Super Bowl LIV pregame show keeps the ball moving
One of the greatest of all time ... and Alex Rodriguez, at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Jan. 19, 2020. Jennifer Lopez will perform at the Super Bowl halftime with Shakira and her main man was also at the game on Sunday in Miami. Credit: Matt Sayles/Invision/AP/Matt Sayles
Super Bowl pregame shows exist mostly to fill four idle hours and pick up a few extra advertising and sponsorship bucks before the big game begins, and Fox successfully completed those tasks on Sunday afternoon.
Networks long ago gave up on trying to do anything radical with these programs, and that’s OK. They mostly are background noise for partygoers.
Fox smartly kept things moving early, with brief, light segments on everything from Alex Rodriguez playing catch with Dan Marino — while each wore the other’s No. 13 jersey — to analyst Jimmy Johnson’s love of South Florida.
“It takes an act of Congress to get me out of the Keys, or a big paycheck, one of the two,” he said.
One early highlight was Patriots coach Bill Belichick being shown at retired tight end Rob Gronkowski’s Saturday night beach party. Belichick wore white shorts and flip-flops.
“I think he’s trying to recruit me for next season,” Gronkowski said.
Fox’s regular pregame crew began on an expansive set on South Beach before moving later to a set outside Hard Rock Stadium, where excited fans yelled on cue and made it as difficult as possible to hear the Fox analysts.
Former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan said the Giants “were overwhelmed by the moment” when they were blown out by the Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV.
For Super Bowl XLII, he said they were more relaxed and that helped them upset the Patriots. Speaking of which, David Tyree’s pivotal late catch in that game was named No. 2 on the NFL’s list of top 100 moments in its first 100 seasons.
No. 1? Franco Harris’ “Immaculate Reception” for the Steelers in the 1972 playoffs. Harris and quarterback / Fox analyst Terry Bradshaw re-created the play on the Fox set.
Fox used actors who have associations with the network to host some segments, including Miyam Bialik with one on the late Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt suggesting the name for the Super Bowl in the mid-1960s.
Fox News’ Sean Hannity’s recorded interview with Donald Trump aired at around 3:35 p.m.
Strahan interviewed halftime performers Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, and Lopez spoke of growing up in the Bronx watching Jets games every Sunday.
“You know, we haven’t won since I was born,” said Lopez, who was born six months after Super Bowl III.
Said Strahan: “You know I didn’t play for the Jets, right? I just want you to know.”
Said J-Lo, “I know that, baby.”
Fox then showed Lopez embracing Rodriguez, her fiance, upon arriving at the stadium and entering her trailer.
Richard Sherman of the Niners paid tribute to Kobe Bryant with an essay called “Dear Football,” inspired by Bryant’s “Dear Basketball.”
Per Super Bowl pregame tradition, as kickoff neared, the talk got more football-oriented, with pieces on the San Francisco defense and Chiefs defensive back Tyrann Mathieu.
Coaches and quarterbacks traditionally get their sitdowns in the final hour, and so it was for Kyle Shanahan, Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and Jimmy Garoppolo.
The honor of the last interview went to Mahomes, last season’s NFL MVP, who talked to Erin Andrews. Johnson said Mahomes might be the most talented quarterback he ever has seen.
Comedian Rob Riggle, who was born three months after the Chiefs won Super Bowl IV and grew up near Kansas City, picked the Chiefs to win the big game.
Fox closed its pregame with a tribute to the United States and the American flag that featured matriarchs of four famous football families.
In case Fox’s pregame show was not enough for fans, the NFL Network had an 8 ½-hour version and ESPN did its customary four hours.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
