panorama page has some great additional shots, too.">
Click on any picture for a larger view, a potential story, and a print/frame order form. The FAQ button on the left refers to Superbowl XXXIX - Patriots vs Eagles - Jacksonville if available.
Stunning, detailed Panoramas and Panoramic Images from all over the world
Map of the Continental United States of America, Lower 48
Stunning, detailed Panoramas and Panoramic Images from all over the world
Map of the Continental United States of America, Lower 48
Florida Travel
New Mexico Travel
Arizona travel, Arizona vacation, Arizona wildlife, Arizona wildflowers, Arizona Photography
Arizona travel, Arizona vacation, Arizona wildlife, Arizona wildflowers, Arizona Photography
Florida Travel
New Mexico

Superbowl XXXIX - Patriots vs Eagles - Jacksonville, FL

I was lucky enough to win a drawing for a free trip to see Superbowl XXXIX - Patriots vs Eagles in Jacksonville, Florida. The February 2005 Superbowl was an amazing experience. Everything about the Superbowl and the rest of the trip was first class. The 10:1 ratio of Eagles:Patriots fans didn't help them. The Patriots won 24-21. The FAQ has much more information, and my panorama page has some great additional shots, too.
MickTravels World Travelog - Antarctica, Alaska, Australia, Galapagos, Peru, Maui, Greece, Israel, USA, panoramas
MickTravels World Travelog - Antarctica, Alaska, Australia, Galapagos, Peru, Maui, Greece, Israel, USA, panoramas

Our bus stopped at the Sawgrass Country Club to eat a late lunch. The food was OK. Chad Lewis, injured tight end for the Eagles, joined us for pictures.

01-mick-and-chad-lewis
Here are our tickets. Face value $500. We didn't get them until an hour before the bus left. These things were going for several thousand dollars on eBay and on the street.

02-superbowl-tickets
All the busses parked in their own lot. While the game was going on, all the drivers went to their own party.

03-bus-parking-lot

No shortage of limos at the superbowl.

04-limo-row
After leaving the bus parking lot, it was an exciting walk to the stadium. Vendors along the way were selling ticket protector lanyards for $10. The same lanyards were $5 after the game.

05-road-to-the-superbowl
I wonder what that would have been like?

06-parties-everywhere

Almost to the stadium. Weather earlier in the week was off and on rain, so we were lucky to have a nice day.

07-getting-closer
All the immediate surronding streets were blocked off.

08-almost-there
In case you didn't know where you were.

09-superbowl-banners

These banners were massive.

10-superbowl-banners-closeup
My dad outside the stadium.

11-superbowl-dad
Me outside the stadium.

12-superbowl-mick

An Eagles fan takes a picture outside the stadium.

13-superbowl-cheesesteak-head
Here we are.

14-superbowl-sign
A large serpentine to get to security was as fast as it could be. No waiting. Volunteers along the way told us they wouldn't let in any camera bags. Dad had one for his camera and one for his binoculars. I hid his binocular case in an inside jacket pocket. He stuffed his camera bag under a bush, never to recover it.

15-serpentine-towards-security

Waiting in the short, quick line for security. They didn't even notice the stowed binocular case. The sweepstakes personnel warned me that no camera lens longer than 6 inches would be allowed in the stadium, so I had to leave my large lens back at the hotel and just bring my 28-135mm. I presume the NFL didn't want the crowd taking better pictures than its staff. My smaller lens worked out OK.

16-superbowl-security
If you wanted a martini before the game, staff was ready to help you.

17-superbowl-martinis
The table was made of ice. So was the chute that they poured the martini down into the glass.

18-martinis-on-ice

Club 39 was an exclusive area reserved for special ticket holders. You could see what was going on from the escalator. Didn't look worth it to me.

19-club-39
At the top of the escalator we tried to find a bathroom near our seats. It was wall to wall people stopped dead in their tracks. The bathrooms were jam packed, and when we got out, it probably took us 20 minutes to move less than a block. What a relief to get out of that mess.

20-clogged-crowd-waiting-for-bathrooms
Former presidents George Bush Sr and Bill Clinton were there being interviewed at the southeast corner of the field. Our seats were in the southwest corner, in row Z (26 rows up).

21-bush-sr-and-clinton

One of the fans was gracious enough to use my camera to take a picture of us.

22-mick-and-dad
Gretchen Wilson performs the first song at the SuperBowl Pregame Show. She was later joined by Charlie Daniels.

23-pregame-show
The Patriots storm the field.

