CBS has already suffered a few technical issues in and around its Super Bowl LIII coverage. For example, about 10 (football) minutes into the first quarter, color commentator-extraordinaire Tony Romo lost the use of his microphone.
After not hearing from the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback for a little bit, viewers got the following explanation out of Jim Nantz’s broadcasting partner:
“Well, my mic works again, so I can talk,” Romo said on a thankfully hot mic. “This works out perfect. I was saying such good stuff on that play earlier, Jim. It was fantastic.”
We’ll never know what play-predicting brilliance the 100 million-plus of us missed out on. But Romo’s really good at the the gig, so we’ll take him at his word.
Romo’s mic cut off with 5:52 remaining in the big game’s opening quarter. He got it back with 4:14 left. So, it wasn’t too bad — or at least, not too long a drought.
When reached by TheWrap, CBS Sports did not have a comment on what went wrong there. A person with knowledge of the production shrugged the lost 98 seconds-or-so as a “small issue” with Romo’s headset.
Romo switched to a back-up pretty swiftly. In the interim, Nantz did a halftime promo.
The first quarter ended with no score, which was unexpected given the explosiveness of these two high-powered offenses.
Super Bowl LIII is in Atlanta, Georgia, the home of the NFC South Falcons.
Super Bowl LIII: The Scene From Atlanta (Photos)
The biggest celebration of the Super Bowl LIII weekend undoubtedly broke out in Mercedes-Benz Stadium when the Patriots won their sixth rings. But long before Adam Levine ripped off his shirt on stage, a slew of A-list parties and exclusive events were going on all over Atlanta (the following party photos are in chronological order, not ranked by cool factor).
Getty
Odell Beckham Jr. kicked off his Super Bowl party weekend at the Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest/EA Sports Bowl Welcome to Atlanta, with Ludacris, Young Jeezy and T.I. performing together for the first time.
Getty
Kevin Hart got a selfie with two football legends -- Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Hall of Famer Jim Brown.
Getty
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes narrowly missed out on playing in Super Bowl LIII (we're sure they'll be one in his future!), but he still had a working weekend doing the rounds on Radio Row for SiriusXM.
Getty
While he's not playing on Sunday either, Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson still got his game on for Nickelodeon's "Double Dare Takes the Gridiron."
Getty
Ludacris took to the stage for the Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest/EA Sports Bowl on Thursday.
Getty
Gucci Mane and Migos shared the spotlight at the Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest/EA Sports Bowl Thursday.
Getty
Post Malone brought the popcorn and beer to the Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest at State Farm Arena on Friday
Getty
Mark Cuban offered his best right hook to Evander Holyfield Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest on Friday night.
Getty
Kesha Ward and 2Chainz sipped on Martell Cognac at the Versace & 2Chainz event on Friday night with Pernod Ricard. 2Chainz has teamed up with Versace to design the "2 Chain Reaction" sneaker, which Versace DNA through the perspective of the Atlanta hip-hop star.
Shaq’s Fun House at The Battery on Friday night was a circus ... literally. NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal’s personal event had everything from acrobats to a marching band and mechanical bull, plus DJ Shaq himself on the decks.
Shaq's Fun House
WWE superstar Mojo Rawley got the dance floor popping with the Gronk Bros. as Migos, Diplo, Tiesto, T-Pain and Lil Jon all performed.
Shaq's Fun House
What's a circus without a ring master? Yep. Shaq's Fun House had one of them, too.
Shaq's Fun House
Celebrity guests such as Jamie Foxx, Akon, Reggie Bush, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Tim Tebow, Teyana Taylor, Adrian Peterson and Dak Prescott got to ride the carousel (we highly recommend the zebra!)
Shaq's Fun House
Hip-hop star YG entertained a crowd packed with pro players at the ONE37pm and VaynerSports Annual “Emerging Kings” Big Game Soiree on Friday night. Many of the guests were clients of NFL super agent and party host, Gary Vaynerchuk.
VaynerSports
Patriots running back Jeremy Hill took a brief break from team obligations on Friday evening to catch up with Alex Earte at the VaynerSports party.
