate today. Both Trump and President Biden are over 75 — but voters seem more worried about Biden's age than Trump's. The two largest Black churches in Georgia are, for the first time, planning to combine their resources to mobilize voters. Israel-Hamas War Israeli airstrikes in Rafah and other parts of southern Gaza killed more than two dozen people. Benjamin Netanyahu has described the city as the enclave's last Hamas stronghold. Israel's plans to expand the ground invasion into Rafah, where millions are sheltering from fighting, has concerned aid groups and left Gazans questioning where else there is to go. "This is where I want to be": A couple returns to Kfar Azza, a kibbutz that was evacuated after more than 60 residents were murdered during the Oct. 7 attacks. The main U.N. agency in Gaza said it has long investigated accusations of infiltration by Hamas. Israel says the agency is too weak and needs to be replaced by a more neutral aid group. War in Ukraine A Russian attack on a fuel depot in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine caused homes to catch on fire, killing seven people from two families. Ukraine needs to relieve exhausted troops who have been fighting for nearly two years. But a potential expansion of the military draft has become a politically charged issue. International The party of the imprisoned former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan won the most seats in parliamentary elections, despite the military's attempts to suppress support. Hungary's president resigned amid a public outcry over her pardoning of a man implicated in a sex abuse scandal at a children's home. Brazil has a dengue emergency. Public health experts say the outbreak could signal a coming surge in cases across the Americas. Other Big Stories Peter Wang's gravesite in Florida.  Scott McIntyre for The New York Times Linda Zhang and Kong Feng Wang lost their son in the Parkland shooting. Language and cultural differences with other victims' parents meant they grieved in isolation. More migrants are entering the U.S. through the less fortified and more expansive Canadian border. A winter storm is forecast to move through the Northeast, with the heaviest snow expected in parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and southern New England. FROM OPINION Arts institutions should be treated as though they are public infrastructure, Laura Raicovich and Laura Hanna write. Biden should withdraw from the presidential race — but not right away, Ross Douthat writes. The Sunday question: Is Biden too old to be president? A special counsel report on Biden's handling of sensitive documents highlighted his poor memory. "That does not sound like someone capable of executing one of the world's most important jobs," USA Today's Ingrid Jacques writes. But Biden's old age also means a long, experienced political career. "Aging brains make more connections, perhaps because they have more history to work with," Bill McKibben writes for The Los Angeles Times. Discover more of the insight you value in The Morning. The Times is filled with information and inspiration every day. So gain unlimited access to everything we offer — and save with this introductory offer. MORNING READS Carnival in Rio de Janeiro.  A celebration through time: One man has collected thousands of film photos and negatives that reveals the history of Rio's carnival. Vows: They became good friends before she proposed becoming something more. He took three months to consider. Lives Lived: John Bruton was an Irish former prime minister who played a central role in ending decades of sectarian violence and securing peace in Northern Ireland. He died at 76. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT TALK | FROM THE TIMES MAGAZINE Jon Stewart Bobby Doherty for The New York Times By David Marchese Jon Stewart will return to "The Daily Show" as a once-a-week host, beginning on Monday. Ahead of that, I'm revisiting my 2020 interview with him, in which he examined the show's legacy. We used to have news and we had entertainment. Now those categories are totally intertwined. I don't think it's too far off base to suggest that, unintentionally or not, "The Daily Show" played a part in that transformation. What do you think about those changes and what they've wrought? The news didn't become "The Daily Show," because at its core, "The Daily Show" was a critique of the news and a critique of those systems. If they'd taken in what we were saying, they wouldn't be doing what they're doing now: creating urgency through conflict. The entire system functions that way now. We are two sides — in a country of 350 million people. That reminds me of the old George Carlin joke about how in America you have 23 kinds of bagels to choose from but only two political parties. Politically in this country, you have Coke or Pepsi. Every now and again, Dr Pepper comes along and everybody is like, "You ruined this for everyone else." Dr Pepper is Ralph Nader, let's say. When you were doing "The Daily Show," part of what made you unique was your last-sane-man-in-Crazytown quality. You would actually say that someone in power was telling a lie when the nightly newscasters wouldn't. Now they will say that. Is that a step in the right direction? The media's job is to deconstruct the manipulation, not to just call it a lie. It's about informing on how something works so that you understand the lie's purpose. The media shouldn't take the political system personally, or allow its own narcissism to rise to the narcissism of the politicians, or become offended that the politicians are lying — their job is to manipulate. Read more of the interview here. More from the magazine The untold story of Mark Meadows, Donald Trump's former chief of staff, and his role in the prosecutions that may determine the 2024 election. Read the full issue. BOOKS Joel Sheldon III Daniel Dorsa for The New York Times Since 1894: ​The longtime owner of Vroman's, a 130-​year-​old ​bookstore and community landmark in Pasadena, Calif.​, says he's ready to turn over the reins. Our editors' picks: "The Storm We Made," a sweeping novel exploring the fallout of a Malayan woman's decision to become a spy for Japanese forces in World War II, and eight other books. Times best sellers: A struggling stand-up comic tries to work out why the woman he loves stopped loving him in "Good Material," one of the new titles on the hardcover fiction list. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Watch a celebrity documentary that's worth your time. Try a Wirecutter-tested laundry detergent. Show your friends love with a Galentine's Day gift. THE WEEK AHEAD What to Watch For Finland's presidential runoffs are today. King Abdullah of Jordan visits the White House tomorrow. A Florida judge is holding a closed hearing on Trump's classified documents case tomorrow. Wednesday is Valentine's Day. Indonesia holds elections on Wednesday. NATO defense ministers meet in Brussels on Wednesday. On Thursday, a Georgia judge will hear Trump's argument that the prosecutor in his election interference case should be disqualified. A New York judge will decide on Thursday whether to dismiss the hush-money criminal case against Trump. Greek lawmakers will vote Thursday on a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. What to Cook This Week David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff. The microwave is not only useful for cooking vegetables. In this week's Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter, Emily Weinstein offers up a recently added recipe in which it could be used to poach a "buttery" salmon. Other new arrivals suggested by Emily includes chimichurri meatballs that could work as an appetizer or as part of a meal; and brussels sprouts bathed in a tart and sweet tamarind-maple glaze. NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangrams were archival, archrival and chivalric. Can you put eight historical events — including the moon landing, the Golden Gate Bridge and the 19th Amendment — in chronological order? Take this week's Flashback quiz. And here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Lauren Jackson, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for the Morning newsletter from The New York Times, or as part of your New York Times account. To stop receiving The Morning, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018