With less than a week to go before the Super Bowl, the final countdown to the big game has begun. We kick off the festivities in the San Francisco Bay Area with one of the sport's most time-honored traditions, Super Media Day. But this year, things will be a little different.
Normally a daytime event on the Tuesday preceding the Super Bowl, the league has moved it to Monday night and branded it as "Super Bowl Opening Night." Looking to capitalize on fans' insatiable appetite for everything NFL, the league is shining a primetime spotlight on the circus-like affair and giving it the same pomp and circumstance that it bestows on every other league happening.
Thousands of credentialed members of the press will descend upon the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., to grill players and coaches about what has become one of the world's biggest sporting events. The festivities will televised live on the NFL Network, beginning at 8 p.m. ET with interviews being conducted from approximately 8:15 to 9:15 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m.
Fans will be able to sit in the stands and watch as the media ask questions -- ranging from boring to silly to absurd -- to members of the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers. In addition, there will be musical performances throughout the evening, along with player and cheerleader appearances. A grand ol' fun time for everyone involved.
What was originally planned as an informative event for reporters to gather key quotes and interesting player tidbits to fill their Super Week notebooks, Media Day has become less about football and more about the eccentric in recent years, with costumes, props and bizarre questions filling the mass media availability session.
Although Marshawn Lynch won't be around to provide entertaining non-answers to reporters' inane queries, there should still be plenty of curious quotes and amusing scenes during the three-hour extravaganza. You've still got several outsized personalities on both teams, including Von Miller and Cam Newton, who should provide some memorable clips that will be replayed on television screens throughout the week.
We know that both Miller and Newton can dance -- will we see another rendition of the Broncos linebacker's hip-shaking gyro moves or the Panthers quarterback's iconic "dabbing"? Will anyone reprise Lynch's "I'm just here so I won't get fined" tactic? How many Batman impersonators will we see? And of course, you have Peyton Manning making perhaps his final media appearance on the league's grandest stage.
Between the Sheriff possibly closing out a Hall of Fame career, Superman's unscripted exuberance and so many other juicy storylines to explore this week, you can bet that this will be a memorable Super Bowl Media Day (err ... Opening Night).
Here's the info you need to know to watch the festivities on television or stream it online:
How to Watch
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: SAP Center, San Jose, Calif.
TV: NFL Network
Online Streaming: NFL Now