VaynerSports
What do two running backs talk about when they join heads? Washington Redskins RB Adrian Peterson bantered on stage with Arizona Cardinals RB at the Thuzio’s Party’s fifth annual event on Friday night as part of the “Legends” series interview show with NFL All-Pros.
Thuzio
The Thuzio party also included a stage feature of veteran/former NFL player Nate Boyer (above left with Adam Lefkoe), in celebration of the fundraising effort for Jay Glazer's Merging Vet's & Players.
Getty
ESPN Fantasy football guru Matthew Berry was one of the many NFL experts at the VaynerSports event. Guaranteed to inject a new lease of life into any ailing fantasy football lineup, we'll forgive him predicting that the Rams would win Super Bowl LIII 31-30.
Getty
We're pretty sure that NFL insurance policies don't cover Jets QB Sam Darnold for boxing injuries, but that didn't stop him throwing a few mock punches at Barstool Sports' Rough N' Rowdy amateur boxing brawl to the Coca-Cola Roxy on Friday night.
Barstool
Two days before he was arrested during Super Bowl LIII and thrown in a holding cell at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (you seriously couldn't script that!) Barstool's "El Pres" Dave Portnoy held court at the company's Rough N' Rowdy amateur boxing brawl.
Barstool
And yes, there was real, genuine boxing matches going on with referees and screaming fans.
Barstool
Houston Texans' JJ Watt gave Daryl DMC McDaniels a giant-sized handshake at Wheels Up' 5th Annual Super Saturday Tailgate Party. Watt later high-fived Gordy "Papa Gronk" Gronkowski, telling him how much he admired his son, Patriots tight end Rob.
Wheels Up
Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson was one of the hosts of the Wheels Up Saturday afternoon extravaganza. He joined Steve Smith Sr., Sam Darnold, Larry Fitzgerald, Mike Tirico, Scott Van Pelt, Rich Eisen, Ron Rivera, Mike Golic, Kevin Harvick, Kirk Herbstreit, and Mark Teixeira on stage as the football experts share their predictions ahead of Super Bowl LIII.
Wheels Up
Maria Menounos was among the countless VIPs at the invite-only event for private aviation company Wheels Up, where guests clamored over meatballs from Rao’s ultra-exclusive 123-year-old Italian restaurant in Harlem, New York City.
Wheels Up
New York Jets rookie QB Sam Darnold enjoyed his first Super Bowl weekend to the fullest, doing the rounds of the best parties including Wheels Up' 5th Annual Super Saturday Tailgate Party. The afternoon bash featured large-scale activations by Bose, BMW, Cintron, Diageo and TruFusion.
Wheels Up
Rapper Jeezy - who hails from nearby South Carolina - got his (video) game on at Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s Mortal Kombat 11 activation at the Luxury Experience & Co Lounge, held at Davidoff of Geneva at The Shops Buckhead on Saturday afternoon.
"Ballers" actor Kris Lofton (right) got clean cut look courtesy of Art of Shaving at the Luxury Experience & Co inside of Davidoff of Geneva in Buckhead, Atlanta.
Comedian Kevin Hart is guaranteed to be the shorted guy in the room over Super Bowl weekend, and at the Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Super Party on Saturday afternoon it was rapper Meek Mill who towered over him.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Fanatics
Grammy-nominated singer Cardi B was the main attraction at the Fanatics party, as she performed in her custom Louis Vuitton for VIP guests including Emily Ratajkowski and Jon Bon Jovi.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Fanatics
Patriots owner Robert Kraft is probably the last person you'd expect to be such a huge hip-hop fan but he's even name-dropped (along with Michael Rubin) in Meek Mill's song "Championships." Before Tom Brady and co. won him yet another ring, Kraft was spotted dancing on stage with Cardi B (who admitted she was rooting for New England) at the Fanatics Super Party.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Fanatics
Kraft swapped football no-how with Fanatics founder Rubin, and NFL Hall of Famer Ray Lewis - who earlier told Kevin Hart: “watch out bro, I’m going to tackle you.”
Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Fanatics
Who doesn't love tacos? Diehard L.A. Rams fan and "Desperado" Danny Trejo teamed up with Discover LA to serve free tacos from his personalized truck on Saturday. Former NFL running back Rashad Jennings was among the famous faces grabbing a bite.
