Super Bowl start time: What time Rams vs. Bengals gets going

Well, kids, today is one of those bittersweet days on the sports calendar. On the bright side, it’s finally time for Super Bowl LVI, as we get to watch the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Los Angeles Rams in the battle for the National Football League’s ultimate prize. On the down side, it’s the last meaningful football game that any of us are going to see until September, and that’s always a bummer.

You’re going to be watching today’s game. . .we’re all going to be watching today’s game. But just in case you’re not completely aware of how to follow all of today’s action, we’ve got everything you need right here.

Television Info

Even though the pre-game festivities kick off well ahead of time. . .honestly, they may have already started. . .the kickoff of the actual game itself is set for around 5:30 PM Central time. The game is going to be aired on NBC, with Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth on the call. There’s no map for this one because, seriously, it’s on NBC and it’s the only game happening.

For our men and women in uniform overseas, the Super Bowl will be aired live on AFN Sports. Kickoff is set for 2330Z on Sunday night. That works out to 0130L on Monday morning for everyone in Central Europe, 0330L on Monday morning for anyone watching on Arabian Standard time, and 0830L on Monday morning for fans in Japan and Korea. You’ve got Monday off anyway, so you could just as well stay up and watch the game.

Radio Info

If you’re going to be listening on the radio, you should be able to find the Super Bowl on pretty much any sports radio station you can find while spinning the dial. Lord knows I’m not going to try to go through all the affiliates everywhere.

If you’ve got satellite radio, you’ll be able to hear the national broadcast from Westwood One on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Channel 88. If you want the Bengals’ feed, you can find it on Channel 225, while the Rams' feed is located on Channel 226. You can also listen en español on Channel 227. The SiriusXM website isn’t differentiating between the Sirius and XM dials when it comes to the channels, so I assume it’s the same for both.

Referee Info

According to Football Zebras, an all-star officiating crew for this one will be led by Ron Torbert. This is Torbert’s first Super Bowl as the head referee, so congratulations to him on that. Our Minnesota Vikings did not see Torbert this season, and actually have not had him officiate one of their games since December of 2019, as his crew presided over the Vikings’ 39-10 thrashing of the Los Angeles Chargers.

Weather Info

While SoFi Stadium is technically indoors, there are still some effects from the elements. According to our friends from WeatherNation, it’s gonna be a warm one in Southern California today. Temperatures at kickoff are forecast to be in the mid-80s with winds coming out of the southwest at 5-10 miles/hour. By the time the Lombardi trophy is presented, the temperatures will get down to the upper 60s/lower 70s.

Halftime Info

This halftime show has been getting hyped for quite a while, as it will feature an array of people that are so famous that even I’ve heard of them. Well, most of them, anyway. Among the performers will be Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eminem, and Kendrick Lamar. The folks at NBC have no doubt assigned some poor intern to be in charge of the “dump” button for this one, and they’d better be on their toes.

Betting Info

The line for this one hasn’t really fluctuated much over the course of this week. According to our friends at the DraftKings Sportsbook, the Rams are still sitting as a 4-point favorite in this one, while the over/under remains at 48.5. Be sure to check the link for any changes between now and kickoff.

Chris’ Prediction

I briefly touched on this in the picks post from yesterday, but I’ll repeat it. I think there’s going to be too much Aaron Donald (my pick for Super Bowl MVP) and the Rams’ defense for Joe Burrow and his struggling offensive line to overcome. Matthew Stafford completes his redemption arc, and Kevin O’Connell leaves Los Angeles (and arrives in Minneapolis) a winner as the Rams take this one, 31-24.

Streaming Info

Because this is an NBC game, you can get the game on the NBC Sports website. If you have the Peacock streaming app, you can get the game there as well. You can also get the game in other ways, whether that’s through NFL GamePass, or by checking out a service such as Fubo TV.

Honestly, you don’t need an illegal stream. So don’t promote them here.

That should be basically everything you need to follow along with all of the action from Super Bowl LVI from Los Angeles between the Bengals and the Rams. We’ll have an Open Thread for all of you Vikings fans that are going to be watching the game