Alright, so that was an experience that I'm likely never going to top. Got into Minneapolis on Friday night at around 8 PM. I'm staying at an Airbnb hosted by a couple in North Minneapolis and the dude was kind enough to come and get me from the airport and then the three of us went out for beers.
On Saturday I went to a puppy bowl at one of the local breweries. It was fun but a little intense with how packed it got inside. After that we went downtown to check out some of the Super Bowl events. I really wanted to stick around for some of the concerts but it was just way too damn cold outside.
So Sunday morning rolls around and I'm starting to get pretty nervous about the game and also about the fact that I hadn't secured a ticket yet. My budget was $2k for a ticket and I was waiting on the resale market to drop there. It got to around $2500 about two hours before kickoff and then just started going up again, so I was starting panic.
I popped into a little bar right by the stadium and grabbed a beer and went on craigslist. I saw an ad for a ticket for sale for $2000. I was pretty skeptical of craigslist because it's notorious for scams but I was running out of time and options so I emailed the listing.
The woman who put up the listing got back to me right away and agreed to come meet me at the stadium and walk in with me to ensure the ticket was legit. I also had a little blacklight with me to check the ticket because blacklight lettering was one of the security features of the ticket.
The girl with the tickets meets me at the stadium and agrees to sell me the ticket for face value for $1900. I check the ticket for the blacklight lettering and it's all good. Everything seems on the up and up. The problem was that I had not properly prepared to pay her for the ticket.
Before I went down, I took out $500 USD and I had $400 left. My ATM limit for the day is apparently $500 so I was only able to come up with $900 in cash on me. I asked her if I could PayPal her the rest and she was cool with that.
I try to login to PayPal on my phone but because it's so damn cold out my phone keeps glitching up. When I get into PayPal I realize I need to update a bunch of info including my credit card because the one on my account had expired. Finally, after all that gets sorted, I attempt to send her the money and PayPal wants to make sure it's me who is accessing my account so they want to send me a text or call me for security. The problem is that the phone number they have on file for me is an old number. I tried to update it a few times but every time I went to send the money it kept prompting me with the old phone number.
At this point both her and I are getting super frustrated but she has a flight to catch so I give her my word that I will send the money once I get back home. She reluctantly accepts this and gives me the ticket.
After all of these shenanigans, it was basically only 10 minutes to kickoff. The way the NFL set it up the security check-in for tickets was still about 800 metres from the stadium, so I had hauled ass and basically sprinted to the stadium. I missed the anthem but got to my seat in time for the kickoff.
The seat she sold me was pretty fantastic. Second level, just above the goal line. The first TD to Alshon happened right in front of me.
Eagles fans seemed to outnumber Pats fans by about 3:1 and pretty well everyone in my section was an Eagles fan. The game itself was obviously thrilling and an emotional rollercoaster for me but I'm so glad to have witnessed the franchise's first Super Bowl win. It was such a surreal moment and I haven't been able to stop grinning since.
I didn't really take many pictures or videos because I was just trying to soak in the moments but I'll post the ones I did take when I get back home. That stadium is absolutely gorgeous, by the way.
I missed the halftime show because I was charging my phone (would have been screwed for getting back to the Airbnb if I hadn't), but I caught parts of it on the TVs and didn't seem like I missed much.
For post-game celebrations, I just hit a couple of bars downtown and drank with fellow Eagles fans. I think the city was a little bit dead because of how cold it was. I have no doubt that if it had been in Florida or something there would have been much more people out in the streets.
Most of the fans I saw were pretty well behaved. Didn't really see any altercations.
I doubt I'll ever go again because of how expensive it is. The trip definitely put me in the hole and it's going to take me several months to pay off but I honestly can't put a price on that experience. The only regret I have is not getting something to put the ticket in to protect it before hitting the town after the game. It got pretty beat up in my pocket but it's still a cool souvenir.
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