My Superbowl Experience

In honor of the Superbowl being played this weekend I decided that I would share my experience when I was lucky enough to mark a big item off my bucket list. Most of you know that my sister works for the NFL which was the only way that I was able to make this dream possible. My sister Andrea was asked to work the Superbowl which just so happens to come with 2 free tickets. Thankfully I was chosen by Andrea to attend this once in a lifetime experience along with my little brother McKinley. The date of the Superbowl was February 7, 2010 and it was in Miami, Florida. The game was to be between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints. Everything seemed to be a dream come true because I was getting the experience of my life and got to head south during the winter. The only downfall of going to the game was that it happened to fall on the exact day of my wife Jennifer's 25th birthday. Thankfully I have an amazing wife who gave me the go ahead to attend the big game.

We started out our Superbowl festivities by traveling down to see Rihana perform at the Pepsi Jam concert. Andrea had got some VIP passes so we couldn't pass that up.

Rihanna performing.

The only celebrity that we spotted in the Pepsi Jam VIP area was Mario Batali from the food network.

Andrea also happened to get some tickets to a Pre Superbowl party and I didn't bring anything that was even remotely semi formal. So we went to Macy's to try and find some clothes. This was the first year that the Pro Bowl was being played in the same city as the Superbowl so a lot of the Pro Bowl players were in town. We spotted this guy in Macy's and I knew almost instantly who it was, but I was really timid about going over to talk to him. So in almost creeper fashion we kept him within view and I pulled up his picture on my phone to see if Jennifer was in complete agreement that it was Jared Allen. Jennifer agreed and I went to say hello. I told him that it was fun watching him play and then I asked if I could get a picture. Not sure who the guy with him was, but I would have preferred that he didn't photo bomb my picture.

We made it to the Pre-Superbowl Party and were having a good time when we got a phone call from our little brother McKinley that he had missed his connecting flight in Atlanta. We came out to the lobby of the building so that we could hear him over the music. After helping McKinley with his situation we discovered that we had actually gotten extremely lucky and a lot of VIP guests were leaving the party and talking in the lobby. Jennifer actually spotted this guy. She didn't know his name, but she just kept saying "Isn't that the guy that almost lost the game for his team the other day?" She was referring to the Big 12 championship between Texas and Nebraska where there was a controversial call with the clock at the end of the game. She was in fact correct and it was Colt McCoy of Texas. It is pretty neat that he ended up being drafted by my Browns. I was sad that it didn't work out for him in the league.

This man has to be one of the most recognizable figures in all of sports, Mr. Tim Tebow. I spotted him walking out of the party and heading straight for the doors. I knew that I had to meet him and hopefully get a picture with this guy. I darted through the crowd as a man on a mission and caught him right at the door. I reached out and said hello and shook his hand and asked for a picture. Then I told him that I was glad that he was such a good Christian influence. I should have stopped talking, but I for some reason kept talking. I then said I was at the UK game when you got knocked out. Why! Why did I say this? I still have no idea to this day why I said it. 

I also spotted a Hall of Famer. Lynn Swann of the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Jennifer and I with the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

My beautiful wife and I.

The next day while Andrea was working we decided to explore and see if there was anything else going on around town. We heard about a DirecTV beach bowl that was going to be played with lots of celebrities so we headed down to the beach to check it out. Best part about it was that it was completely free! This is Troy Aikman being interviewed.

Michael Clark Duncan

The reason all the ladies showed up was to see this guy - Taylor Launter.

White pants is Jennifer Lopez. She clearly didn't dress to play.

Eli Manning's team which included Brian McKight, Eddie George and Warren Moon.

Afterwards we ran down on to the field and got to meet Dan Patrick, the Sportscenter anchor.

Jennifer and I with the large Superbowl Roman numerals.

Picture of all the Heflin children before entering the security to get into the stadium. I told McKinley before we went to the Superbowl that we both had to pick a team to cheer for. I am a huge Browns fan and McKinley had about 5 teams that he really liked. One of those teams was the Saints. So he chose the Saints and I decided to cheer on Peyton Manning and the Colts. I secretly didn't care who won the game. I liked both teams so I would be happy with either outcome.

Andrea also scored us some tickets to the NFL Tailgate. McKinley and I ate like kings. We sampled all the food that they had to offer. There was a cake decorating competition going on too.

Here is my attempt at the longest throw.

They had these setup for all the teams so that you could get your picture made with your favorite team if they didn't happen to make it to the Superbowl.

My attempt at kicking field goals.

We spotted Jerry Rice at the Tailgate. Too bad he was a little too far away for us to actually meet him. He was there because he had just been selected to enter the Hall of Fame a few days prior.

Our seats for the big game. I am not sure we could have had any better seats.

McKinley and I are ready to cheer on our teams. Really we were just trying to soak in every minute of this amazing experience!

Picture of Andrea down on the sidelines. She is the one in center of the picture. Her game day function was to make sure that the game ball was delivered to the referees via the "Super kid", which was a kid chosen for this special task.

National Anthem sung by Carrie Underwood.

Picture of Carrie on the big screen.

Opening kickoff. Probably one of the most photographed times of the game. Flashes were going off throughout the entire stadium.

Drew Brees and the Saints offense doing work on the Colts defense.

Peyton Manning and the Colts offense getting to work. At halftime the score was 10-6 in favor of the Colts.

The halftime entertainment was provided by The Who. Before the game I didn't know a single song that The Who were known for. 

They actually put on a pretty good show and I enjoyed it. I walked away knowing for sure a song that The Who sings, the CSI theme song!

This is the moment that was a turning point in the game. The Saints opened the second half with a surprise onside kick.

This was the pile of people fighting for the ball in the onside kick. The Saints actually recovered it and they gained the momentum or spark they needed to get themselves moving.

Andrea came up to see us in the second half for a little photo opportunity.

After a 4th quarter interception by Peyton Manning that was returned for a touchdown I knew that the game was lost for the Colts. Not really wanting to be a part of the losing team, I had a backup plan.

Since I didn't really care who won the game I actually wore a Saints shirt underneath my Colts jersey the whole day. McKinley and all the people around us thought it was hilarious!

Saints win! With a final score of 31-17. What a great game and a really exhilarating second half!

Congrats to the New Orleans Saints!

Drew Brees and Sean Payton with the Vince Lombardi Trophy! Drew Brees was named the MVP of the game.

McKinley and I went down to the lower level to talk with Andrea.

My sister Andrea who helped me cross a major item off my bucket list. 

Picture of the three Heflin children after the game was over. You can spot Andrea right in the middle of us! After the game we actually headed back to the hotel where Andrea once again hooked us up with getting to go to an after party. At the party we were able to meet the commissioner Roger Goodell. He congratulated me on the victory, because I was still wearing my Saints shirt. Then I proceeded to mention that we needed to get the Browns to the Superbowl. He had to be super confused from our conversation.

My amazing wife who still loves me even though she spent her entire 25th birthday in a hotel room! I am truly blessed!

Going to the Superbowl was a once in a lifetime experience that I am truly grateful to have been able to experience. None of this would have ever been possible if it hadn't been for my wonderful sister Andrea! There is nothing that I could ever do to repay her for this experience. Hope everyone enjoys Superbowl XLIX this Sunday. I will not be cheering for either team because they are both teams that I dislike. If there was a way for both teams to lose I would be happy. Hopefully the team you are cheering on can come out victorious! Thanks for reading and God bless!