Bizarre Photos That Prove Just How Wild Super Bowl LIX Really Was – It Will Surely Make History
Super Bowl LIX is now in the books, with the Philadelphia Eagles soundly defeating the Kansas City Chiefs. While the on-field action was lopsided, there was no shortage of drama off the field.
From the continuation of an epic rap feud to a sitting president making history, let's take a look at the fanfare surrounding the biggest game in sports.
New Orleans was the site.
The game was held at Caesar's Superdome in downtown New Orleans. The venerable stadium is a Super Bowl favorite, with Super Bowl LIX marking the eighth time it's hosted the big game.
As fans of both the Eagles and Chiefs filed into the stadium, the air was electric with anticipation.
All eyes were on Travis Kelce.
Kelce, seen here arriving before the game, is the Chiefs' star tight end, and one of the best to ever play the position.
His on-field exploits are well documented, but Kelce has reached a new level of mainstream popularity in recent years for his high-profile relationship with pop megastar Taylor Swift.
There was a show before the show.
The Super Bowl represents an excess of entertainment. Besides the action on the field and the halftime show, there are also various ceremonies before the game.
Seen here is the marching band from Southern University, located in nearby Baton Rouge, as they performed before the singing of the national anthem.
It was a big party.
Whenever the Super Bowl is played in the Big Easy, it coincides (at least to some extent) with the city's legendary Mardi Gras celebrations.
Musician and New Orleans native Harry Connick Jr. played a short set before the game, flanked by a colorful array of Mardi Gras performers.
Celebrities are always in attendance.
Actor Jon Hamm, wearing a Chiefs jersey, introduced the team as they ran onto the field.
Hamm is from St. Louis and is known as a fan of the city's sports teams — but with the St. Louis Rams having moved to Los Angeles, it appears he's switched his allegiances to Missouri's sole remaining NFL team.
Bradley Cooper repped the Eagles.
The Eagles have no shortage of celebrity fans, but Bradley Cooper was selected to introduce the team before the game.
It was a perfect choice, as Cooper hails from the Philly area and also starred in Silver Linings Playbook — a movie in which Eagles fandom forms a major plot point.
Paul Rudd supported the Chiefs.
Actor Paul Rudd was born in New Jersey, but spent his early life in Kansas. As such, he's a die-hard supporter of Kansas City's sports teams.
Rudd was spotted at the game in Chiefs garb but did not have an on-field role like Jon Hamm or Bradley Cooper.
The president attended the game.
The recently inaugurated president Donald Trump attended the game as well. Trump is known to be a sports fan, but had not attended any Super Bowls during his previous term.
In fact, surprising as it may be, Trump is the first sitting president to ever attend the Super Bowl in its 59-year history.
The GOAT was there as well.
Legendary quarterback Tom Brady may be retired from playing, but he's still a big part of the NFL's scene.
Brady took on a new role as a color commentator on Fox broadcasts for the 2024 NFL season — and with Fox broadcasting Super Bowl LIX, Brady was in the booth to provide commentary.
Pete Davidson checked in.
Comedian Pete Davidson was spotted on-field prior to the game, schmoozing with the Eagles' cheerleaders.
In other photos, Davidson was seen hanging out with fellow celebs Kevin Costner and Miles Teller.
Here's Kevin Costner.
The Yellowstone star and legendary actor can be seen capturing some of the pregame festivities on camera for posterity.
While most celebrities wore attire to support their preferred team, Costner chose to keep things neutral in a white dress shirt.
It was almost time for kickoff.
With the teams officially introduced and on the field, there was just one more big event to go before kickoffT the national anthem.
Jon Batiste, best known as the bandleader and musical director on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, performed a memorable rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner."
A massive American flag was unfurled.
As is customary for big sporting events in the United States, a large American flag was displayed on the field and a military flyover (even though this game was played indoors).
Getty photographer Roberto Schmidt captured this image of President Donald Trump saluting the flag during the anthem.
And just like that, it was time for kickoff.
The game would become a blowout, but things got started slowly in the early going. The Eagles got on the scoreboard first, with quarterback Jalen Hurts scoring on the team's signature "tush push" goal line play.
In the second quarter, the Eagles opened things up, adding a field goal and two more touchdowns to go up 24-0 at halftime.
Everyone was waiting for the halftime show.
The Super Bowl halftime show is always eagerly anticipated, with Vegas oddsmakers assessing the likelihood of which special guests will appear.
Super Bowl LIX added some extra spice, as performer Kendrick Lamar was coming off of five Grammy wins for his song "Not Like Us" — a song that was also the focal point for a high-profile feud with Canadian rapper Drake.
