‘I can’t understand how the Super Bowl can feel bigger than the Champions League final’
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has called for the Champions League to introduce a Super Bowl-esque opening ceremony to ensure that every final becomes ‘an event and entertainment’.
As well as the exciting action on the field, the Super Bowl is famous for its pre-game and half-time ceremonies. In February, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Mickey Guyton all starred at this year’s showpiece event.
While the Champions League final does incorporate a brief opening ceremony, it is far less extravagant than the Super Bowl.
Al-Khelaifi insists the Champions League final should be ‘bigger’
However, PSG chief Al-Khelaifi believes that the Super Bowl ‘feels bigger’ than the Champions League final and urges UEFA to emulate their American counterparts by conducting an opening ceremony prior to kick-off.
“The final should be bigger,” Al-Khelaifi told The Athletic when discussing Europe’s elite club competition.
“I can’t understand how the Super Bowl can feel bigger than the Champions League final.
“The Super Bowl, and the US generally, have this mindset, creativity and entertainment. That’s what I have suggested, to have an opening ceremony to the Champions League, to have one match on the opening night where the winners take on a big team — maybe it is not a good idea, but at least let’s challenge the status quo.
“Each match needs to be an event and entertainment.”
The convergence of ideas between the ECA and UEFA feels like they speak as one now. Headlines today about Nasser al Khelaifi wanting Champions League final to resemble Super Bowl eerily similar to words from UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin in past.
— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) April 4, 2022
Dr. Dre reaches into own pockets to pull off this year’s show
This year’s Super Bowl saw Dr. Dre reportedly invest “millions” of his own cash to ensure the performance wasn’t censored in any way following an iconic all hip-hop halftime show.
The 56-year-old rap icon was fronting “most of the money necessary” to pull off the event as it was intended, according to sources. He went on to tell the outlet directly that only “minor changes” were made to the lyrical content.
Dre took the stage with artists Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, as well as old friends Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and, of course, Eminem, who made a powerful statement by taking the knee to round out the show.
It was alleged that the National Football League attempted to “censor” the performance by requesting that Eminem – real name Marshall Mathers – not make the, sadly, still controversial gesture that former American football player Colin Kaepernick pioneered back in 2016.
Related links:
- FA Cup winner to be awarded Champions League spot, but only if a ‘big club’ triumphs
- UEFA drop controversial coefficient-ranked Champions League plan
- Dr. Dre put millions of own cash into Super Bowl halftime show to stop NFL ‘censoring’ performance
