Kansas City Chief’s two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Patrick Mahomes recently gave details of coach Andy Reid’s orders during Rihanna’s blockbuster halftime performance.
During his appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show, following the Chief’s narrow 38 to 35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles this past Sunday, Mahomes revealed coach Reid gave strict orders to the team which banned them from watching RiRi’s live set.
“Coach Reid told us, he said, ‘If you go out to watch the performance, just keep walking,'” Mahomes said, “‘because you’re not playing the rest of the game.'”
Story: #Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes revealed that Andy Reid threatened to bench any KC player who left the locker room to watch the Rihanna's halftime show 😲 pic.twitter.com/uiQ7GnGWex
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 14, 2023
Considering the Chiefs were down by 10 points at the start of the second half, it makes sense that coach Reid, who has won three Super Bowls total, demanded complete focus from his players. However, it appears that Mahomes was already equipped with a sense of keen intuition before the big game. In an interview conducted at an NFL press conference the week before the Super Bowl, Mahomes told reporters he knew Rihanna was going to be “great,” while also hinting he would be missing the show altogether.
“I mean Rihanna is going to be great so I’m perfect with Rihanna doing it. I’m not going to be able to watch it, but a lot of my family members are super excited Rihanna to go out there.” Mahomes continued, “I think they were more excited for that than the Super Bowl for a couple of them so it will be a great show.”
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Even without the eyes of Chiefs players, the “Diamonds” vocalist still managed to garner one of the highest halftime show viewerships in history with her solo performance. In fact, Rihanna’s performance at halftime brought in more total views than the Super Bowl itself. Riri’s medley of hits attracted a staggering 118.7 million while the Chiefs and Eagles Superbowl title match generated 113 million views. For comparison, last year’s star-studded halftime show helmed by Dr. Dre and Adam Blackstone for Super Bowl LIV raked in 103 million views while the 2016 Super Bowl 50 halftime show featuring Beyoncé, Coldplay and Bruno Mars brought in 115.5 million views.
Additionally, even though Mahomes earned his second Super Bowl title in four years along with the MVP trophy, Rihanna truly won in her own right. Her Instagram followers increased by nearly 1.5 million users on the day of the performance and her views on YouTube increased by a mind-blowing 11.4 million.
What’s even more impressive is that Rihanna’s concurrent listeners on Apple Music worldwide spiked an unfathomable 331% after her performance of hits such as “Bitch Better Have My Money,” and more. Her fan-beloved ANTI album also charted in 161 countries via Apple Music, reaching the top 10 in over 20 countries including the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. In total, Rihanna’s songs charted in 149 countries on the night of the Super Bowl.
For fans who may have missed the performance like Mahomes, revisit Rihann’s monumental performance below.