If nautical nonsense be one thing you want, this 12 months’s Tremendous Bowl will fulfill your want.
Positive, you would watch the facility trio of Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Tony Romo (analyst), and Tracy Wolfson (sideline reporter) name this 12 months’s massive sport on CBS—and also you’d be effectively knowledgeable. For those who want, you possibly can watch on the Paramount+ streaming service, which expects to have its biggest-ever audience. Or, should you’re extra a fan of the unhinged, you possibly can tune in to Nickelodeon, the place SpongeBob and Patrick Star will likely be becoming a member of the published crew.
Tremendous Bowl LVIII Dwell from Bikini Backside will characteristic the Nickelodeon stars alongside CBS Sports activities’ Nate Burleson and play-by-play announcer Noah Eagle in actual time, combining a standard broadcast with the animated present, utilizing enhanced graphics and augmented actuality. Technically, in fact, it’s Tom Kenny (the voice actor behind SpongeBob) and Invoice Fagerbakke (Patrick) who will likely be within the sales space, however viewers will solely see and listen to the distinctive characters.
The bizarre presentation of the Tremendous Bowl comes as SpongeBob celebrates its 25th anniversary on Nickelodeon—and 21 consecutive years of being the most-watched animated collection. It’s really not the primary time Patrick/Fagerbakke has broadcast a sport, both.
In 2022, the not-so-bright starfish provided evaluation of the Broncos vs. Raiders sport on Christmas Day.
The weirdness doesn’t cease with the published sales space. Sandy Cheeks (voiced by Carolyn Lawrence) will act as a sideline reporter. Larry the Lobster (voiced by Mr. Laurence) will present dwell commentary. And fellow Nickelodeon stars Dora the Explorer and Boots the monkey will assist clarify penalty calls throughout the sport.
You may as well anticipate appearances from everybody from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to, natch, SpongeBob’s nemesis, Plankton. And, sure, the slime cannons in the long run zone will likely be readily available as effectively to have fun touchdowns.
Draw back? You received’t see most of the best commercials which can be scheduled to air throughout the sport.
Whereas there will likely be loads of adults watching, simply to see how Nickelodeon covers a Tremendous Bowl, the published is basically meant for youths, in fact. The Taylor Swift impact has elevated curiosity within the NFL amongst some younger followers, who’re prone to get misplaced within the conventional protection of the sport.
Nickelodeon first aired an NFL sport again in 2021. That Wild Card match between the New Orleans Saints and the Chicago Bears was probably the most watched present on the community in 4 years, with over 2 million viewers.
Earlier than this 12 months’s sport, the track “Candy Victory,” from the fan favourite episode, “Band Geeks,” will play. That track was so in style that in 2018, followers petitioned the NFL to incorporate it within the halftime present after SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg handed away. The following 12 months, Maroon 5 gave it a nod at halftime, however didn’t play the track.
This 12 months will likely be totally different.
CBS is leaning closely into the Nickelodeon programming, as effectively. A pre-game present, NFL Slimetime, will air on the published community (and Nickelodeon) at 11:30 a.m. ET on Tremendous Bowl Sunday. And for individuals who want to look at the extra conventional broadcast, however have a nagging curiosity about how Nickelodeon’s protection went, Nick will provide NFL Slimetime “Tremendous Bowl LVIII Slimelights” on Monday, February 12, at 7 p.m. ET, a recap of the highlights from the sport via the Nickelodeon lens.
Tremendous Bowl LVIII will air this Sunday, February 11—with kickoff set for six:30 p.m. ET.
