Whether it be Taylor Swift, Bradley Cooper, or Paul Rudd, there was no shortage of A-list celebrities highlighted on Fox’s broadcast of Super Bowl LIX on Sunday night. This took away from the viewing experience of Mike Francesa, who publically aired his grievances with the attention around celebrities after the game.
In his postgame show breaking down the Eagles’ victory over the Chiefs, Francesa cited how all of the attention around celebrities leading up to the game “took away from the drama” of the event in his eyes.
“I understand the NFL is about access,” said Francesa. “But what they have done to this game… I’m not a wrestling fan, but I almost think they took a page out of the WWF. I need actors announcing the teams?
“That so much takes away from the drama. That so much takes away from the feel that football has as teams come out of the tunnel. You need an actor because he’s an Eagles fan with his little kid there? Or Jon Hamm? I mean, what is that about? How many actors did we need to hear from today before the game started?
“We’ve got Brad Pitt, we had guys announcing the teams, we’ve got (Tom) Cruise. Every time I turn around there is another actor. Are we going to hear from everyone in Hollywood before the game starts?
“I understand that it is a lot of money for a commercial. But what are we going to do, get to the point where the game starts a 9 o’clock at night? This game tonight started at like ten-to seven. I mean, when does it end?”
On the topic of the later-than-expected start time, Francesa also voiced his frustrations with the pregame interviews from players like Patrick Mahomes and Saquon Barkley before the game, questioning what more needs to be said by either player right before the big game.
“Are you telling me we need to have interviews on the field with Mahomes and Barkley? After we have had interviews with them all week, you have got to have interviews with them before the game starts? What is there left to say? How many times are you going to do interviews? The overkill in this game has gotten to the point where it is nauseating.”
Perhaps it is a bit over the top to have Bradley Cooper and Jon Hamm introducing their respective favorite team as they ran out of the tunnel onto the field. However, to Fox’s credit, much of the attention centered around celebrities prior to kickoff ended when the game started, unlike last year’s Super Bowl on CBS.
Taylor Swift was shown during this year’s Super Bowl for just seven seconds compared to 54 seconds in the Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII against the 49ers, which likely stems from the fact that Travis Kelce had a quiet night and the Chiefs’ offense was largely lifeless throughout much of the game.
Still, it sure seems like Francesa would like much less filler than perhaps the average demographic of Super Bowl viewers leading up to kickoff. And that’s an opinion he wasn’t alone on.
