They’re going to have Super Bowl Live at Bayfront Park in Miami. However that’s not to be confused with the Super Bowl Experience, which is going to be at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Then there’s Taste of the NFL, which is here in Fort Lauderdale at the Broward Convention Center.
Gronk is having a party, as is Shaq. (If you require further explanation as to who those people are, it’s probably safe to assume you are not in the target demographic for Gronk Beach or Shaq’s Fun House.) If the press releases I get are any indication, every South Florida sports bar you’ve ever heard of is also having some sort of event. Roughly 80 percent of them involve great deals on chicken wings. Granted, nothing this year is going to beat the press release I got last year that offered a reminder of how some things slip through the spellcheck; it promised me fun times at a massive “Super Bowel party.” (“That’s not a party,” noted one friend. “That’s a movement.”) But still, if you like pageantry, glitz and reasonably priced chicken, the end of January and beginning of February are for you.
Somewhere within all that there will also be a football game. Depending on when exactly you’re reading this, you might already know who’s playing in it, which team is favored, whether or not we’re going to have to deal with another onslaught of insufferable New Englanders this year, etc. The Super Bowl is back in town.
In writing a story about the big day and the other big days that surround it, I looked up some info about past Super Bowls. (We’re pros at this, having hosted a record 11.) Super Bowl LIV will feature several hours of pre-game entertainment and a halftime show by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira; Super Bowls III and V featured halftime entertainment from the Florida A&M Marching 100. Not that I’m complaining about the Marching 100, mind you. I think another Miami Super Bowl, XLI, did it best when they got Prince and the Marching 100 to perform together. Best halftime show ever, even if it was played in monsoon conditions. (The Colts beat the Bears in the game, in case anybody’s more interested in that for some reason.)
Of course, weather conditions inside the stadium won’t matter to most of us, as we won’t be anywhere near the place. But that’s not to say South Floridians won’t be involved. Our story details some of the ways the NFL has gotten better over the years at involving local businesses instead of just bringing in all their own people from New York or L.A. And of course for us members of the public who can’t get into the game, there are days of events leading up to it. Whether you’re hanging out with Gronk, partying with Shaq, being Live or having an Experience, there’ll be something for everyone during Super Bowl week. Just remember my two simple rules for Super Bowl fun: you can’t eat as many chicken wings as you think you can, and there’s no “e” in “Bowl.”