Tributes are flooding in online for reporter Adan Manzano who passed away while on assignment covering the Super Bowl.
Manzano was a 27-year-old reporter and sports anchor for Telemundo Kansas City and Tico Sports.
The television station confirmed Manzano had passed away on Wednesday (February 5) while in New Orleans covering the Super Bowl in a post to social media.
Telmundo Kansas City took to Facebook yesterday (February 6) to write: “We are sorry to share that Adan Manzano, reporter and sports anchor for Telemundo Kansas City passed away yesterday in New Orleans while on assignment to cover the Super Bowl for Telemundo KC and Tico Sports.
“[…] Adam was an exceptional professional and a rising star whose dedication and talent reflected excellence in his work. We will deeply miss Adam, his passion for sports and the contributions he made to the local community. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with his family and loved ones at this difficult time.”
Adan Manzano was 27 years old (Facebook/ Adan Manzano)
The station confirmed it is ‘cooperating with authorities as they investigate this tragic event’.
Manzano’s passing follows just 10 months after the passing of partner Ashleigh Boyd. According to an obituary for Boyd, the 24-year-old passed away on 11 April, 2024 after being involved in a car accident.
The page states Boyd was ‘mother to 15-month-old Eleanor’. And it hasn’t taken long for fans of the reporter to flock online to pay their respects.
One Facebook user said: “Rest in peace Adam. Prayers for his family and friends.”
“I can’t believe it. My deepest condolences and resignation to his family. An amazing human being and co-worker. Surely one more Star that will shine in the sky. Rest in peace and fly high Adam,” another added.
Manzano’s partner Ashleigh Boyd passed away in April 2024 (Facebook/ Adan Manzano)
A third wrote: “We are sorry for your loss we join the pain of your family and friends and more because he was in his best moment of life and in the place of our community rest in peace Adam for being a great reporter of some and so many of our chiefs games in Kansas City MO… for you there will be one more victory in your name.”
A fourth said: “I am deeply moved by the sad news of the passing of Adan Manzano. My deepest condolences to his family, friends and our colleagues at Telemundo Kansas City. May you find comfort in the memories and legacy Adam left in every story he told.”
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact GrieveWell on (734) 975-0238, or email info@grievewell.com.
A Philadelphia Eagles fan has sadly died after falling from a street light pole while celebrating his team’s move to the Super Bowl.
Football fan Tyler Sabapathy was identified in a statement released by his school, Temple University, where he had been a student majoring in exercise and sport science in his first year.
His death occurred on Sunday (January 26), after the Eagles beat the Washington Commanders 55-23 to secure a victory in the NFC championship game.
Eagles fans were out celebrating in Philadelphia (Thomas Hengge/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The win means the team will be going up against the Kansas City Chiefs at the Super Bowl on February 9, and Sabapathy was among the fans celebrating the news at the weekend.
The student, who was originally from Toronto, Canada, had been in Center City Philadelphia when a video was filmed of him climbing a street pole.
Sabapathy fell from the pole onto the concrete sidewalk, landing flag on his back and hitting his head in the process.
The student was rushed to Jefferson Hospital with a brain injury, but was pronounced dead two days later, ABC 6 reports.
Temple University paid tribute to Sabapathy in its statement released on January 28, saying: “It is with deep sadness that we write to share news of the death of first-year student Tyler Sabapathy. Over the weekend, Tyler sustained critical injuries and ultimately passed away this afternoon.
“The loss of a promising 18-year-old man like Tyler is both tragic and traumatic. There are no words that can make sense of it, and the entire Temple community mourns his passing. Our hearts go out to Tyler’s family, friends, classmates, and all who knew and loved him.”
Footage showed Tyler climbing a light pole (ABC 6)
The statement went on to describe Sabapathy, who was a member of the school’s gymnastics team, as an ‘accomplished gymnast with more than 120 medals in provincial, regional and international competitions’.
“Tyler was fascinated with injury prevention, and this ultimately led him to pursue the major that he did. He no doubt had a bright future ahead of him, and it is so tragic that we will not be able to see how he would have made his mark on the world,” it continued.
