Super Bowl LI Recap

Lady Gaga lands on pillar after descending from the top of NRG stadium

The New England Patriots were down 21-3 at the half and they ended up setting two Super Bowl records.
The first quarter ended scoreless and with Tom Brady getting sacked, twice. The second quarter ended with the Pats down 21-3. In the third, things didn’t look any better after a missed a field goal kick cost them the extra point. It wasn't until the fourth where things got interesting. The fourth started with the Pats facing a 28-9 deficit. A successful field goal and touchdown brought the score up to 28-20.

With more than three minutes left in play, the Patriots were making their way down the field in an attempt to tie the game. The Falcons had the ball just out of their fingertips a few times but they could not successfully stop the drive. At the end of the fourth it was all tied up 28-28 and for the first time in Super Bowl history there would be overtime played.

As if the past 30 minutes weren’t exciting enough, the Patriots almost clinched the win when Tom Brady passed to Martellus Bennett in the end zone only to have a flag on the play. They would have to do it again, but could they get it done? The answer was yes. Though not in a flashy, catch the pass from Brady way. James White willed the upper half of his body across the end zone just as his knees dropped and with that, touchdown, 34-28 Patriots win. Also for the first time in Super Bowl history, a team came back from more than a 10 point deficit to win the game. Roger Goodell was on hand to present the trophy to Robert Kraft, through boos, and Tom Brady was named MVP.

If you weren’t watching for the game, chances are you paid more attention during the commercial breaks. There were a few familiar faces; Justin Bieber talked about the history of a touchdown dance for T-Mobile and in a double whammy, T-Mobile hit big again with Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart. In this tongue and cheek ad, Stewart tries to finish Snoop’s sentences only to fail miserably in pun heaven. The best pop music commercial moment? Has to be Christopher Walken giving a dramatic reading of one of the biggest pop songs of the 2000s, “Bye Bye Bye” for the fitting product, Bai, only to have the man himself, Justin Timberlake sitting next to him. Hashtag, BaiBaiBai.

The game, the commercials, what else makes a great Super Bowl? Oh that’s right, the halftime performance and for Lady Gaga, this was a performance more than 20 years in the making. The superstar has said she had been planning her Super Bowl halftime performance since she was 4 years old and leading up to the night there were many questions surrounding her performance. Will she make a political statement? Will she be joined on stage by anyone? Will she actually sing on top of the NRG stadium?  

Never one to disappoint, Lady Gaga did just as she said she would. She opened her 13 minute solo performance with a medley of “America the Beautiful”, “This Land is Your Land” and recited “One nation, under God, indivisible for liberty, and justice for all” from the top of NRG stadium along with 300 drones (powered by Intel). Then, she was gone. Gaga propelled down from the roof top, Mission Impossible style and landed on a waiting pillar where she teased “Edge of Glory” then broke out into “Poker Face”. She then played her 2011 hit, “Born this Way” ending the song with, "I was born to be brave". Next up was “Telephone” and no Beyoncé did not show up. Lady Gaga filled the stage on her own. To prove she is not a one trick pony, Gaga played the keytar for “Just Dance” before maneuvering through the crowd to sing her new song “Million Reasons” at the piano. It was during this moment where she also gave a shout out to her mom and dad, Gaga’s new album Joanne is named after her late aunt. Gaga then closed with “Bad Romance”. When she was done she didn’t just have a mic-drop moment, she threw the microphone down and caught a football before jumping off of the stage into an unknown abyss.

Her political statements were subtle, not overt digs at one side or another but focused on bringing everyone together. Prior to her performance Gaga talked about the possibility of making a statement to which she said, “The only statements that’ll be making during the halftime show are the ones that I have been consistently making throughout my career”.  Staying true to her word, herself and her fans Lady Gaga put on a performance that will no doubt fall on the side of “best” when halftime performances are ranked in years to come.

Written by Kristen

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