On February 7th, the NFL qualified for AARP, although most would refer to this grandiose event as Super Bowl 50. This season, the Super Bowl took place in Santa Clara’s very own Levi’s Stadium and showcased the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers going head-to-head right in our backyard. One interesting thing that kicked-off (pun intended) the event was the pre-game ceremony introducing all former Super Bowl MVP’s. This ceremony, of course, included the Patriots’ Quarterback, Tom Brady, who was ultimately booed when entering the field. Even our own local hero, Stephan Curry, was shown giving his support to Carolina by banging their “Keep Pounding” drum.

This year, Lady Gaga was given the honor of singing the National Anthem and performed beautifully in her sparkly red pantsuit. However, it was said that her performance raised some controversy over the amount of time it took her to sing our Nation’s tune. According to SB Nation, “One of the big prop bets of the day was the over/under for the length of the national anthem sung by Lady Gaga. Usually this would be a fairly simple exercise, but the pop star’s rendition of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ concluded with a stylish flourish that basically meant there were two endings to the song.” Because of this “situation,” many people’s bets were null and void, causing a bit of a ruckus among the betting community.

One of the most notable plays of the game itself was the very first touchdown by Broncos outside lineman, Von Miller. The touchdown was actually the result of a strip-sack to Panthers Quarterback, Cam Newton, bringing the score to 10-0. On the other hand, the Panther’s first touchdown came from Jonathon Stewart who seemed to almost soar through the air into the end zone.

The second quarter started off with Broncos Quarterback, Peyton Manning, slipping and being touched by another player, something the referees had missed. This was followed by a call on Manning by Panther’s Head Coach, Ron Rivera, which was overturned. While this did grant Carolina seven yards, it used up that last of their challenges early on. A few minutes later, Jordan Norwood of the Broncos, made a 61-yard punt return, the longest punt return in Super Bowl history. By the time halftime rolled around, Carolina was trailing the Broncos by six points, the first time they had been behind in a game all season.

Super Bowl 50’s golden anniversary halftime show was something never to forget. This year, the show featured Coldplay, Bruno Mars, and the queen herself, Beyoncè. However, many people were seemingly offended by Beyoncè’s performance and began protesting her following the Super Bowl. Those in support of #BoycottBeyonce received an invitation to rally outside of the NFL headquarters on February 16. According to CNN, the invitation said, “”Are you offended as an American that Beyoncé pulled her race-baiting stunt at the Super Bowl? Do you agree that it was a slap in the face to law enforcement? Come and let’s stand together, let’s tell the NFL we don’t want hate speech & racism at the Super Bowl ever again!”

The ultimate message of Beyoncè’s “Formation” and the Formation World Tour is to embrace her African-American womanhood, and it continues on despite these attacks and attempts to shut her down. Regardless of the protests, the halftime show ran smoothly. Coldplay performed their hit songs Viva la Vida, Paradise, and Adventure of a Lifetime; this was followed by Bruno Mars performing Uptown Funk and Beyoncè’s Formation.

To compliment this beautiful performance, 10 of the 14 girls on the Wilcox dance team were given the opportunity to perform along side 30 other schools and dance programs. This opportunity was extremely confidential up until the day of the show. According to junior, Brittany Hart, the dance coach, Mrs. Akin, was contacted by people running the halftime show and requested an audition tape in which they danced to Happy. Fast-forward to two weeks later, and they had been accepted. On game day, all of the dancers and students performing in the show met in San Jose and were escorted by police to the stadium where they performed their routine as the flowers on the field. “The day was really exciting,” says junior on the dance team Alyssa Barkin, “All the people in the stands made everything much more real. Before it was just practices, but the day of, there were thousands of people—every seat full, costumes—and the full performance. I still can’t believe I got this opportunity. We even got to keep the costumes!”

Following this glorious display was the rickety third quarter. A definite opportunity was missed when Carolina’s Graham Gano kicked a field goal that went off course and hit the upright. This was then trailed by an interception thrown by Cam Newton that, in the end, resulted in a fumble.

Opening up the fourth quarter was the stripping of Manning and the Broncos 16-10 lead over Carolina. However, the score didn’t stay at 16 for long. Following Von Miller’s second strip of Cam Newton, CJ Anderson ran a one-yard touchdown, bringing the score to 24-10, brining home the win for Denver. After the game had ended, Von Miller was rightfully named the Super Bowl MVP. Manning was also discovered to be the oldest Quarterback, at the ripe old age of 39, to perform in a Super Bowl. Not only that, but he has seen four Super Bowl’s with four different coaches. At the closing of the game, Manning was asked about the continuity of his career, to which he said he wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, at least not until he’s had a few beers first.