American football is a sport loved by many, with over 32 teams across the nation representing one or more states. In 2024, the National Football League will team up with Nickelodeon to create the first-ever Super Bowl to air on an alternate network, featuring cartoon characters such as their hyperactive sea creature who lives in a pineapple under the sea.
For fifty-eight years, the world gathered in front of their television to watch two teams from different conferences face off. While it’s still unclear which teams will be facing against each other, the NFL has partnered with CBS Sports and Nickelodeon to broadcast the first-ever simulcast of the Super Bowl since the very first. Nickelodeon will also air a game on Christmas when the Las Vegas Raiders play against the Kansas City Chiefs, but it’s still surprising to me and many others that the NFL would even consider doing a cartoon-themed airing of the Super Bowl.
The NFL has done telecasts through Nickelodeon before, where Nickelodeon usually just adds cartoonish and obnoxious visuals. However, these technicolor graphics are a really smart marketing scheme. Minor details like animated green slime popping up on the screen when a team scores a touchdown or comparing the rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys to that of Plankton and Mr. Krabs make it more engaging for the younger audience. While these images come off as overstimulating and flat-out annoying, they come off as a big hit for small children, who find it entertaining.
Six-year-old and Santa Rosa Academy kindergartener Jameston Focht says the following, “ I want to watch this because football used to be boring, but now it’s not.”
This upcoming Super Bowl is also the first one to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will be played on February 11th, 2024, and be hosted in Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. The Nickelodeon variant of the Super Bowl broadcast will also air in parts of Europe such as New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom on a delayed schedule. Earlier in September it was also announced that Usher would be performing during the halftime show. However, this may be disappointing to fans considering the internet trend where people urge for the David Glen Eisley song ‘Sweet Victory’ to be played at a halftime show. This is because the song made a debut in season two, episode 15 of Spongebob Squarepants. It’s highly unlikely that Nickelodeon will make this happen, but fans can only continue to hope.
Whether this broadcast is a hit or not, Nickelodeon and the National Football League will continue to collaborate in the future.
