Feb 14, 2020 - Sports

"The Super Bowl kid" and other sports prodigies

Screenshot: Whistle/YouTube

Just before Super Bowl LIV, Fox aired a video commemorating the NFL's 100th anniversary. It featured a young boy running a football across America, with various NFL legends telling him to "Take it to the house, kid! before switching to the live broadcast, where the young boy ran onto the field and handed the ref the game ball.

Who is he? The star of the commercial is 13-year-old football and track prodigy, Maxwell "Bunchie" Young, who was named SI's "Sportskid of the Year" in 2017 and was recently featured on "No Days Off," a YouTube show about sports prodigies from Whistle (previously Whistle Sports).

More episodes:

Dillon Lester, a 15-year-old baseball phenom
Chandler King, a 12-year-old gymnast star
Griffin Spikoski, a 14-year-old pro Fortnite gamer
Sky Brown, a 10-year-old pro skate and surfing prodigy

Go deeper: Increased viewership ups the stakes for the NFL's broadcast rights

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Kendall Baker

Special preview: Super Bowl LIV

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

The Super Bowl isn't just a football game. It's the halftime show; it's the ads; it's the seven-layer dip; it's the fact that, for four hours on Sunday night, nobody is expected to be doing anything else.

Why it matters: The Super Bowl is one of the last remnants of an era when we all watched the same things at the same time. It is the "live sport" of all live sports, which is currently the only form of content tethering many consumers to traditional TV.

Go deeperFeb 1, 2020 - Sports

Rebecca Falconer

9 memorable Super Bowl 2020 ads

Tom Brady in Hulu's Super Bowl commercial. Photo: Hulu

Super Bowl 2020 was watched by an estimated 194 million people on Sunday, according to the National Retail Federation.

The big picture: With figures like that, it's no wonder the clash between Jimmy Garoppolo’s San Francisco 49ers and Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs drew some of the biggest names in business, sports and politics during the commercial breaks. Here are some of the most memorable ads from the big event.

See adsUpdated Feb 3, 2020 - Sports

Kendall Baker

What the Super Bowl coaches are saying ahead of the game

Photo: David Eulitt/Getty Images

Andy Reid, 61, hasn't been to the Super Bowl in 15 years and is the NFL's best coach to never win one, making him the sentimental favorite among neutral fans.

What he's saying: Did I mention he's quirky and hilarious? Yesterday, he compared having nine grandchildren to eating Chinese food: "They keep you young and at the same time make you feel old. It's kind of like sweet and sour pork."

Go deeperFeb 1, 2020 - Sports