Lamar tore the house down.
Lamar kicked off his performance by squatting on the hood of a 1987 Buick GNX — a shoutout to his 2024 album GNX, which was named for the muscle car.
A bevy of performers exited the car as Lamar performed, serving as his backup dancers for the remainder of the performance.
Samuel L. Jackson performed as master of ceremonies.
The venerable actor, dressed up as Uncle Sam, expressed mock concern and condemnation of Lamar's style of music.
Jackson also helped break up the performance into different sets, giving performers a chance to reset and setting up each new song.
Serena Williams was a big surprise.
In addition to SZA, Samuel L. Jackson, and frequent collaborator DJ Mustard, Lamar added one more guest to the show: Tennis legend Serena Williams.
Williams gleefully performed a c-walk dance move — a move interpreted by many as dancing on Drake's metaphorical grave, considering her history with Drake.
Lamar did indeed diss Drake.
It was expected that Lamar would perform "Not Like Us," but it remained to be seen how the song would be presented to a global audience.
Lamar rapped the lines as expected, including the ones addressed to Drake — but the most offensive word was censored out of the mix. Still, Lamar gleefully looked to the camera and grinned as he delivered his message to Drake.
A protester had to be tackled.
It's somewhat surprising that a high-security event like the Super Bowl could have any security breaches, but one did occur during Lamar's halftime show.
The event was quickly handled and the protester removed from the field. It was captured by photographers in attendance, but did not disrupt the television broadcast.
Taylor Swift didn't have much to cheer about.
Swift has been a high-profile attendee at many Chiefs games in recent years, but she was barely shown on camera during Super Bowl LIX.
This image is representative of Swift's night: Looking on glumly as Travis Kelce and the Chiefs failed to muster any response to the Eagles' dominance.
The Eagles were dominant.
The usually sure-handed Chiefs were stymied by Philly's elite defense. A rattled Patrick Mahomes was sacked six times and committed three turnovers - two interceptions and one lost fumble.
In this image, Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams can be seen dunking the ball over the goal post after his fourth quarter fumble recovery.
Mahomes took responsibility for the loss.
The outcome of the game was never really in doubt, with the Eagles building up an insurmountable lead in the first half.
"We didn't start how we wanted to," Mahomes told Fox Sports. "The turnovers hurt. I take all the blame for that."
It was the first Super Bowl win for Eagles coach Nick Sirianni.
Sirianni had been to the big game before, seeing his Eagles lose to Mahomes and the Chiefs two years ago in Super Bowl LVII.
This time, Gang Green got their revenge on the Chiefs, denying them of what would have been the first three-peat in Super Bowl history and taking home the franchise's second Super Bowl victory.
Travis Kelce was dejected.
The Chiefs stars were never able to get on the same page. Travis Kelce only caught four passes for a total of 39 yards, and no touchdowns.
Patrick Mahomes put up 257 passing yards and three touchdowns — but two of these were late in the fourth quarter, after the game was already out of reach.
The quarterbacks embraced after the final whistle.
Mahomes, the consensus greatest quarterback in the world since the retirement of Tom Brady, ran out to embrace with Eagles counterpart Jalen Hurts after the game.
While Hurts isn't yet on the level of Mahomes, he's well on his way. The 26-year-old is one of the better quarterbacks in the league, and now has a Super Bowl victory to his name.
Hurts was also named the game's MVP.
Hurts can be seen here holding the iconic Lombardi Trophy. His performance led the way for the Eagles, and he was named Super Bowl LIX MVP after the game.
He finished the game with 221 passing yards and a touchdown, along with 72 rushing yards a rushing touchdown.
It's Philly's second Lombardi Trophy.
The Eagles have existed for close to a century, but Super Bowl LIX marked just their second Super Bowl win.
Prior to the Super Bowl years, they won three NFL championships in 1948, 1949, and 1960. They also won Super Bowl LII in 2017.
Back in Philly, the party was just getting started.
Philadelphia's sports fans are known for their passion, and following a big win from any of their sports teams, a city-wide celebration typically follows.
In some years, city workers even apply grease to lamp posts to discourage people from climbing — but these rowdy fans didn't seem to have much trouble scaling the pole.
It was a memorable night.
Eagles fans are elated, Chiefs fans are crushed, and neutral fans may be disappointed by the lopsided final score.
That said, the Super Bowl is always a notable event in pop culture for reasons that extend far beyond the gridiron. From celebrity cameos to a president making history to the Eagles denying history, Super Bowl LIX was one for the record books.
