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Grab your pom-poms and popcorn! Super Bowl LVII<\/a> kicks off on Sunday, February 12, and sports fans near and far are already counting down the days until it starts.<\/p>\n The road to Super Bowl 2023 began with the NFL\u2019s first Super Wild Card Weekend<\/a> in January. Over the span of three days, 12 teams left it all out on the field to see which six teams would advance to the Divisional Round \u2014 and join the No. 1 seeds in the AFC and NFC \u2014 to make the final eight count<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Kansas City Chiefs<\/a>, who were the No. 1 seed in the AFC, remained triumphant over the Jacksonville Jaguars during their January 21 game. The NFC\u2019s No. 1 seed The Philadelphia Eagles also remained victorious the same day in their matchup against the New York Giants.<\/p>\n Viewers had to watch two more games<\/a> \u2014 between the Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals and the Eagles against the San Francisco 49ers \u2014 on Sunday, January 29, to learn who would be facing off in Super Bowl LVII.<\/p>\n When it came to the AFC Championship both the Chiefs\u2019 Patrick Mahomes<\/strong><\/a> and Bengals\u2019 Joe Burrow<\/strong><\/a> have played in a Super Bowl \u2014 and Mahomes has won one Vince Lombardi trophy<\/a>. On the NFC side, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts<\/strong> and 49ers backup quarterback Brock Purdy<\/strong><\/a> are new to the Super Bowl conversation.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Mahomes\u2019 squad triumphed over the Bengals and will face the Eagles for Super Bowl LVII.<\/p>\n In addition to watching the big game, FOX announced in January which performers would be entertaining<\/a> the crowd in Arizona on February 12.<\/p>\n Though rumors swirled that Taylor Swift<\/strong><\/a> would be taking the stage at the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show, Rihanna<\/strong><\/a> was confirmed as the performer in September 2022<\/a>. The decision left Rihanna fans desperate for a new album and psyched for her performance and potential new music.<\/p>\n The \u201cUmbrella\u201d songstress has been toying with her loyal followers since December 2018 when she teased that her next album was coming in 2019. The record, R9<\/em>, has yet to drop<\/a>, but Rihanna\u2019s Super Bowl performance has many thinking the album is near.<\/p>\n \u201cIf @Rihanna starts the Superbowl [sic] with fresh songs off #R9, my soul will exit this dimension, I\u2019ll be in a trance I swear,\u201d one fan tweeted in fall 2022. Another superfan wrote via Twitter, \u201cRIHANNA IS DOING THE SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW #R9 COMING SUPER SOON.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cLove the Way You Lie\u201d singer<\/a>, for her part, poked fun at how long it\u2019s been since her last record via a January 13 teaser for her halftime gig<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the video, Rihanna \u2014 who released the Black Panther<\/em> single in \u201cLift Me Up\u201d in October 2022 \u2014 walks toward the camera in a bright fur coat as voices in the background say, \u201cIt\u2019s been two thousand hundred ninety days,\u201d referring to the six-year wait for new songs<\/a>. Another soundbite adds, \u201cRihanna, we\u2019ve waited for you,\u201d while a third voice explains, \u201cRihanna is who everybody is waiting for.\u201d<\/p>\n The Grammy winner cheekily puts her finger to her lips in a \u201cshhhh\u201d gesture to the camera as her 2016 song \u201cNeeded Me\u201d plays in the background. \u201cYou need me,\u201d she sings on the track.<\/p>\n Scroll down to learn more about Super Bowl LVII:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n