The wait is finally over as the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots kicked off Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Sunday night.
After winning the coin toss, the Patriots got the game underway as the sun began to set over California and the 70,000 fans packed inside roared on the two teams.
The Seahawks took an early lead after kicker Jason Myers successfully converted a field goal to score the first points of the game, capping off an efficient opening drive.
Before the opening whistle, however, punk rock icons Green Day set the tone inside the stadium with a high-octane performance featuring a number of their classics.
The California natives looked right at home on the Levi’s Stadium turf, providing a high-energy contrast to the more traditional ceremonies that followed.
In fact, the performance from Green Day was so good that fans rushed to social media to claim that they should have had the half-time show over Bad Bunny.
Thousands of fans have descended on Santa Clara, California for Sunday’s Super Bowl LX
The New England Patriots battle with the Seattle Seahawks during the opening stages
After opening with an instrumental of ‘Good Riddance’ and then switching over to ‘Holiday’, they slowed it down with ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’ and saved the best until last with legendary song ‘American Idiot’.
The evening then swiftly moved on to a ‘special arrangement’ of the national anthem by singer Charlie Puth that immediately sparked a firestorm on social media.
Puth, a New Jersey native, performed a version of the Star-Spangled Banner featuring unique vocal runs that left viewers divided – while others questioned if the star was even singing live.
‘I know Charlie Puth is like a pitch perfect guy but it sounded lip synced,’ one viewer wrote on X, while another said: ‘Did Charlie Puth just lip sync the national anthem?’.
Despite his promise of a ‘really special arrangement in D major’ in the build-up to the big game, fans on X were quick to criticize the rendition.
One viewer claimed it was the ‘worst national anthem of all-time,’ while others questioned the choice of the Attention singer for such a massive stage.
The pre-game festivities also included Brandi Carlile, who performed a stirring rendition of ‘America the Beautiful.’
Rising star Coco Jones followed with a powerful performance of ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ which was met with an overwhelmingly positive reaction on social media.
Iconic rock band Green Day kick-started the afternoon with a brief set at the opening ceremony
Singer Charlie Puth then performed the Star-Spangled Banner in a moment which divided fans
The stands at Levi’s Stadium were awash with Hollywood royalty and music icons, including power couple Jay-Z and Beyonce.
Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce was also spotted taking in the action from a luxury suite, appearing solo after his own team failed to reach the big game this year.
As the sun set over Levi’s Stadium, the focus quickly shifted from the music back to the football as the players from both teams made their way out of the tunnel.
More to follow…
