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“THE SUPER BOWL TODAY” CELEBRATES THE NFL’S PAST AND PRESENT WITH SPECIAL FEATURES AND INTERVIEWS LEADING UP TO KICKOFF OF SUPER BOWL LV

 

 

Features Include Stories on Kenny Washington Presented by Academy-Award Winner Viola Davis, Whitney Houston, The Ascension of Black Quarterbacks, Women Trailblazers in the NFL, and a Salute to COVID-19 Heroes

 

James Brown Talks Live with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell plus interviews with Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes

 

Interviews Include a Special Segment from Nickelodeon’s Game Show UNFILTERED, Chiefs TE Travis Kelce with SHOWTIME late night hosts Desus Nice and The Kid Mero as well as The Weeknd’s Meeting with James Corden from CBS’ THE LATE LATE SHOW

 

CBS Sports will explore the past and present of the NFL during THE SUPER BOWL TODAY (2:00-6:00 PM, ET) on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 7 with a four-hour celebration of Super Bowl LV. The Super Bowl pregame show will include features which examine Kenny Washington’s re-integration of the NFL in the 1940s, relive Whitney Houston’s memorable National Anthem, look at the ascension of Black quarterbacks in the modern NFL and celebrate women trailblazers in the NFL, as well as honor COVID-19 frontline and essential workers who have helped the nation this past year.

 

Additionally, THE SUPER BOWL TODAY host James Brown will sit with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss the state of the NFL and the successful 2020-21 season.

 

As always, THE SUPER BOWL TODAY will focus on the game, break down the match-up as well as showcase special interviews with the game’s players and coaches, including Bruce Arians, Andy Reid, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Rob Gronkowski and Jason Pierre-Paul.

 

Members of the ViacomCBS family also will join the show. There will be a specially produced segment of Nickelodeon’s game show UNFILTERED with one of the NFL’s biggest stars playing in the game, SHOWTIME late night hosts Desus Nice and The Kid Mero talk with Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce and James Corden from CBS’ THE LATE LATE SHOW has an entertaining meeting with The Weeknd.

 

Originating live from a set inside Raymond James Stadium, Brown, Boomer Esiason, Bill Cowher, Phil Simms and Nate Burleson, will host THE SUPER BOWL TODAY. Ian Eagle and Charles Davis will anchor additional coverage from a second set in Tampa. NFL Insider Jason La Canfora, reporters Tracy Wolfson, Evan Washburn, Jay Feely, NFL Rules Analyst Gene Steratore, and Contributor Jim Rome also will cover the pregame activities.

 

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Full descriptions of the features on THE SUPER BOWL TODAY below:

 

BEFORE JACKIE

Academy-Award winner Viola Davis narrates the story of Kenny Washington, the man to re-integrate the NFL in the 1940s. While the story of Jackie Robinson’s breakthrough in the sport of baseball is well-known, the integration of the NFL is more complex. The race barrier was broken in 1920 but the owners instituted an unofficial ban of Black players from 1934 until after WWII when the Los Angeles Rams signed Washington. Coincidentally, Washington had played college baseball with Robinson at UCLA. The Rams signed him in 1946, almost a year before Robinson integrated Major League Baseball. (Producers: Pete Radovich/Ellis Williams/Jelani Rooks/Derek Ambrosi; Writer: Kayona Ebony Brown

 

WHITNEY HOUSTON’S STAR SPANGLED BANNER - Click here for a preview

Whitney Houston’s rendition of the Star Spangled Banner 30 years ago before Super Bowl XXV in Tampa moved the nation and went down in history as one of the most impactful performances in Super Bowl history. Just 10 days after the start of the Persian Gulf War, millions watched as Houston sang to a world in conflict and helped unify the nation. CBS Sports speaks with legendary record producer Clive Davis and Musical Director Rickey Minor about the impact of Houston’s performance.