Discover LA
"Ballers" star Donovan Carter feasted on Danny Trejo's tacos at the Discover LA popup. L.A. native Trejo named the menu options after some of his favorite Rams stars, like the “99 Taco” (inspired by Aaron Donald) or the “McVay Taco” with mushroom asada.
Discover LA
Following Taylor Swift and Jennifer Lopez as past DirecTV Super Saturday Night headliners, rock gods the Foo Fighters brought a refreshing change of tone to a Super Bowl weekend packed with hip-hop performers.
Getty
Foo Fighters open their show with crowd-pleasing classics like “All My Life,” “Learn to Fly” and “The Pretender.”
Getty
Emily Ratajkowski brought some red to the black and gold carpet at DirecTV Super Saturday Night 2019.
Getty
Tim Tebow has been happy to show his new fiancee Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters the Super Party scene, and Saturday night he took her on what's become his annual jaunt to the DirecTV party.
Getty
Jon Hamm had a prime view for the Foo Fighters marathon performance from his front row seat in the VIP area.
Getty
Paul Rudd went into Hollywood mode before the main event took over a giant converted warehouse in downtown Atlanta for DirecTV Super Saturday.
Getty
Maxim is known for pulling out all the stops over Super Bowl weekend, and their Big Game Experience, with Future, Jamie Foxx and Diplo headlining in the 19,000 square feet of event space at The Fairmont. Aside from the banging tunes, experience from Zaytoven’s Basement Studio took guests on a through Atlanta's musical royalty with wall-to-wall memorabilia, iconic mixtape covers and exclusive studio footage from Momma’s Basement.
Getty
Sports Illustrated model Camille Kostek played host at the Maxim Big Game Experience Saturday night before boyfriend Rob Gronkowski won his third Super Bowl ring with the Patriots. And yes, they're both still celebrating!
Getty
Teyana Taylor and New York Giants star Odell Beckham, Jr. spotted at the Maxim Big Game Experience, where they enjoyed performances by Future, Jamie Foxx, Diplo and more from the celebrity-packed balcony courtesy of APEX Social Club of PALMS Casino Resort on Saturday night.
Getty for Maxim
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes was one play away from actually making it to the Super Bowl, but he didn't seem to be wallowing in the AFC Championship loss and instead enjoyed the weekend with longtime girlfriend Brittany Matthews. The high school sweethearts hit up the Maxim Big Game Experience, which was a joint venture with Lagardère Sports and Entertainment.
Getty
Sports Illustrated didn't disappoint with their first Super Bowl party in three years as Snoop Dogg took to the decks at the Saturday Night Lights Party partnered with Talent Resources Sports at the College Football Hall of Fame.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Lil Wayne got the dance floor popping as Diplo, Evander Holyfield, Lil Jon, Miles Jones, Aaron Judge and Baker Mayfield partied in the VIP area at the Sports Illustrated bash.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am took a break from performing to be a guest at the SI bash listening to mixes from Snoop, Lil Wayne, DJ IRIE and Dallas Austin.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
"Bachelor" alum Andi Dorfman wasn't short of hot pro athletes to give a rose to at Sports Illustrated's Saturday Night Lights Party.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Wanna learn the Flosser? The Backpack Kid, a.k.a. Russell Horning gave out free dance lessons to SI guests.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Snoop Dogg may not have slept all weekend, as on Sunday morning he was back on the decks as DJ Snoopadelic at the Maxim Pregame Experience presented by TicKPick before Super Bowl LIII. After the game, Snoop was back on stage at the New England Patriots victory party.
1 of 50
The New England Patriots are back for yet another Super Bowl – and the Rams aren’t the only stars who flew in from L.A. for the big weekend
The biggest celebration of the Super Bowl LIII weekend undoubtedly broke out in Mercedes-Benz Stadium when the Patriots won their sixth rings. But long before Adam Levine ripped off his shirt on stage, a slew of A-list parties and exclusive events were going on all over Atlanta (the following party photos are in chronological order, not ranked by cool factor).
Getty
Getty
