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Super Bowl smorgasbord: Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk, Swift(y) snacks, stats, ad tracks…
The most important message today comes from the RI Police Chiefs Association, as they remind drivers to celebrate Super Bowl Sunday responsibly.
“Police departments around Rhode Island will have additional patrols on the road to identify and apprehend impaired drivers,” said Colonel Bradford Connor, Warwick Chief of Police and President of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association. “It’s a time to celebrate but please make a plan to get home safely. Designate a driver, use ride share or stay where you are – just don’t get behind the wheel.”
The additional patrols are funded through the Office of Highway Safety with support from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Background on impaired driving
The first offense for driving under the influence of liquor or drugs carries several penalties:
- Possible jail sentence of up to one year at the ACI.
- Mandatory license suspension from three to eighteen months.
- Mandatory community service from 10 to 60 hours.
- Fines of not less than $100, nor more than $500
- Fees can easily reach a few thousand dollars.
Rhode Island law requires you to submit to a chemical test of your blood, breath, or urine for the purpose of determining the chemical content of your body fluids or breath.
If you refuse this testing, certain penalties can be imposed and include the following:
- For a first offense, your Rhode Island driver’s license or privilege to operate a motor vehicle in this state can be suspended for six months to one year or modified to permit operation in connection with an ignition interlock device for a period specified by law; a fine from $200 to $500 can be imposed; and you can be ordered to perform 10 to 60 hours of community service and attend a special course on driving while intoxicated or under the influence of a controlled substance and/or alcohol or drug treatment.
- If you have had one or more previous offenses within the past five years, your refusal to submit to a chemical test of breath or urine at this time can have criminal penalties, including incarceration up to six months for a second offense and up to one year for a third or subsequent offense, and can carry increased license suspension or ignition interlock period, fines, and community service.
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Stats to talk about, courtesy US Census
The 2024 Super Bowl takes place Sunday, February 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The first Super Bowl, played on Jan. 15, 1967 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, saw the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10.
The five-time Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers (1995, 1990, 1989, 1985 and 1982) will face the three-time winning Kansas City Chiefs (2023, 2020 and 1970) for the second time in five seasons. In 2020, the Chiefs beat the 49ers 31-20. Each team has lost two Super Bowls.
This will be the NFL’s first Super Bowl in Nevada. Allegiant Stadium opened in 2020 and is the home field of the Las Vegas Raiders, previously the Oakland Raiders (1960-1981 and 1995-2019) and the Los Angeles Raiders (1982-1994).
Meet the Players From Across the Country and Around the World
Do you know the most common first names on the rosters? Last names? Leading states of birth? Colleges and conferences most represented? Height and weight? The players with the most pro experience? The Big Game Census below answers these and other burning questions about the 139 players in the 2024 Super Bowl.
Explore the Big Game Census above for details about the players:
- Most common first names: Nick/Nic (5), Chris/Christian (4) and Mike (4).
- Most common last name: Jones (4) and Davis (3).
- States of birth: California (17), Florida (12), Georgia and Texas (10 each), Louisiana (8) and Ohio (7).
- Foreign-born players: Seven (up from three last year), hailing from Australia, Ghana, Greece, Liberia, Nigeria, Mexico and Turkey.
- Colleges: Florida, Georgia and Oklahoma (5); Clemson, Michigan, Middle Tennessee and University of Southern California (4); 5 tied (3).
- Conferences: SEC (26), Big 12 (17), Big Ten and Pac-12 (14), ACC (13) and AAC (8).
- Age: 30 and over (26), including 32 (5); 33 (4), 34 (1) and 35 (1). The majority (113) are in their 20s (the youngest is 21). The average age is 26.2.
- Years of professional experience: One player has 14 years (the 49ers’ Trent Williams), two have 12, two have 11 and three have 10. Eight players have 10+ years, down from 13 players last year. Thirty are rookies, up from 19 last year. The average number of years of experience is 3.7.
- Height: The tallest player (the 49ers’ Alfredo Gutierrez) is 6’8”, five are 6’6” and 10 are 6’5”. The shortest player (the Chiefs’ Clyde Edwards-Helaire) is 5’7”, one is 5’8” and four are 5’9”. There are 32 players under 6’.
