Overview

Super Bowl LIII is the fifty-third Super Bowl championship game of the National Football League. The game took place on February 3rd, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia's Mercedez-Benz Stadium between defending AFC champions the New England Patriots and the NFC champions the Los Angeles Rams. The Patriots won 13-3 in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl of all time. Maroon 5 performed the halftime show.

Background

Both teams were the #2 seeds in their respective conferences during the 2018 season, with the Patriots going 11-5 and the Rams going 13-3.^[1] Both teams won dramatic conference championship games in overtime. The Patriots beat the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Rams beat the New Orleans Saints, thanks in part to a controversial missed pass interference call near the end of regulation that helped prevent the Saints from clinching the game.^[2]

Developments

The Patriots defeated the Rams 13-3 in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in NFL history. It is the Patriots sixth Super Bowl ring, tying the franchise with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most all time. Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman was named Super Bowl MVP.^[7]

Maroon 5 Halftime Performance

The halftime show of Super Bowl LIII featured a performance by Maroon 5 with guest appearances by rappers Travis Scott and Big Boi.^[3] Maroon 5 played an array of their hits, while Scott appeared to do part of "Sicko Mode" while Big Boi appeared to do "I Like the Way You Move." The performance was for the most part poorly received. USA Today decried the show's blandness and the too-short appearances of Scott and Big Boi.^[9] Many Twitter users mocked Levine's tank top, which they suggested looked like a popular pillow design (examples shown below).

Furthermore, Levine ended the show with his shirt off, exposing his nipples. The move was criticized by some following the NFL's infamous response to the Janet Jackson Nipplegate Controversy. ^[10]

Online Presence

Prior to the game, NFL fans posted myriad jokes regarding the game.^[6] Many jokes were about how much of the country were rooting against the New England Patriots. Twitter account @NFL_Memes posted a joke about various past Patriots scandals such as DeflateGate, gaining over 1,400 retweets and 4,700 likes (shown below, left). User @Tuff_Overlord posted a graphic about how much of the United States was rooting against the Patriots in the Super Bowl (shown below, right).

After the game, many fans commented on the overall disappointingly bland nature of both the game and the halftime show. High Snobiety called it "The Worst Super Bowl of All Time"^[11] in their piece on the internet's reactions. SB Nation^[12] called it "one of the most boring Super Bowls ever." User @Nitomatta called the worst Super Bowl they'd witnessed, gaining over 160 retweets and 750 likes (shown below, left). User @ActionNetworkHQ made a joke poll making it appear as though 50 million people called it the worst Super Bowl in history (shown below, right).

Related Memes

Spongebob Tease

Prior to the game, rumors circulated that Maroon 5 would play the song "Sweet Victory" from the Spongebob Squarepants episode "Band Geeks"^[4] in response to an online petition to have the song performed in tribute to series creator Stephen Hillenburg. Maroon 5 fanned the rumors by including Spongebob in a teaser video for their performance (shown below). Furthermore, the voice actor for the Spongebob character Squidward, Rodger Bumpass, wrote on Facebook: “To all Spongebob fans!!! Tune into the Super Bowl because Squidward gets to introduce the halftime entertainment.”^[5]

However, during the performance, while a clip from the Spongebob episode "Band Geeks" did appear, it did not introduce "Sweet Victory," but rather "Sicko Mode" by Scott. The move disappointed Spongebob fans hoping to hear "Sweet Victory." Twitter user @TheGunshot25 tweeted their disappointment with a Spongebob image macro, gaining over 180 retweets and 700 likes (shown below, left). Twitter user @antwick posted a reaction guys image about the bait-and-switch that gained over 520 retweets and 1,200 likes (shown below, right).

Scott's performance was to many reminiscent of a viral tweet by user @anthonytrucco, who mashed up "Sicko Mode" and "Sweet Victory" in a September 12th, 2018 tweet that gained over 201,000 retweets and 410,000 likes. After the Super Bowl, Trucco stated he was given no credit for the idea and encouraged his followers to share the video until he heard from the NFL.^[8]

Jimmy Donaldson's PewDiePie Stunt

YouTuber Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson had previously promised to buy a Super Bowl ad for PewDiePie as part of The Great Subscriber War between PewDiePie and T-series, but at the behest of PewDiePie, did not go through with the plan.^[13] Instead, he and several friends brought tickets behind one of the endzones and wore shirts that said "Subscribe to PewDiePie," such that they would appear on camera whenever a kick went towards that endzone. They were snapped in an ESPN tweet covering the game (shown below).

I Made Queso

During the Super Bowl, Fox News contributor Dana Perino tweeted an image of queso dip she made with the caption "I made queso" (shown below). The picture was roasted on Twitter throughout the game, as many thought Perino's queso looked unappetizing.^[14]

Zoe Kravitz ASMR Ad

One of the most notable ads from the Super Bowl featured actress Zoe Kravitz doing ASMR for Michelob Ultra. It was the grandest stage yet for the practice, leading to an ASMR explainer in the New York Post.^[15]

Search Interest

External References