The university is set to offer grief counseling for students and staff who need it in the wake of Sabapathy’s death.
After the Eagles’ win, Philadelphia police had an internal briefing to review the response on Sunday and discuss what strategies they could implement if the Eagles secure a win in the Super Bowl.
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and Kelce’s mom Donna were seen joking about his previous partying while celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs making it to the Super Bowl LIX.
On Sunday (January 26), the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills at the AFC Championship at the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, and advanced to their third straight Super Bowl.
Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce celebrated the win with partner Taylor Swift and mom Donna, and a video of the trio has sent fans springing to their keyboards.
The Kansas City Star shared a clip on TikTok of the pair alongside Kelce’s mom, Donna.
Kelce can be seen saying to his mom: “Take me back to my old New Orleans home. I owe New Orleans a little something…”
“Yes you do,” his mom replies.
Although Swift then jumped in, joking he shouldn’t ‘go to Bourbon Street’ – a street known for its bars and clubs.
Kelce continued: “Yeah, I won’t be having as much fun that night.”
His mom jokingly confirmed with a smile: “No, you won’t.” Kelce adding he wouldn’t be having any ‘grenades’ – an alcoholic drink.
Donna added, as quoted by US Weekly: “We know your history.”
The joke between the trio seemingly refers to Kelce being suspended from the University of Cincinnati’s football team – the Cincinnati Bearcats – in 2010 after he tested positive for marijuana.
The Cincinnati Bearcats made it to the Sugar Bowl – an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana.
However, Kelce didn’t make it to the game against the Florida Gators as a result of his random drug test turning up positive, and him being banned from playing for a year.
In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2023, Kelce explained: “I was down in New Orleans, listening to Lil Wayne, and I wanted to smoke what he was smoking.
“I’m just sitting there, dead in the water. I just wanted to get out of there. I was so embarrassed, I didn’t want to look at anybody.”
And it’s not taken long for fans of Kelce and Swift to weigh in on the joking between the pair and his mom.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce celebrated Kansas City Chiefs win on the pitch (Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)
One TikTok user said: “I love how Donna reminded Travis about his time in Nola. He better make better choices. Love this audio. Thank you!!”
“When Donna said, ‘know your history’, and Travis immediately said, ‘yeah, I won’t be havin’ as much fun’. He won’t forget what he had to overcome to get to this point in his career,” another added.
A Twitter user wrote: “She definitely called him out on that one!”
A second added: “Yep, but he’s changed a lot from a stupid college freshman to a seasoned veteran basically married 35 year old. I had a lot of fun in the Quarter when I was 19, too.”
Here are our top five Super Bowl halftime show performance of all time.
Look, let’s be real here, who actually watches the Super Bowl for the sport anymore?
With such a plethora of celebrities having been known to take to the stage at the biggest game of the NFL season, it’s no wonder so many people tune in – or attend – just to catch their favorite pop star or rapper perform.
Ahead of the Super Bowl LVIII set to be played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight (February 11), we’ve taken a look back at five of the best performances in the history of the event.
5. Lady Gaga (2017)
In spot number five we have the one and only Lady Gaga. If anyone has the stage presence to fill up the entire stadium at the NFL’s biggest game of the year, it’s the ‘Bad Romance’ singer.
With a remix of her songs including ‘Poker Face’ and ‘The Edge of Glory,’ all while suspended from a wire and floated around in the air, Gaga’s performance at the Super Bowl 2017 – and every performance she does if we’re honest – is nothing short of iconic.
She wore a classic Gaga shiny bodysuit with shoulder pads, jewels around her eyes and of course, danced her socks off with a team of talented back-up dancers too. Oh, and she whacked out a mini keyboard to play herself too, later graduating to a full-sized one with everyone waving lights in the air, did a costume change and there was fire.
As one X – formerly known as Twitter – user wrote: “It’s been almost seven years and I’m still not over Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl performance.”
