Every year, the Super Bowl is one of the most viewed and attended sporting events. Sunday, February 8th, marked the 60th Super Bowl, held at Levi Stadium with the Seattle Seahawks playing the New England Patriots. The 2026 viewing statistics reveal that Super Bowl LX reached 137.8 million viewers worldwide during the second quarter, surpassing the previous record for the most-watched televised event in the United States.
The Super Bowl is the annual league championship game of the National Football League in the U.S. This year, the Seattle Seahawks played in their fourth Super Bowl against the New England Patriots. According to a Maroon Instagram poll, 12% of respondents said they most enjoyed watching this portion of the event. For an event based on football, SHS students don’t exactly seem to prefer watching the game.
The halftime show is known to attract millions of viewers for the 13-minute segment alone, filled with high-budget performances and celebrity guest cameos. 58% of form participants said that their favorite part of viewing the Super Bowl is watching the halftime show, which, since Michael Jackson’s 1993 performance, has been a high-profile pop culture event. 2026’s headliner was Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican rap artist who recently took home 3 Grammy Awards. This wasn’t his first time showing up at this event; he appeared during Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s Super Bowl LIV halftime show as well. Keeping the tradition of bringing other artists on stage, Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin joined Bad Bunny during his performance. Another highlight of this show was the “bush people,” who were paid to dress as grass to be a part of the stage set.
Although commercial breaks are typically disliked, another popular pastime is ranking or judging advertisements. Staying true to the previous years’ trends, this year’s commercials featured celebrities such as Chris Hemsworth and Sabrina Carpenter; there were also pop culture references to Kendall Jenner’s dating history and movies like Good Will Hunting. 25% of Instagram form respondents enjoyed the commercial breaks and food the most when viewing the Super Bowl. Just like many other events, Super Bowl parties typically come with staple American foods, like buffalo chicken wings and pizza. Fries, chips, and other fried foods are also popular. In fact, digital grocery sales on the Saturday before the Super Bowl during 2025 were 25% higher than the average Saturday in January. With billions of wings and hamburgers ordered, it is no wonder that the Monday after is jokingly referred to as Super Sick Monday, aptly named after the stomach pain caused by overconsumption of classic Super Bowl food.
It’s no surprise that this Super Bowl had an estimated amount of $1.39 billion in bets. Since the very first game in 1967, betting has been gaining more and more traction. In fact, the amount of money bet in the Super Bowl is second only to that of the World Cup. Popular bets to place include the winning team, the winning point difference, and the players scoring touchdowns or receiving yards. A small reminder to the 4% of form participants betting to do so responsibly, and not to be like Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, who bet $2 million on the Patriots winning, only for the Seahawks to be the 2026 champions.
Overall, the 2026 Super Bowl will be one to remember, if not for the game or halftime show, then for its other highlights. Super Bowl Sunday has become a celebration and tradition for many SHS students and will certainly grow more and more popular.