(Producers: Shawn Robbins/Niya Walker)

 

ESSENTIAL: AN ODE TO COVID’S FRONTLINE WORKERS

We often refer to our athletes as heroes. But this year, with the first Super Bowl ever played during a global pandemic, we celebrate the real heroes of our time. In a musically-driven piece, we honor the doctors, nurses, grocery workers, delivery drivers, restaurateurs and other essential workers who healed us, fed us, delivered our medications and responded when the world needed them most.

(Producers: Gareth Hughes/Laura Dunham/Rahul Rohatgi)

 

UNFILTERED AT THE SUPER BOWL

A special sports-themed segment of Nickelodeon’s UNFILTERED game show, with host Jay Pharoah and Nick stars Gabrielle Nevaeh Green and Lex Lumpkin. They will try to guess the identity of one of NFL’s biggest stars from Super Bowl LV, who is virtually disguised behind an animated 3D filter and voice changer.

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KELCE & THE BODEGA BOYS

When hosts Desus Nice and The Kid Mero of SHOWTIME late night show DESUS & MERO landed an interview with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, they couldn’t just do a regular zoom. So, they took a couple of armchairs to midfield at MetLife Stadium and put the tight end up on the Jumbotron. In a wide-ranging interview, Kelce revealed that his coach, Andy Reid, has pretty good sneaker game.

(Producers: Pete Radovich/Victor Lopez/Tony Hernandez)

 

CORDEN and THE WEEKND

James Corden, host of the LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN, has an entertaining meeting with Grammy Award-winning artist The Weeknd, who will perform during the Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show.

(Producers: Pete Radovich/Ben Winston/Rob Crabbe)

 

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(Credit: ©Ella DeGea/CBS)

 

WOMEN IN THE NFL

Women will play a prominent role in Super Bowl LV. There will be two female coaches on the field for the Buccaneers, a scouting assistant and two female athletic trainers on the field for the Chiefs, as well as Down Judge Sarah Thomas who will be the first-ever female game official to work a Super Bowl. CBS Sports highlights the historic female firsts, the young girls who will inherit that legacy, and other trailblazers in sports and culture.

(Producers: Sarah Rinaldi/Niya Walker)

 

THE ASCENSION OF BLACK QUARTERBACKS

The Black quarterback is changing the game of football. THE DAILY SHOW’s Roy Wood, Jr., in a way that only he can, looks at the ascendance of Black quarterbacks throughout the history of the NFL from a point of view that celebrates this moment of Black excellence through the Black experience.

(Producers: Justin Haley/Gareth Hughes)

 

LAURENT DUVERNAY TARDIF

THAT OTHER PREGAME SHOW (11:30 AM, ET), with the help of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, will highlight Laurent Duvernay Tardif. Tardif, a member of last year’s Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Champion team, decided to sit out this season to help fight COVID-19 in the Canadian province of Quebec.

(Producer: Charlie Bloom)

 

 

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The SUPER BOWL ON CBS KICK-OFF SHOW at 6:00 PM, ET rounds out the Network’s lead-up to kick-off featuring pregame musical performances, the singing of the National Anthem by Grammy Award-nominated artists Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan; and America the Beautiful by Grammy Award-winning artist H.E.R., the coin toss and team introductions. A special tribute to frontline workers in the battle against COVID-19 will include an original poem recited by Poet Amanda Gorman in tribute to the honorary captains Educator Trimaine Davis, Nurse Manager Suzie Dorner and Veteran James Martin taking part in the game’s coin toss.

 

Sean McManus is Chairman, CBS Sports and serves as Executive Producer for the Network’s coverage of the NFL and Super Bowl LV. David Berson is President, CBS Sports. Harold Bryant is Executive Producer and Executive Vice President, Production, CBS Sports. Tyler Hale is Vice President, Studio Production, CBS Sports.

 

Drew Kaliski is producer and Bob Matina is director of THE SUPER BOWL TODAY.

 

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CBS Sports Contacts:

Walt Scher                    212-975-4772                                      walt.scher@cbs.com

 

Jerry Caraccioli            212-975-7466                                     gwcaraccioli@cbs.com