The New Year is always an exciting part of the calendar for American football fans, as it means that the Super Bowl is just a couple of weeks away. The final game in the NFL season, the Super Bowl, is a spectacle that now attracts the attention of the entire world.

 While American football is a niche sport in India, dwarfed by cricket and other sports, the NFL is the largest sports league in the United States. The Super Bowl marks the end of the NFL season and attracts the attention of around one-third of the entire nation, all of whom tune in to watch the game on TV. The rest can't escape Super Bowl fever, as every news outlet and media organisation talks about "the big game". Broadcast, print and digital media are packed with expert analysis and picks ahead of the game, helping fans placing bets and gain a better understanding of what will likely happen in the game.

 Ahead of Super Bowl LIV on February 2, here is a preview.

Following Super Bowl LIV in India

TV broadcasting rights for India are held by Sony Six. However, if you don’t have access to this channel, you can now take advantage of NFL Game Pass. This is the NFL’s own streaming service that gives fans access to live streams and replays of entire games. 

 Several news outlets across the country will also be providing text commentary as the game progresses. You’ll also be able to keep up with the action on social media while official accounts, and those of journalists and commentators, provide regular updates.

Where is Super Bowl LIV?

This year’s Super Bowl will be held at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. The process for deciding which stadium will host the game is as hard-fought and complicated as it is for the NFL teams to win the NFL. 

 The stadium is home to the Miami Dolphins NFL team, although they won’t be taking part in the Super Bowl. It has previously hosted four other Super Bowl games and has therefore proven itself to be a quality venue.  

Who Will Play in Super Bowl LIV?

The Super Bowl is the final game in a playoff tournament, held after the NFL regular season. Although teams may finish the regular season at the top of their division or conference, this doesn’t guarantee them a spot in the Super Bowl. Instead, the best teams from each conference play a number of games in the “postseason”. 

 These postseason games take place on consecutive weekends in January. The first is known as “Wild-Card Weekend”. In these four games, the participating teams include:

• The third and fourth best division-winning teams in each conference (the wild-card games are played at their stadia)
• The two best non-division winning teams in each conference

 The winners of these games head into the second weekend of games. This is known as the Divisional Round and sees the Wild-Card Weekend winners take on the first and second-best division-winning teams in their conference.

 Four teams (two from each conference) then emerge victorious from these games. They then play each other in the third weekend, which is known as “Championship Sunday”. These games decide the winner of each of the two NFL conferences. 

 The two conference champions then go head-to-head in the Super Bowl. This year, the two Super Bowl teams will be the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. 

 Who Will Win Super Bowl LIV?

The Chiefs and the 49ers are two evenly-matched teams. For this reason, both teams are being given almost identical odds by just about every bookmaker offering odds on the game. 

 The Chiefs were tied for the second highest number of wins in the AFC this season, with a 12-4 record. This earned them a position straight through to the Divisional Round.

 Meanwhile, the 49ers had an even stronger regular season, with a 13-3 record. Tied with the Packers and the Saints, this was the highest record in the NFC.

 Both sides had equally dominant runs through the playoffs, winning their games by large margins. 

 Therefore, the Super Bowl could go either way this year. Either of the two teams is deserving of the trophy, as shown by their strong performance throughout the regular season and playoffs.

Super Bowl LIV is shaping up to be a closely-fought, nail-biting game.