
Justin Timberlake is ready for his big return to the Super Bowl stage 14 years after he and Janet Jackson made headlines for a now-infamous wardrobe malfunction.
Super Bowl 52 will be in Minneapolis — the closest the NFL's big game has been to Iowa since the Twin Cities hosted its only other Super Bowl in 1992.
It's a 245-mile drive from Des Moines to U.S. Bank Stadium — the home of the Minnesota Vikings. About 3 1/2 hours. Here are some directions if you're thinking about driving. (Want to fly? Nonstop Delta flights are about $270 round trip from Des Moines to Minneapolis.)
From the casual couch potato to die-hard "PAINT MY FACE AND BODY!" football fan, here are all the answers to the pressing questions we know you're Googling ahead of the big game:
Who's playing?
It's the AFC champion New England Patriots against the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles.
The Patriots beat the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday and are heading back to the Super Bowl for the second consecutive season and third time in four years. They're looking for their sixth championship in the era of quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick.
The Eagles beat Minnesota on Sunday and are looking for their first Super Bowl championship. They lost to Oakland in 1981 and fell against the Patriots in 2005.
How much are Super Bowl tickets?
According to SeatGeek.com as of Sunday afternoon, the cheapest ticket available is up in the nosebleeds. They're about $5,700 each before fees. StubHub.com has a handful around the $5,300 mark.
SeatGeek spokesperson Chris Leyden told USA TODAY Sports that ticket prices are at record-high prices due largely because of fans' anticipation of the Vikings. As of Thursday, the average resale price was $5,296 — the most expensive seat that far out from the game since SeatGeek began tracking Super Bowl ticket prices in 2011.
“It's tough to tell how much more prices may go up,” Leyden said. "But as a point of reference, College Football Playoff Championship tickets went up about 20 percent when Georgia and Alabama won (in the semifinals)."
Or, if you're super-duper lucky, you get them for free — like 99-year-old Vikings superfan Millie Wall.
Last week, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell presented Wall with the tickets near the end of Minnesota's exhilarating 29-24 win against the New Orleans Saints.
What a finish. Grandma Millie told @nflcommish she wanted to go to the @SuperBowl - @Vikings just got one step closer and Millie’s got two #SB52 tickets! pic.twitter.com/W9d24KoNix
— Natalie Ravitz (@NFLNatalie) January 15, 2018
Don't bet on it, though.
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Forget that. Where can I watch for free?
NBC (WHO-TV Channel 13) will televise this year's Super Bowl. It begins at 5:30 p.m. CST on Sunday, Feb. 4.
It's the 19th time the network will broadcast the spectacle. Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth will call the game from the booth and Michele Tafoya will report from the sidelines.
NBCSports.com and the free NBC Sports app will also have livestreams ready for your viewing pleasure. The app available for iOS and Android devices.
And, if you're a cable-cutter, the NBC Sports App can be found on Xbox, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Chromecast and Roku devices.
Why is the Super Bowl in Minnesota?
You can thank the Vikings' new stadium for that.
When it was announced back in May 2014 that the Super Bowl was headed to our neighbors up north, the NFL awarded Minnesota because of the $1.1 billion U.S. Bank Stadium.
And while it might be freezing outside, have no fear: It will be 73 degrees and sunny inside the 66,200-seat stadium.
Additionally, you're going to find this skywalk guide very handy, courtesy of the Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Association.
Other than Minneapolis, the only other Midwest cities to host the Super Bowl are Detroit (twice— Super Bowl XVI, 1982; Super Bowl XL, 2006) and Indianapolis (once—Super Bowl XLVI, 2006).
This will be the second time Minnesota has hosted the Super Bowl. The last time came in 1992 (Super Bowl XXVI) at the gone-but-never-forgotten Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
“How rare it is for Minnesota to host an event like this,” Michael Howard, spokesman for the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “It’s only happened one time before 26 years ago and so part of it I think is just the excitement to be part of an event like this and to have it here in Minnesota.”
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I only watch the Super Bowl for the halftime show. Who's performing?
Justin Timberlake will be performing his third Super Bowl halftime show — the most for any entertainer.
He first performed with N'Sync in 2001, at Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa. Three years later, at Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, Timberlake sang and danced alongside Janet Jackson, with the show's ending resulting in national controversy.
At the end of their gig together, Timberlake ripped Jackson's costume, revealing her right breast bare except for a nipple shield.
The infamous "wardrobe malfunction" drew CBS a $550,000 fine from the Federal Communications Commission, which was later overturned.
In a recent interview with Zane Lowe of Beats 1 Radio, Timberlake said he and Jackson have made peace about the incident.
"Absolutely. Yeah," Timberlake told Lowe. "And ... I don't know that a lot of people know that. I mean, I don't think it's my job to do that, because you value the relationships that you do have with people."
You can watch the full interview here:
And if you want to hear some J.T.'s latest stuff (as well as the classics), here you go:
Super Bowl 52 ... what number is that in Roman numerals?
LII. You're welcome.
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