There was a lot to complain about early in Super Bowl LIX. It took forever to start. There were too many superfluous celebrity cameos. And, of course, the refs quickly made a controversial call. We might have been able to predict all that. What we weren't expecting was a new FOX scorebug that seemingly everyone hated.
FOX unveiled a stripped down scorebug on Super Bowl Sunday. It was see-through and simple with the team abbreviations in large block letters with team colors backing them.
Sleek and simple can be good. Unfortunately, they missed the mark by not refining it enough to be worth of a Super Bowl scorebug.
FOX’s new score bug for Super Bowl LIX: pic.twitter.com/AUtaY3pbF4
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) February 9, 2025
To put it lightly, fans on social media hate it with a burning passion.
Best reactions to FOX's whiff of a Super Bowl scorebug
Insane they would drop this scorebug on us in the Super Bowl. Nasty work pic.twitter.com/GnCzoQYwa4
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) February 9, 2025
omg the scorebug is awful
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) February 9, 2025
Who designed this score bug? It’s horrible. pic.twitter.com/rQmCxASfRp
— Jason Myers (@JasonMWX) February 9, 2025
My son is so upset about the scorebug that he’s threatening to do crack thanks a lot Fox
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) February 9, 2025
This new score bug looks like one you'd see on a fake football game in a commercial. pic.twitter.com/wPWXv8YNXU
— 𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙢𝙚𝙩 𝘼𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩 (@HelmetAddict) February 9, 2025
First reaction to new scorebug pic.twitter.com/5DGWW8vZ0B
— Joe Vasile (@JoeVasilePBP) February 9, 2025
Might have to boycot the NFL over the scorebug pic.twitter.com/mvyVsB8kcs
— PFT Commenter (@PFTCommenter) February 9, 2025
Those who actually like the scorebug were fewer and further between, but they do exist.
i actually really like the scorebug pic.twitter.com/XzyFEklDAj
— jabba (@jabbagfx) February 9, 2025
Hot take. I like the new scorebug. Simple and clean. As it should be.
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) February 9, 2025
I like the new minimalist FOX scorebug
— Nick Kostos (@TheKostos) February 9, 2025
To each their own, I guess.
Personally, I like the idea of a minimalist scorebug. I just don't like this execution. It looks like a rough draft or a sketch of what a designer might want to do. I appreciate what they were trying to do. I wish they had managed to nail it.
Frankly, FOX could improve it greatly just by shrinking it. No one needs the scorebug to stand as tall as the players on wide angle. Adding an outline would help as well. It's not that far away from being fine.
The scorebug isn't a particularly important element on a day as big as Super Bowl Sunday. But it's unavoidable. It'll be there for the entire game, reminding people constantly how much they don't like it.
Some will be able to tune it out eventually. Others might be driven insane by it. Is a class action lawsuit going overboard? It would certainly get the necessary signatures.