It is more than well known that the Super Bowl is the most viewed sporting event of the year. However, people might ask, “What makes this event so special?” Well, it’s more than just the year-round enjoyable commercials and the halftime show everyone tunes in for. The Super-Bowls football game is one of the most incredible features of the sporting year.

Since the beginning of the National Football League, the Super Bowl has been the biggest championship game of any football league. The reason it’s so special now is because of the popularity the NFL has developed through its entertainment in sports, making football the most popular and viewed sport in the nation. Between the past Super Bowls and this year’s 2022 competition, there have been a lot of great and controversial moments within the football game, so lets walk through them all.

The first quarter of the 2022 Super Bowl game had begun with the kickoff from the Cincinnati Bengals, as the Rams were the first to receive the ball. After multiple failed drives from both sides, the first touchdown of the night was created with a pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford and a reception from star Wide Receiver Odell Beckham Jr., in which Beckham would later cause the first controversial moment of the night. However, before that moment, the Bengals’ kicker, Evan McPherson, put the Bengals on the board with a 29-yard field goal on 4th down, which took the game score to 7-3 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, there were small controversial moments of the night with the Los Angeles Rams. The first moment was created through a mishandled snap during a field goal, which led to a missed field goal from the Rams after a second touchdown from Stafford and Beckham. Afterward, the Bengals scored their first touchdown of the night at the start of their comeback, a Philly Special from Halfback Joe Mixon with a pass to Wide Receiver Tee Higgins. A Philly Special is described as a trick play created by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2018 Super Bowl. The second controversial moment of this half was created through a mishandled pass from Stafford to Beckham, causing a knee injury to Beckham. Throughout the rest of the night, Beckham was no longer able to play. With a 13-10 lead, the Rams went into halftime looking for a way to gain a larger lead.

After, arguably, one of the most amazing halftimes shows in Super Bowl history was performed in the amazing city of Los Angeles by Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eminem, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J Blige, there was a very intense quarter beginning. Now the third quarter was what was marked as the comeback for the Bengals. Throughout the playoffs and before the game, the Bengals were generally considered underdogs in this matchup, projected to lose to the Rams. One very controversial moment was created where Tee Higgins grabbed Jalen Ramsey’s facemask and dragged him towards the ground during a pass, creating a second Bengals touchdown. However, no penalty was called. It allowed the Bengals to keep a 17-13 lead over the Rams in the third quarter. After two great field goal kicks from Evan McPherson and Matt Gay, the score in the third went to 20-16, Bengals.

In the final, most magical quarter of the night, the skill of the LA Rams had come into notice within the NFL’s most dramatis event. Starting off with a setback on the Bengals after an unnecessary roughness penalty, the team was forced to a 4th and 29 and a punt. The Rams and Bengals went back and forth with failed touchdown drives until the last few minutes of the game, when the Rams had gained possession of the ball in their final drive. In a 4th down moment, where the Rams had to convert a first or give up a victory to the Bengals, Matthew Stafford made a game-changing 7-yard rush from Offensive Player of the Year, Wide Receiver, Cooper Kupp. This was followed by an amazing pass to Kupp for 22 yards. After this legendary pass, another pass was created to put the Rams in the red zone (10 yards before the end zone), which started the controversy of the quarter. Pass after pass into the end-zone, multiple flags were called on the Bengals, first starting with holding on linebacker Logan Wilson. Then, onto the final penalty, which was a pass-interference by defensive back Eli Apple. Sitting 1 yard away from a touchdown, Matthew Stafford threw his pass to Cooper Kupp, who received it for the game, winning a touchdown.

However, the game was not yet over. With minutes to go still, the Cincinnati Bengals had their chance at one last drive to win their first Super Bowl. After multiple failed attempts from the Bengals at a 1st down conversion, they were at a 4th and 1. On their final down and the very last attempt to make history for Cincinatti, Aaron Donald powered through the Bengals offensive line, and attempted a sack on Bengals Quarterback, Joe Burrow, to gain the ball. The ball was thrown from Burrow’s hand but ended up short of a complete pass. Rams ball! Taunting the crowd, Aaron Donald was pointing towards his ring finger shouting, “Give me my ring!” The Rams kneeled the ball and ran out of the clock, which gave them their Super Bowl championship.

After the historic event, Cooper Kupp was named MVP, which caused a lot of controversy between fans who debated whether Matthew Stafford should have gained the MVP title or if Aaron Donald deserved it more. Being the main benefactor of the final touchdown drive from the Rams, in my honest opinion, Cooper Kupp deserved his MVP award. Even though many may still not agree, he played the best in the final quarter and proceeded to score the game-winning touchdown for the Rams.

All in all, this year’s Super Bowl was better than past Super-Bowls, like the 2019 Patriots vs. Rams game, which was considered one of the worst scoring Super-Bowls in NFL history. If you are a yearly watcher of the event, then you would have considered this year’s game to be great, and if you are a year-round NFL fan, then you would also agree. So, as we await the 2022-2023 NFL Season to begin, we will all remember, the LA Rams got the job done that nobody else could get done.