The Super Bowl is undoubtedly one of the biggest sporting events of the year, with tens of thousands of fans flocking to the host city and tens of millions more watching from home.
The game is a culmination of the NFL season, pitting the champions of the league’s two conferences against each other to find out which team is the best.
This year’s Super Bowl will take place on February 13 at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California. It’s the first time the championship game has been held at this new, state-of-the-art venue, which serves as the home ground of the Chargers and the Rams.
Unfortunately, only a few thousand lucky fans are able to attend the game at the stadium – most tickets are allocated to NFL teams for players and staff, as well as corporate partners and sponsors.
That being said, there is so much more than just the game itself when it comes to the Super Bowl. It’s effectively turned into a week-long event with various activities taking place in the area of the stadium.
This is why the Super Bowl attracts so many travelers every year, far more than could fit in the stadium. Fans can revel in the atmosphere with one another for days on end, or just fly into town for the weekend. Either way, they’re likely to get an unforgettable experience.
The NFL has developed its own theme park called the NFL Experience, which features autograph sessions with current and former players, attractions, activities for kids and more.
The organization also tends to hold some sort of festival throughout the week leading up to the match, with live music, bars, food and even fireworks.
There is also the NFL tailgate party, which is now an annual tradition, held in the host stadium’s parking lot in the hours leading up to the game. There are always dozens of food vendors, tailgating service providers like Tailgater Concierge, and even live performances.
The Super Bowl betting market is an enormous one and also plays a large part in the pre-game hype. Fans can place bets online and in land-based casinos to add an extra layer of excitement to the game.
The Super Bowl game itself runs for roughly an hour and a half. A standard NFL game consists of four 15-minute long quarters, with a halftime break in between the first and second two.
Usually, this intermission lasts for 12 minutes but at the Super Bowl it usually stretches to 30 minutes, sometimes more. This is because the Super Bowl halftime show is an important event in and of itself.
World-renowned music artists perform during the show, with the likes of Beyonce, The Weeknd and Lady Gaga performing in recent years. Advertisements during the television broadcast of the halftime show are also important, with many brands and studios opting to launch new marketing campaigns in this coveted slot.
If you’re fortunate enough to have a ticket to attend the Super Bowl, it’s always best to aim to arrive early. Traffic around the stadium will be heavy and there’ll also be a lot of crowds, so you’ll want to allow yourself plenty of time to make it inside and find your seats.
Plus, arriving early could also give you time to soak up more of the atmosphere and enjoy some of the matchday events. In the stadium itself, there’ll be plenty of places to grab food and drink, all of which are easily accessible.
For those who don’t have a ticket but will still travel down to wherever the Super Bowl is happening, there is always plenty going on. There are all of the activities listed above, but the game itself will also be broadcast live in almost every restaurant and bar in town, plus there are sometimes public screenings set up.
Tickets for the game can be expensive, and the costs will only add up if you’re traveling from out of town. So, it can be worth looking into package deals that include tickets to the game, travel and accommodation.
There are various travel companies that offer such Super Bowl packages, but if you’re a fan of a particular team then you might also find package deals on their official website. Some teams organize for fans to travel from their hometown to the location of the Super Bowl, along with tickets.
These packages typically come in a range of options – some are luxury for those with a bit more to spend, while there are also very reasonable prices.
Whether you’re traveling to the Super Bowl with tickets to attend the game or just visiting town to get involved in the festival feel of the whole week, there are plenty of ways to make the most of your time and have the best experience possible.