Getty Images/Timothy A/Clary/AFP
4. Beyoncé & Destiny’s Child (2013)
Fourth has to be Queen Bey herself, alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams of course.
Beyoncé was the first to strut out on stage with ‘Love on Top’ going into ‘Crazy in Love’ and well, the crowd’s cheers really said it all.
Halfway through she was joined by the rest of her girl group trio and they gave the classiest performance ever seen in any halftime show.
As one YouTuber said: “Imma need her to perform at least 1 more time at the SuperBowl! She’s just so perfect at her craft.” So Bey, what do you say?
Getty Images/Kevin Mazur/WireImage
3. Rihanna (2023)
Making the top three, it’s got to be RiRi, who not only took to the Super Bowl stage in 2023 to perform, but also announce the news of her pregnancy.
The ‘Umbrella’ singer’s performance brought in five million more viewers than the actual game and it became the most-watched halftime show in history.
Oh, and she didn’t even feel the pressure to bring out any special guests because she’s obviously more than enough on her own. Iconic.
Getty Images/Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
2. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar & 50 Cent (2022)
With so many stars on stage at the same time, it was impossible not to rank the 2022 halftime show performance in second place.
The group who – at the time – shared whopping 43 Grammy awards to their names, performed absolute bangers like ‘Lose Yourself’ and ‘In Da Club’.
And Eminem also took the knee, showing his solidarity with movement Black Lives Matter in protest of police brutality and racism.
One YouTuber reviewed the performance: “We got Em, Kendrick, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, AND Snoop ALL on one stage, one place, one time. This is just pure chills every time I see it, and I wasn’t even born around the time these guys (and gal) were making music at their prime.”
Getty Images/Ronald Martinez
1. Prince (2007)
It’s more an oldie but very much a goldie. There’s no doubt about it, Prince was, is and always will be, an icon.
Prince took to the stage in 2007 at the age of 48, finishing off his set with a performance of ‘Purple Rain’ performing the song amid a rain downpour and wind storm – fitting – and his rendition truly takes your breath away.
As one social media user resolved: “No one has come close to the excellence of Prince’s Super Bowl show. A true once in a century performer.”
While the hype may be focused on what is happening on the field this coming Sunday, you certainly want to keep one particular rule in mind – especially if you’re in close proximity to the stadium.
Super Bowl 2024 will see the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers battle it out at Nevada’s Allegiant Stadium on Sunday (February 11) – with each team hoping to be crowned the victors of LVIII (58th).
The NFL championship final usually attracts an average of 70,000 live spectators – and that’s also not counting the millions of people watching from the comfort of their own homes.
But if you are one of those lucky few that have managed to land a spot at the big game, then chances are you will want to capture some footage to reminisce about.
But if your plan to do so is sending a big drone up into the air to capture the best bits, then you’ll certainly have to keep in mind these rules.
Perry Knotts/Getty Images
Failure to do so could lead to a whooping and potentially even life-changing fine.
The Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is a ‘No Drone Zone’ for Super Bowl LVIII – essentially meaning people can’t fly their drone there while the action is taking place.
While that may seem pretty obvious, drones are actually also prohibited around several additional locations during the days leading up to the big event on Sunday.
So from now up until game day, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) explains how restrictions around Resorts World on Thursday (February 8) will take place ‘for one nautical mile up to an altitude of 1,000 feet from between 2pm and 10pm’.
Getty Stock Photo
As for Friday (February 9), restrictions will be in force for ‘one nautical mile up to an altitude of 1,000 feet from between 11am and 2pm’ at the stadium itself.
Similar restrictions are in place at the Wynn Casino on the same day between 5pm and 11:30pm local time.
As for game day itself, restrictions begin at 11am within two nautical miles around the Allegiant Stadium and up to 2,000 feet in altitude.
But between 2:30pm and 8:30pm, these drone restrictions expand ‘to a 30-nautical-mile radius and up to 18,000 feet in altitude’.
The FAA has also explained that those who operate a drone in these areas at these times without permission could face fines that exceed $30,000 or even potential prosecution.
