The Carolina Panthers meet the Denver Broncos in the National Football League's 50th annual Super Bowl between the National and American conference playoff winners. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
What's at stake?
The winning team receives the NFL's Vince Lombardi Trophy, made by Tiffany & Co. It stands almost 22 inches tall, weighs nearly 7 pounds and is worth more than $25,000.
Players on the winning team get $97,000 each, losing team share is $49,000 per player.
Oh, and there are bragging rights.
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Television
The game will be shown live in over 170 countries and territories. Official broadcaster CBS is charging advertisers as much as $5 million for 30-second spots.
Viewership is always high but this time not expected to top last year's Super Bowl in which the New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks in the most-watched single television program ever in the U.S. (114.4 million viewers).
Some perspective: soccer's Champions League Final usually draws more viewers.
Where'd the Roman numeral go?
Roman numerals have been used to designate which Super Bowl it is since the Vth one in January of 1971. The powers that be determined the letter L isn't eye-pleasing and not immediately recognized as a Roman numeral, so this year it's "Super Bowl 50." The NFL will go back to normal for Super Bowl LI in Houston in 2017.
Halftime show
British rock band Coldplay will headline the halftime show, which has had some huge acts over the years (Michael Jackson, Madonna, U2, the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney) although not usually booking the hottest act of its time.
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As for the anthem, it'll be Lady Gaga, who seems to have put aside the meat dress and let her voice speak for itself lately. Even though the game is just down the road from San Francisco, don't expect Gaga's "Baby It's Cold Outside" partner Tony Bennett to join her.
Anyone have tickets to sell?
Face value ranges from $850 for nosebleeds to $3,000 for "club seats." On the secondary market, average price is about $5,000. The first Super Bowl ticket price was $6.
Not Turkey Day
Super Bowl Sunday is the second-biggest day of the year for Americans in terms of food consumption, exceeded only by Thanksgiving. Dips, spreads, wings, popcorn and pizza are the favorite foods. Beer consumption is estimated at 50 million cases, which is about four cans for every man, woman and child in the nation. All that beer consumption will require the use of more than 2 billion gallons of water to flush toilets.
