While CBS’s broadcasting of the Super Bowl LVIII was good for the average watcher, the Nickelodeon showing was infinitely more entertaining to watch.
While it was compelling to watch the game on CBS for the commercials, Nickelodeon kept it interesting with the coverage they had while broadcasting.
Along with two regular announcers, Spongebob Squarepants and Patrick Star from “Spongebob Squarepants” made appearances and hosted portions of the game, while making comments about plays.
In addition to Spongebob and Patrick, Sandy Cheeks was on the sidelines reporting what was happening with the teams at the field level. Larry Lobster was also spotted to be running on the field as well.
In comparison, Dora, from Dora the Explorer, would appear above the scoreboard to share terminology and what it means, with Boots making an appearance with Map.
The Nickelodeon version also had its own interpretation of live events of what was happening converted to kid-friendly versions.
For example, at the live game, there was a ‘streaker’ where a man had taken his shirt off and was running on the field. On Nickelodeon’s broadcast, they instead provided a clip of Patrick floating down to the field using his pants as a parachute.
Nickelodeon also had their version of celebrities attending the games and had made fish puns with their names.
Some of my personal favorites were Taylor Fish (Taylor Swift), Jason Kelpe (Jason Kelce), Snoop Fishy Dogfish (Snoop Dog), Herring Styles (Harry Styles), Billie Eelish (Billie Eilish), Pirihanna (Rhianna), Shimpothée Chalamet (Timothee Chalamet) and Dua Flipa (Dua Lipa).
There were many more examples, but those were just some of my favorites that they shared.
In addition, Kelce was only referred to as “Taylor Swift’s Boyfriend” when the camera would showcase him and captioned him as “good at football” where players’ stats would usually be showcased.
While CBS had USHER as their halftime performance, which was fun to watch, Nickelodeon instead shared a performance of “Sweet Victory” inspired by one of the more popular episodes at Bikini Bottom.
As someone who watched the CBS broadcast, the Nickelodeon one that was intended for children was by far more captivating to watch.
In the first half of the game, it was a slow start point-wise, with only the San Francisco Fifty-Niners having a touchdown, and it seemed that Nickelodeon had jokes prepared or was amazing at improv.
When the Kansas City Chiefs were close to getting a touchdown, Dora asked who needed a map to find the endzone. While it was intended to help people watching who didn’t know find it, it came across as low-key roasting the Chiefs and their lack of touchdowns.
Patrick also said “you have to firmly grasp it” when the ball was fumbled.
Spongebob backs it up with another “firmly grasp it” afterward.
Overall, while the CBS version might have its pros with the commercials and halftime show, Nickelodeon was more entertaining to watch to those who do not watch much football, or like to have more humor throughout the game instead of in breaks.
Boggess can be reached at [email protected].