- Weight: Thirty-three players weigh more than 300 pounds, with the heaviest (the Chiefs’ Donovan Smith) weighing in at 338 lbs. Twenty-four players weigh less than 200 pounds, with the lightest (the Chiefs’ Ekow Boye-Doe) weighing in at 177 lbs.
More Fun Facts
Nothing says loyalty more than playing in the Super Bowl for the team from your home state. This year there are 18 players compared to just four last year. (The Kansas City Metro Area includes counties in Missouri and Kansas).
- Number of 49ers born in California: 14.
- Number of 49ers who were born and attended college in California: 6.
- Number of Chiefs born in Kansas: 1; Missouri: 3.
- Number of Chiefs who were born and attended college in Kansas or Missouri: 3.
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Track the Superbowl Ads
All ad times are sold out for SuperBowl 58, top dollar being over $7 Million for a 30-second spot. You can check out the ads with Ad Week’s Tracker, tracking every advertiser, teaser, trailer and full ad as soon as they are released. Notably, there will only be 2 ads for EV autos. And, of course, the return of the Clydesdales.
Robert Kraft Foundation’s to Combat AntiSemitism will be the one to look for – a 30 second ad “from the heart”. Part of Kraft’s $25 Million anti-semitism campaign, the ads are a combination of a $100 million donation from the Norman R. Rales and Ruth Rales Foundation, resulting in new funding totaling $200 million.
Follow the Ad Week Ad Tracker – HERE
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Half Time Surprise
As if Usher is not enough, rumors are plentiful about who he will bring on as the surprise entertainer. Alicia Keyes is probably a sure thing – with her recently having done an NBC interview on her art exhibition of collected giant works of Black artists. The rumor of Beyonce? Justin Bieber? Lil John? A veritable chorus line of performers? Maybe. We’ll see.
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50 yard Proposal?
Will she make it? Of course she will (PS, as we publish she’s already landed in Vegas). Taylor Swift will be in the viewing box right on time, jumping and singing to the music as halftime we’re sure.
Will there be a proposal? No, we don’t think so – they haven’t been together long enough and they will not “waste” that moment on one already maxxed out with clicks and look-sees.
Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce’s families will be sitting in the suite together – Kelce paid.
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Super-snack day
70% of Americans plan to watch the Big Game this year and of those planning to watch, 50% say the snacks are among their favorite parts of the Big Game.
Tortilla chips are bound to be the No. 1 food sold for the Big Game accompanied by lots of rich dips, with zesty kick of hot wings and fixings following that. 58% of participants surveyed by Instacart say scoop-style tortilla chips reign supreme.
Need ideas? Check the dips for each state – from Instacart:
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Super Sick Monday
If you’re planning to skip work the day after Super Bowl LVIII, then you are not alone because an estimated 16.1 million U.S. employees plan to miss work that day – either with a planned day off, or a super-sick call out.
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Bet You’ll Bet
67.8 million American adults are expected to plunk down some kind of wager on Sunday’s Super Bowl LVIII between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs as sports betting is now legal in 38 states plus D.C. Some odd bets, like, who will win the coin toss, will Taylor make it, etc. are not legal in every state. Fan Duel is the #1 platform, but be careful – online gambling is becoming a serious problem for many. And, if you need help:
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Sex Trafficking and Prostitution
“My body, my business. My body, my business,” sex worker advocates chanted as they rallied outside in the rain near Allegiant Stadium during the Opening Night of Super Bowl events in Las Vegas this week to protest sex trafficking stings. Yes, in Nevada, most prostitution is legal, but only in counties with less than 700,000 people and then, only in “licensed brothels”. Sex traffickers haven’t got the memo as they bring in their young women – and girls – for the throngs of men who will be in Vegas for the Super Bowl. Police have been conducting Super Bowl stings, as they often do, in cooperation with the NFL during events like this. Billboards, signs, and hotline numbers are being posted throughout Vegas in an attempt to curb the illegal activity.
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Yesterday, our sportswriter got much more into the actual game that is happening – read John Cardullo’s artcle, here: