The Super Bowl won't kick off until Sunday, but the festivities of Super Bowl LII officially began on Monday night. 

At Opening Night, the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots participated in the festivities that served as a formal way to introduce themselves to the endless supply of media members. Most of the stars were there, from Tom Brady to Carson Wentz. Cliches were muttered. Underdog roles were embraced. Strangely dressed reporters made appearances. Bill Belichick even smiled. 

If you missed the event, we've got you covered. Read on for 13 takeaways from Opening Night.

1. Tom Brady is popular and wearing gloves

Ten minutes before the event began, the crowd in front of Brady's podium was massive.

When Brady stepped out on stage, he appeared sporting two gloves that hid his hands, which only matters because Brady is dealing with an injury to his right hand. He battled through the injury to lead the Patriots past the Jaguars in the AFC title game and reportedly had 12 stitches removed afterward. In the lead up to that game, Brady made an appearance at practice with a bulky looking glove on his right hand. So, the glove still hasn't disappeared, even though he's indoors.

What was with the gym bag, though?

The crowd kept growing.

"This could never get old," Brady said during his interview with NFL Network. He went on to call the Eagles "a tough test." He said they're "good in all three phases." So no, he didn't give any bulletin-board material to the Eagles, as expected.

He also refused a chance to test his thumb in a thumb war.

Nice try.

Brady exposed the fact that he knows shockingly little about pop culture, but he does know that Aaron Rodgers and Danica Patrick are dating.

And no, it doesn't sound like he's retiring after Super Bowl LII unless he suddenly loses all of his magical football powers over the course of the game.

"Well, I never want to be a detriment to the team," Brady said, per NFL.com "So I think for me, as long as I'm playing at a high level and I make the commitment to take care of myself year-round, I'll continue to play.

"So I don't know, things change quickly. Anything can happen, but obviously I want to keep playing. I love playing. I just love playing for the Patriots."

When it came time for him to address the incident involving "Kirk & Callahan" host Alex Reimer, who called Brady's 5-year-old daughter, Vivian, an "annoying little pissant," Brady made it clear that he doesn't want Reimer to be fired.

"I would certainly hope the guy is not fired. I would hate for that to happen," Brady said, per Pro Football Talk. "I just think any player is protective of their kids. I never stayed away from criticism. I understand criticism is part of sports. But I certainly don't think my children or any other children deserve to be in that. … I think we all have careers and we all make mistakes. I would hate to have someone have to change their life over something like that."

It's still not clear if Brady will go back on the air with them. Brady ended his interview on Monday with WEEI after telling them that he was very disappointed in Reimer's comments.

2. Belichick is onto Philadelphia 

If there's one thing Bill Belichick hates, it's talking about topics unrelated to football. So, it shouldn't have come as a shock to see him impatient for the festivities to end. 

When he appeared on stage dressed in a suit, he looked bored out of his mind.

Then his press conference began with a bang.

It continued along in typical Belichick fashion completely unimpeded.

Even Guillermo couldn't crack him.

His knowledge of social media remains unrivaled.

An enjoyment update:

Final update:

Reporters should save this valuable intel for next year's Super Bowl, which the Patriots will inevitably play in because they're the Patriots.

3. No Gronk or Malcolm Butler

As expected, Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski didn't show for Opening Night because he's still in the concussion protocol. Obviously, Gronk's health is the most important thing here, but let's just state the obvious: He and his penchant for making rather entertaining comments were missed dearly on Monday night.

He wasn't the only missing Patriots star. Cornerback Malcolm Butler was also absent with an illness.

The good news is that both players are expected to be OK for the game on Sunday, according to the Boston Herald's Jeff Howe.

4. Danny Amendola discovers the key to winning the Super Bowl

Patriots receiver Danny Amendola has it all figured out.

No, I didn't make that up.

As I said, enlightening.

5. Patrick Chung hasn't read Tom Brady's cookbook

Brady sells an expensive cookbook filled with recipes that only use super healthy weird ingredients. His teammate, safety Patrick Chung, clearly hasn't flipped through the book.

6. James Harrison takes shot at Steelers

James Harrison played for the Steelers for most of his career and is Pittsburgh's all-time leading sacker, and then he joined the Patriots just in time for their Super Bowl run. On Monday, Harrison took a mild jab at the Steelers -- specifically their travel arrangements.

"They got real food on that plane too," Harrison said of the Patriots' private plane.

"We had some aluminum foil wrap stuff," Harrison said of the Steelers' airplane.

Burn.

7. Eagles greeted appropriately by Vikings fans

To get to the Super Bowl, the Eagles throttled the Vikings. Then, they hopped on a plane to Minnesota to face the Patriots in the Vikings' home stadium. Predictably, Vikings fans gave the Eagles a warm reception at Opening night.

"As expected, NFL fans love their teams," Ertz said, per NFL.com. "Obviously Minnesota isn't over last week. But hopefully they'll kind of change heart and root for us next week."

8. Doug Pederson goes casual

Patriots coach Bill Belichick wore a suit. Eagles coach Doug Pederson wore jeans.

So much respect, honestly, from a work-from-home blogger who doesn't own a suit.

9. Not where Carson Wentz expected to be

Not too long ago, Carson Wentz was an MVP candidate for the Eagles. Now, due to a torn ACL, he's taking a backseat to Nick Foles at Opening Night.

Wentz still fielded questions and expressed his support for Foles. He said his faith is getting him through the week.

Foles, on his part, remained complimentary of Wentz, saying he's the MVP of the league.

"No, I did not imagine I would be the starter in the Super Bowl when the season started," Foles said, per NFL.com. "When you're playing behind Carson Wentz, you're playing behind Carson Wentz. He's one of the best in the NFL. He's got an extremely bright future. I can't wait to see what he does in his future. ... He's going to have a great career and his time will come."

10. Julie Ertz, Zach Ertz are still the best sports power couple

Julie Ertz, one of the best soccer players in the world, plays for the U.S. Women's National Team. Zach Ertz, one of the best tight ends in the world, plays for the Philadelphia Eagles. Naturally, that makes them one of the world's top power couples.

Julie skipped the Eagles' win over the Vikings in the NFC title game to play in a game with the USWNT, scoring a goal in the process, but she attended Opening Night. There, they stole the spotlight.

11. Eagles cheerleaders try to save the Eagles' portion

Surprisingly, the Eagles' portion of the night didn't live up to the excitement of the tight-lipped Patriots' session. This might've been the highlight, which isn't saying much:

So, the Eagles cheerleaders tried to salvage it by teaching the media members how to dance.

12. Eagles keep embracing underdog status

The Eagles have been underdogs in every playoff game so far. As of Monday night, the Eagles are 4.5-point underdogs. 

They're embracing their underdog status.

"We've been the underdogs," Pederson said, via NFL.com. "I think that's the mentality of our football team. I think that's the mentality of our city, and I'm okay with that, I'm fine that. I've been an underdog my whole career, my whole life. Everything I've done, I either haven't been good enough or something negative has been written or said, and I just blow it off. I have confidence in these guys and this team."

"We've had a chip on our shoulder the entire year," Ertz said, via NFL.com. "No one picked us at the beginning of the year. No one picked us after Carson got hurt. No one picked us first round, second round, the NFC Championship. We're just excited to be here, the chip on our shoulder will never leave. I think being in the NFL you have to have one."

So, to no one's surprise, a dog mask made an appearance.

13. Weird sightings

Allow me to present a shark reporter:

And a dog reporter:

At one point, a Rubik's cube was solved.

Live-blog

Below, you'll find our live-blog from the night.