Bay Area Buzzes With Fans, Parties and Pageantry on Super Bowl Sunday

Tens of thousands of football fans swarmed into Santa Clara on this sunny Super Bowl Sunday, bringing waves of excitement and energy to a generally sleepy part of the South Bay city.

Super Bowl LX has transformed portions of Santa Clara, San José and San Francisco for a week leading up to today’s matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots with parties and concerts.

And the football takeover continued Sunday on the blocks around Levi’s Stadium, which were buzzing with activity and filled with color and sound. Light rail trains were packed with fans and throngs of people filled streets, sidewalks and intersections, while hundreds of black luxury SUVs and vans loaded with swaths of VIPs, players’ families and high-rollers weaved through the crowds.

Bay Area hip hop music and reggaeton poured out of hotel tailgate parties, New England fans donned classic jerseys, oversized Patriots foam hats and thickly embroidered leather jackets. Hawks fans showed off giant shiny chrome and green chains, with Seahawks emblems dangling from their necks, as well as team-emblazoned leggings.

Most fans interviewed for this story had tickets in hand for the Super Bowl, though some were still looking for them at the last minute, while others tried to resell tickets on corners near hotels and the stadium. Some came with no plans to go to the game, but just wanted to be close to the action.

Many attending the game are from out of state, including Christopher Ruiz, a Hawks fan from Seattle, who was wearing a colorful outfit including a hat that read “born and raised” with the team’s logo.

Ruiz and his brother Jonathan took the VTA light rail to the stadium in the early afternoon, and were riding high seeing their team back in the big game, confident they would come away victorious.

“I’ve been supporting this team since I was a young, young little boy,” Ruiz said. “It’s the culmination of life in general being able to witness this, not just myself, but with my brother. To be in a position in life to make this happen, it’s a dream of mine to be able to watch my team hoist that Lombardi Trophy.”

Ruiz was sporting a Richard Sherman Seahawks jersey and was covered in bright green and dark blue, including the official Nike Seattle Seahawks Air Max 90 shoes. “I bleed this, I breathe this. This is our opportunity.”

But seated right next to Ruiz were lifelong Patriots fans Wayne Kimball and his wife Kim, who are in town from Menden, Mass. They felt the outcome would be different.

“I think we have a real good shot at this. No one’s picking us, so that means we’re gonna win,” Kimball said. “We came in Thursday and we’re getting ready to hand Seattle another loss.”

Fans on the train were ribbing each other the whole ride to the stadium. “Everyone’s been very friendly, even the Seahawks fans,” Kimball said. “We all bust each other’s chops. We’re all having a good time.”

But as thousands of people crowded the area, volunteers with the group Contra-ICE handed out “rally towels” that read “ICE OUT” on one side, with a drawing of a bunny rabbit dressed in football gear kicking a football frozen in a cube of ice out of the frame.

The group is trying to call attention to the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement and the violent tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, and demanding an end to their presence in American communities.

Will Hanson, a Stanford University student from Washington state, was handing out the towels Sunday, and said First Amendment protected free speech and the Super Bowl are two very American things that fit together.

“We should not have people dying in the streets,” Hanson said. Federal immigration agents have shot and killed two protesters in Minneapolis. “I think having un-ordered militia in our streets is just dangerous and something we should be protesting at any opportunity. I think the Super Bowl is a great point to show people this message and spread it to as many people as possible.”

While fans poured into Levi’s ahead of kickoff, others around the Bay Area got settled in at their favorite spots to watch the game in good company.

About 40 miles north of Levi’s Stadium, crowds of Seahawks fans gathered at San Francisco’s only bar for the 12s in San Francisco, Danny Coyle’s. For Megan Page, Jenni Sandsmark and Erika Spencer, the Super Bowl is both a shot at redemption for their favorite team and a reunion for old friends.

The three used to live in San Francisco, and made a pact to come back to their beloved sports bar in the Lower Haight neighborhood if the Seahawks made it to the Super Bowl. This week, they flew out from their respective homes in Seattle, Minnesota and North Carolina, and on Sunday, had their old table reserved for them at the front of the Irish sports bar.

“It was such an important place for us. We built so much community here, we knew this was the place to watch,” Sandsmark said.

Brian Coyle, owner of Danny Coyle’s, was hanging out with the Seahawks fans who flocked to his bar just before kickoff. He’s more of a 49ers fan than a Seahawks fan, but he started playing Seahawks games after a regular patron from Seattle asked if he could dedicate one of the TVs inside to the team. He has since amassed a crew of regulars from the Seattle region, including a group of guys who bought him a new TV for the bar after an old one went kaput.

“The people from the Northwest are great people,” said Coyle, who is originally from Ireland and opened his bar in 2006. “It’s been hectic today but so good, controlled chaos.”

Allen Pickens, a San Francisco resident who goes to Danny Coyle’s for just about every Seahawks game, arrived early, decked out in a custom Seahawks jersey with “Coyles” on the back.

“This is Danny Coyle’s. This is Disneyland! This is the best bar in San Francisco, primarily because it’s the Seahawks bar. I hope like heck we win. I’m really excited for this opportunity to etch our names in history once again as a second-time Super Bowl champion.”

Across the bar, Seattle native Adam Frazier said he flew down from Washington to watch the game with his best friend from high school, who now lives in San Francisco and brought him out to the Seahawks bar.

“It’s been a blast so far, and we were lucky enough to get a table here,” said Frazier, who played college football. “This is my second Seahawks away game in my life. It’s a lot of fun.”

Back in Santa Clara, about an hour before kickoff, comedian and actor JB Smoove headed into the stadium, and said he’s looking forward to a great game, and Bad Bunny’s much anticipated halftime show.

“We want everybody to have a great time today, and enjoy the game, the competition, enjoy the halftime show, and get home safe. These are all the things that really matter, right?,” Smoove said.

He offered some advice for how to best enjoy the halftime show, even if you’re not fluent in Spanish or Bad Bunny-isms.

“Just move your damn hips! It’s all about the hip movement today,” Smoove said. “Don’t concentrate on nothing else but the hip movement. Don’t worry about it if you can’t understand what he’s saying, just move your damn hips.”