24-patriot-entrance

The Eagles storm the field. Some of the players took their time coming out.

25-eagles-entrance
The Eagles cheerleaders storm the field and setup right near us. Cool.

26-eagles-cheerleaders
The Eagles cheerleaders are all ready to help us cheer their team to victory.

27-eagles-cheerleaders

The Eagles mascot writhed around on the ground for a bit and then came up inverted in his suit.

28-eagles-mascot
The National Anthem was performed by choruses of the various military academies. It was outstanding. Our 2 former presidents are in fron of them. The men in red are WWII veterans.

29-national-anthem
Former presidents George Bush Sr and Bill Clinton leave the field.

30-presidents-after-anthem

Patriots kickoff.

31-kickoff
Eagles have a ways to go.

32-eagles-offense
I don't think I've ever seen quite a face painting job.

33-die-hard-fan

Eagles are poised and ready to score.

34-eagles-drive
...but it is intercepted in the end zone.

35-intercepted
An Eagles offensive play closer to our seats.

36-eagles-offense

Eagles pass it into the endzone for a touchdown.

39-eagles-offense
Celebrating the touchdown on the field.

40-touchdown-eagles
Celebrating the touchdown on the field.

41-cheerleader-celebration-dance

Here's an interesting fan. His outfit was inflated somehow.

42-interesting-fan
Perhaps even more impressive than the halftime show itself was the setup for the halftime show. Everything was on wheels, and gangs of roadies wheeled everything in like clockwork. They later stayed on the field to be the close crowd for the cameras.

43-halftime-show-setup
Paul McCartney's performance was incredible. The sound in the stadium was impeccable.

44-baby-you-can-drive-my-car

This was the best view we had of Paul McCartney. Why in the world did he bother with such a mediocre song as Get Back, though?

45-paul-closeup
Live and Let Die was quite the incendiary performance.

46-live-and-let-die
Spectacular pyrotechnics supported the James Bond theme song.

47-live-and-let-die

Everything went blue for Hey Jude. Each stadium seat came with a cushion that had a flashlight and a colored card inside. The scoreboard cued us to illuminat the flashlights for this song.

48-halftime-crowd
Well, at least we can see him on the JumboTron.

49-hey-jude
Towards the end of Hey Jude, the scoreboard cued us to douse the flashlights in favor of our colored cards. Large "NA's" paved the crowd.

50-hey-jude

That's the end of halftime. 4 songs. I could have listened to him for the rest of the night, forget about the game.

51-end-of-halftime-show
Patriots return the 2nd half opening kickoff.

52-patriots-return
A typical Patriots offensive play.

53-patriots-offense

Oh so close to a touchdown.

54-so-close-to-a-touchdown
Just another play will do it.

55-ready-to-score
They got it.

56-touchdown

A die-hard Eagles fan is disappointed in the way events are turning. The 3 screaming Eagles fans behind us, who had lost their voices 5 minutes into the first quarter, are getting quieter. All of the Eagles fans, to which there was at least a 10:1 ratio against Patriot fans, are starting to get worried.

57-die-hard-fan
Another interesting getup - a sliced football makes for a nice hat.

58-football-head
Patriots kickoff to the Eagles after their score.

59-patriots-kickoff

The scoreboard shows the final results.

60-final-score
Yellow-jacketed staff started forming human/rope barriers around the field to prevent anyone from running on after the game.

61-celebration-field-prep
An inflated version of Superbowl's Vince Lombardi Trophy stands to commend the winners.

62-patriots-celebration

Our guides instructed us to leave the stadium immediately after the game, and not to watch the postgame festivities. We ended up going out a different way than we came in, and staff had everything blockcaded such that we had to do almost 1/2 mile loop out of our way to get back to our bus. But outside of that incorrect exit stood a really neat football statue. Our guides had cookies and drinks waiting for us in the bus. We got back to the Daytona hotel at 2:00a. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

63-superbowl-statue
The free stuff that was included in the prizr package: small duffle bag, hat, seat cushion, autographed poloroid of me and Chad Lewis, autographed 8x10 glossies of Jerry Carr (skylab astronaut) Chad Lewis (tight end for Eagles) and Tim Brown, t-shirt, program, ticket stub, hotel card key, flashlight, and fm radio. The last 2 items came in the pocket of the seat cushion which was on everyone's seat in the stadium. I actually got 2 cushions because the guy sitting next to me forgot his.

64-free-stuff

Copyright www.micktravels.com - Superbowl XXXIX - Patriots vs Eagles - Jacksonville

California vacations
California vacations