The Super Bowl came to Arizona in January 2015 and so did the world’s spotlight. The game went down as one of the most memorable in history.
Who will ever forget the Seahawks’ decision to pass on second down with the ball on the one yard line and the league’s reputed most powerful runner, Marshawn Lynch, at their disposal? How could anyone forget the interception by Patriots’ rookie Malcolm Butler? Even he looked shocked when the cameras
captured his reaction on the sidelines.
There were plenty of memorable plays made on the field and during the halftime show featuring Katy Perry. As a resident of Phoenix, some of my memories of the 2015 Super Bowl experience have more to do with the impact the game had on our city.
I was priced out of the game but I did participate in a couple of the fanfest activities. I made a small slideshow and short video from my fanfest experiences.
Here are some my lasting impressions of the Super Bowl XLIX experience in Arizona :
- Glendale mayor Jerry Weiers whined on national tv because his city will likely lose money by hosting the Super Bowl because of the cost of security and police officer overtime.
- Both teams stayed in hotels less than ten miles from our home. This made for a few exciting moments with team sitings, but also caused some traffic snarls.
- Pre-game festivities began about a week before the Super Bowl at four key locations, with the primary spot being downtown Phoenix.
- Reportedly, over a million visitors, many of them celebrities, made their way to Phoenix during Super Bowl week. Thats’ a mind-boggling number considering the stadium holds less than 80,000.
- According to media sources, tickets in the nosebleed section were selling for $9,000 the week of the game. Our church pastor mocked the price by saying we could offer our kids tickets to the Super Bowl or a car.
- All the local hotels made bank, with even the cut-rate places charging around $400 a night. From the looks of things, many of the restaurants made out pretty well too.
- Game day weather was pretty spectacular, with warm temps and clear skies. However, the four days leading up to Super Bowl Sunday were very Seattle-esque.
Note: I am not an NFL fan. The Super Bowl game is the only game I will watch in entirety during the season.
Paul Fiarkoski 