Super Bowl LIV

Overview

Super Bowl LIV is the fifty-fourth annual NFL championship game. It took place between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Fransisco 49ers on February 2nd, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The Chiefs won the game 31-20, marking the team's first NFL championship in 50 years, as well as head coach Andy Reid's first championship in his long NFL career. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes won Super Bowl MVP. The halftime performance featured singers Jennifer Lopez and Shakira.

Background

Super Bowl LIV took place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.^[1] It featured the AFC Champions the Kansas City Chiefs (14-4) and NFC Champions the San Francisco 49ers (15-3). Both teams were the number-one seed in their respective conferences and defeated two teams in the playoffs to qualify for the game. In September of 2020, it was announced that Jennifer Lopez and Shakira would perform the halftime show.^[2]

Developments

The Kansas City Chiefs won the game 31-20, marking the team's first NFL championship since Super Bowl IV, fifty seasons ago. The teams played to a 10-10 tie in the first half, with the 49ers conservatively electing not to attempt to score at the end of the first half, though they had two minutes and all of their timeouts. In the third quarter, the 49ers scored 10 more points, opening a 20-10, which they held until there was roughly 9 minutes in the fourth quarter. Though the 49ers had held Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a subpar performance until that point, Maholmes was able to rally his team to two quick touchdowns while the Chiefs' defense was able to quickly force the 49ers off the field, resulting in a 24-20 lead for the Chiefs. After forcing the 49ers to turn the ball over on downs with just over two minutes left in the 4th quarter, the Chiefs quickly scored another touchdown, resulting in the final score, 31-20. Mahomes was awarded Super Bowl MVP for his performance.^[3]

Related Memes

Mr. Peanut's Death

Mr. Peanut's Death refers to an advertising campaign in which the Planters mascot, Mr. Peanut, sacrifices himself and dies in a commercial that was made to air during Super Bowl LIV. The ad released on YouTube ten days before the Super Bowl, and led to jokes about the mascot's "death." On January 22nd, 2020, Planters released an advertisement in which Mr. Peanut is on a road trip with Matt Walsh and Wesley Snipes. After getting in a car accident, the trio is hanging over a gorge on a tree branch that's about to break due to their weight. Mr. Peanut sacrifices himself and falls, presumably to his death.

On January 27th, 2020, Planters announced in a statement that they would pause the campaign in light of the death of former professional basketball player Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash the day prior. They said, "We are saddened by this weekend’s news and Planters has paused all campaign activities, including paid media, and will evaluate next steps through a lens of sensitivity to those impacted by this tragedy."

Baby Nut

Baby Nut or Baby Mr. Peanut refers to the reborn version of Planters' mascot Mr. Peanut which was revealed during a Superbowl LIV commercial in February 2020. Following the reveal, the character became a subject of memes online, including memes drawing comparisons to Baby Yoda, memes expressing a desire to violently destroy the Baby Nut, and jokes about its name. Additionally, Baby Nut meme accounts created before the reveal were discovered, suggesting that Planters attempted to force a meme.

Following the reveal of the character, multiple memes and posts about Baby Nut were made on Twitter, Instagram and other online platforms. In many posts, users expressed an intention to violently destroy the character by crushing him or turning him into paste. For example, a February 2nd post by Twitter user @webshoots received over 18,000 retweets and 91,300 likes (shown below, left). A same-day post by Instagram^[6] user igotzucc received over 8,400 likes (shown below, right).

On February 2nd, 2020, Insider posted an article titled "Planters engineered a viral Super Bowl moment with Baby Nut. A network of meme pages was created before its debut to ensure internet fame." In the article, the author revealed that several Twitter accounts, such as @BabyNutBaby, @BabyNutReal, @babynutmemes, @BabyNutLOL and @BabyNutFanpage, which posted Baby Peanut memes, were created in January 2020, before the public knew about the character. This suggested that Planters created and ran the accounts. In the hours following the character reveal, some of the accounts, including @BabyNutBaby, @babynutmemes, and @BabyNutLOL, were suspended.

Shakira's Tongue

Shakira's Tongue refers to a viral moment from the Superbowl LIV halftime show during which singer Shakira ululated, sticking her tongue out and rapidly moving it. Following the show, the moment gained popularity on social media, being used both as a reaction and as source material for humorous edits.

Starting on the same day, users on Twitter, Instagram and other platforms used the video as a reaction, with humorous edits also being posted. For example, a February 2nd tweet by user @CHIN0SUKE received over 16,200 retweets and 49,900 likes in one day (shown below, top). A same-day tweet by user @RMunroe_17 gained over 12,100 retweets and 33,600 likes in the same period (shown below, bottom).

Trump's "Congratulations Kansas" Gaffe

Following the game, President Donald Trump tweeted congratulations to the Chiefs, saying they "represented the Great State of Kansas"^[4] (shown below). The Kansas City Chiefs play in Kansas City, Missouri.

Though the tweet was deleted and corrected, Twitter users continued joking about the gaffe, comparing it to his Sharpiegate gaffe, in which he mistakenly warned that Hurricane Dorian would hit Alabama then used a sharpie to prove his point rather than admit the error. Twitter user @GregJKrieg joked, "Tomorrow: Trump waves around a map in Oval Office showing that Kansas City is, in fact, in Kansas," gaining over 380 retweets and 1,300 likes (shown below, left). User @MrJLumanji tweeted a parody of Trump's Dorian map with Kansas, gaining over 670 retweets and 4,300 likes (shown below, right).

Search Interest

External References