What It Was Like Being at the Super Bowl

Philly-area publicist Jennifer Sherlock at the Super Bowl game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs (photo courtesy Jennifer Sherlock)

Most of us — more than 110 million of us — watched the Super Bowl from our homes and local bars. But an estimated 72,000 people watched the Super Bowl from seats inside State Farm Stadium, among them Elon Musk, Jay-Z, Paul McCartney, and, well, Philly-area publicist Jennifer Sherlock. We caught up with Sherlock on Monday before she caught a red-eye back to reality.

When did you get out to Arizona for the Super Bowl?
I came out here on Thursday, because I wanted to make sure I got to the Ron Jaworski Super Bowl party that night. There were so many parties. So much fun. I did the Jaws party, the Lee Steinberg party, the Maxim party, the Shaq party. I went to a bunch and had a bunch of fun but was definitely burning the candle at both ends every single day.

When did you decide to go out to the game?
I actually just bought two tickets last week at face value. Then I waited until Wednesday to book my flight, because I was still trying to figure everything out.

How on earth did you get tickets for face value last week?
Uh, I went to high school with somebody who has a contact with the NFL, and I got the tickets through him. They were $1,750 each for section 420. And then I sold one of the tickets on StubHub, and that wound up covering the cost of my ticket and half of my airfare.

Which was how much?
About $1,000. And I know people who paid a lot more than that, especially people who had to fly out on Friday. My brother and sister-in-law flew out on Friday, and they paid like $2,500 each for airfare. And they had really good seats close to the field, and I was able to move down and sit with them. So I think I made out pretty well, in the grand scheme of things.

Uh, yeah. I think you made out just fine.
[Laughs] I know. People were sick to their stomach after the game. Some people were really pissed. They said they could have gone to Hawaii for a month instead of watching the Eagles lose. I know people who spent a fortune on their trip. One friend spent at least $15,000 on an Eagles fan package.

From your social media feeds, it is readily apparent that you go to lots and lots of Eagles games.
Growing up, my dad would always take us to the Vet. So it’s in my DNA. My brother has season tickets. And through him and friends and business relationships I have — like with the head of Parx Casino — I went to every home game this season except one, and I missed that one because it was on Halloween weekend and I had a Halloween party in D.C. I had to get to.

(Photo courtesy Jennifer Sherlock)

So you were at the NFC Championship game?
Well, that is the one game I thought I wasn’t going to get tickets to. But then one of the guys involved in the flyover at the game wound up being able to get me scanned in.

The flyover? As in the F-16s?!
[Laughs] Yes.

With all these Super Bowl parties you went to, I imagine Ubers must have been through the roof.
Well, I met people. The one morning, I went and got some coffee and then sat at the hot tub. And I met some guys from home who invited me to ride in their limo, and I was able to get my brother and sister-in-law in on that. When we were at Shaq’s party, we met some guy from Texas, who was in oil and gas, and he invited us to the Maxim party in his limo. Which was great, because the last time the Eagles were in the Super Bowl, one of my friends spent $350 on one Uber. Come to think of it, I probably spent less at the Super Bowl than any other person who was there. [Laughs]

What’s it like being inside a Super Bowl stadium during a game?
I loved it. There was such good energy in there. A lot of us really had the confidence even after halftime that we were going to win it. But then obviously that changed.

How were the Chiefs fans to deal with?
I have to say that Chiefs fans are, like, very boring. Like I was surprised how much red was in the stadium, but they don’t celebrate like us. It was bizarre to me. Even leaving the stadium, there was very little excitement with them. It was just kind of … walk out. So it was very strange for me. They had no passion.

Did you bet on the game?
I did not. But I sure did meet a lot of people who did, and some of them said they expected to make back the money they spent going out there on their bets.

I wonder how that worked out for them. So when did you get that sinking feeling, realizing we were going to lose it all?
A lot of people are talking about the last two minutes. But I think we were in trouble before that. The last time the Chiefs scored a touchdown. My heart sank. I was like, oh shit. And then the person next to me said, “Oh, no, we can do it. We have another time out. We can get the ball and make this happen.” But for me, personally, I felt like the game was over after that final touchdown.

Do you regret going?
Not at all. These are lifetime memories. I thought when I was there watching the Eagles win the last Super Bowl, I thought I would never get to see them play in another Super Bowl. At least not within five years. It’s a bummer we lost but we might just make it to Vegas next year, and I’ll be there if we do.

I have no doubt. But if you had spent what most people spent to go to Arizona for the Super Bowl, would you regret going?
Oh, 100 percent. I would be pissed. I can tell you one thing: My brother sure isn’t happy.