Super Bowl 2021: The best bits that aren't just American football

The Super Bowl is as much about the action off the field as it is about the action on it.

This year was no different, with a half-time performance from The Weeknd, adverts that cost millions of dollars to show during the event, trailers for new movies and a chance to travel to space!

So carry on reading to find out what happened during America's biggest sporting event of the year.

Tom Brady

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has now won the Super Bowl seven times during his career

So if you have no idea how American football works and words like quarterback and touchdown have no meaning for you - we promise not to talk about American football too much.

But you can check out our helpful guide here: Super Bowl 2021 - A beginner's guide to American football.

And, it's difficult not to mention Tom Brady, who is the absolute GOAT - 'greatest of all time' if you didn't already know - when it comes to this sport.

His team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, beat the previous champions Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9. It means Tom Brady has won the Super Bowl seven times!

The 43-year-old is the oldest player to play in the biggest game in US sport, and plans to play on until he's at least 45.

His latest success comes after his first season with the Buccaneers. He'd previously played for the New England Patriots for 20 years.

Making history

Sarah Thomas made history during the Super Bowl, becoming the first female official in the NFL's biggest game.

She was part of a seven-person crew for the contest.

"It's just so meaningful," Thomas said. "I never set out to be the first in any of this, but knowing the impact that I'm having on not just my daughter but young girls everywhere."

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant coaches Maral Javadifar and Lori Locust became the second and third women to coach at a Super Bowl.

Healthcare workers

Some of the empty seats at the Raymond James Stadium were filled with cutout photographs of fans including dogs

There was a reduced crowd of 25,000 at the Raymond James Stadium in Florida watching the Super Bowl.

That included 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers who were given free tickets to thank them for their hard work during the coronavirus pandemic.

Normally tickets to the Super Bowl can cost as much as $5,000!

Before the start of the 2021 Super Bowl, Miley Cyrus performed a concert, which aired live on NFL's TikTok channel.

"This is my first show in about a year, and I couldn't imagine a better way to do this than in Tampa, surrounded by healthcare heroes," she said.

The Weeknd

The half-time show at the Super Bowl is a big deal - with around 100 million Americans watching at home and millions more around the world.

This year The Weeknd was performing and spent $7 million of his own money to make sure his performance was as good as it could be.

The artist, who has recently worn make-up and bandages to look as if he's had facial surgery, looked his normal self as he performed hit songs Can't Feel My Face and I Feel It Coming in the stands of the stadium.

He finished his performance on the field itself singing Blinding Lights, accompanied by hundreds of backing dancers.

The adverts

Adverts cost big bucks during the Super Bowl!

Companies pay at least $5.5million for 30-second advertisement slots during the game.

Some of the adverts that stood out this year included Timothée Chalamet taking on the role of Edward Scissorhands's son, Edgar Scissorhands.

Winona Ryder came back for her role from the famous Tim Burton movie as Kim Boggs, who is now the mother of Edgar.

Much like his father, Edgar struggles with everyday life. From accidentally piercing a football and inadvertently becoming a magnet in school to shredding the bell on the bus. Banned from public transport, Edgar's mum has the perfect solution for her son - she buys him a self-driving car.

John Cena appeared in a brightly coloured advert for Mountain Dew

Another car advert for Jeep, featured iconic singer Bruce Springsteen in his first ever ad promoting the idea of unity in a divided America.

The ad is set in Lebanon, Kansas, which is in the middle of the country.

"It's no secret the middle has been a hard place to get to lately, between red and blue, servant and citizen, freedom and fear," Springsteen says, adding 'we need the middle.'

Other commercials included Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan playing the human version of Amazon's voice-recognition system Alexa and WWE superstar John Cena driving through a colourful town inspired by the American drink, Mountain Dew.

The trailers

Turns out Avengers: Endgame wasn't really the end game as Bucky and Sam return for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which is coming to Disney+ on 19 March.

Taking on a world without Captain America, the Super Bowl trailer showed that the new duo will spend most of their time taking on bad guys and solving mysteries.

The trailer shows tension between the two heroes in a world that is still coming to terms with Thanos and the events of the blip in Infinity War.

Raya from Raya and the Last Dragon

Disney also showed a trailer for Raya and the Last Dragon.

Set in a fantasy realm inspired by Southeast Asia, warrior Raya - played by Star Wars star Kelly Marie Tran - journeys to find the last dragon in the land.

Played by actor and comedian, Awkwafina, the blue-fluffy dragon is named Sisu and is, by her own admission, not exactly the best dragon in the kingdom.

The trailer asks: "How did this world get so broken?" with Raya's mission to unify the kingdom.

The movie was originally set for a November 2020 release date, but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Raya and the Last Dragon will be available via Disney+ Premier on 5 March.

Win a trip to space

The worlds first all-civilian mission to space, called Inspiration4, introduced itself to the world with a 30-second commercial.

Jurassic World star and Mandalorian director Bryce Dallas Howard directed the advert called 'Join Us'.

The mission is being funded by billionaire Jared Isaacman, who will pilot a SpaceX Dragon capsule in Earth's orbit - and is offering three seats to the public.

The ad is encouraging adults to donate to a raffle, with one lucky winner being picked to join the mission set to blast off later this year.