

The Last Innocent Super Bowl Party

Will Leitch is a senior writer for Sports on Earth and a contributing editor for New York. He’s also the founder of Deadspin, and still kicks himself for not doing what you’d expect from someone working at Deadpsin when he witnessed internet history at Super Bowl XLVI.

“The Super Bowl is literally the opposite of everything I like about sports. I feel like the Super Bowl is a sporting event for people that don’t like sports. I’ve been to six but now any media person that goes to any sort of party is on their absolute best behavior. No one gets too drunk, and no one gets too crazy. Because everyone is aware that some asshole from Deadspin will end up putting up their drunk picture on social media. I remember I was at one in Houston and I was with one of the editor’s of my books and he was older so he was in party mode. You could tell he was older because it was very important for him to go to the Playboy party. So I went with him and this was one of my favorite experiences of all-time when Darren Rovell was waiting in line to get in to the party and was having trouble and famously tweeted:

Playboy not having gorgeous Playmates at its Super Bowl party does effect a brand that is already faltering #reality — Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 4, 2012

“I remember at that party—and this was really before I was into Twitter—I saw people in the NFL sports media, who I won't say their names, were acting like cretins, drunken morons, and kind of pathetic. They had this idea like, ‘Let’s go to a Super Bowl party and pick up girls. That’s what’s going to happen.’ In this day and age, it’s more like I’m going to go to a Super Bowl party, drink from the open bar, and then go back to my hotel and cry. But back then there was still this idea that Super Bowl parties were this crazy, wild thing. So at that particular party, I saw pathetic, sad behavior from respected members of the media. It didn’t even occur to me then, and I worked for Deadspin, to take their picture and post it on Deadspin. That is the party that I always remember because that was the last Super Bowl party people went without their guard up.”

What Do You Say to Two Devastated Defenders?

Josina Anderson is an ESPN NFL insider and reporter who has covered a handful of Super Bowls. Her most vivid memory from working the Big Game was the sight of Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman frozen in the Seahawks locker room after their heartbreaking Super Bowl XLIX loss to the New England Patriots.

“The game was nearly over and we were coming downstairs and the Seahawks were surging, getting ready to put away the game. I remember standing in the bowels of the stadium with all my colleagues. It was just a matter of time before Seattle was going to punch the ball in by some play from Marshawn Lynch. To see the play that [Patriots cornerback] Malcolm Butler came up with and the surprised gasps that everyone let out was really something. Everyone had to immediately change plans—what we were doing, where we were going, how we were attacking post-game? One of the things that will always stand out to me from that game was after all of the interviews, I got to talk to the Patriots’ owner Bob Kraft. He was so elated. Confetti coming down on his sneakers. He was a little bit surprised because I grabbed him for an interview and he looked at Pats PR like, ‘Can I talk to her?’ He was just a little out of sorts.

“But when we went to the [Seahawks] locker room, I’ll never forget seeing Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman completely frozen. The locker room had almost been cleared out, but the two of them were sitting there still not fully clothed; they weren’t done getting dressed. It was the saddest scene. It was almost like you were expecting their mothers to come and lift them up out of the locker room because they could not get out of the shell of themselves. They always talk about sports being the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. That truly was the opposite side of it. We cover the Xs and Os of the game, but we also cover the emotion of the game. My heart felt for them because to have it in your hands and have it drip out of your grasp, it was so stunning in person. I remember when Earl came out of the locker room, he had on his sunglasses and he was walking past me, almost like a ghost.”