CULTURE IS BEATING SPORT ON SPORT’S BIGGEST STAGES
Kendrick Lamar performing at the 2025 Super Bowl
The Super Bowl isn’t just a sporting event anymore - and there’s proof more people are coming for the culture than the competition.
When you look at the numbers, the game itself is becoming a less significant part of the event.
Did you even know who won Super Bowl LIX?
I bet you know Kendrick buried Drake once and for all, though?
And Serena Williams crip walked her way onto your feed?
@rapup Kendrick Lamar gotta be the pettiest man of all time 😭 Serena too cold 🔥🙏 #kendricklamar #serenawilliams #superbowl #halftimeshow #fyp ♬ original sound - RapUp
According to Vulture some 133.5m people tuned into that infamous Halftime Show, while only 123.7m watched the match itself.
Not only that - 12m have watched the NFL’s match highlights on YouTube in the past year, while 159m have watched Kendrick’s Halftime Show on the same channel.
I’d suggest the comparison across all the clips and trends on TikTok make that difference even more stark.
The culture outperformed the sport.
Bad Bunny collecting Grammys in 2026
So what about 2026?
Boy, do we have something tasty this year with Bad Bunny:
He just won three Grammys including for Album of the Year
He’s the first ever non-English language performer
Who didn’t include any US tour dates in his World Tour because of anti-immigration raids executed by ICE
And he has a significantly greater presence on social than any of the NFL accounts
Which franchises are even in the Super Bowl this year?
The Puerto Rican rapper, who was Spotify’s most streamed artist in 2025 (as well as 2020, 2021 and 2022) is close to having the same number of Instagram followers as all the franchises combined.
Who knows what surprises will be in his performance, though I suspect the conversation is about him on Monday morning rather than a throw or an ad.
Advertising is another rather bonkers number - with just Fox generating an estimated $800m on in-game ads in 2025.
Bad Bunny has far more Instagram followers than the NFL’s official account and the franchises
How do you use this information?
Of course this is slightly tongue in cheek - the sport and the game is vital and without it there is no attention or show.
But the impact is clearly evident as FIFA plans their equivalent during the World Cup Final in July to steal more eyeballs (and ultimately money alongside their ‘hydration breaks’).
With clubs from Crystal Palace to Como hiring Creative Leads to make them more culturally relevant; and PSG’s seeking to solidify themselves as a lifestyle brand with their latest pop-up in London next week, La Maison.
The intersection of sport and culture is becoming increasingly blurrier and if you aren’t playing in it - you might already have been relegated.
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