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As the Caltrain braked to a halt at the Mountain View downtown transit station, Los Altos resident Tom Ellliott got his game face on. He watched as a crowd of passengers exited the train and lined up for the last leg of their journey to Super Bowl 50.
This was his Elliott’s chance, and he hoisted a cardboard sign reading “Need 1 SB Ticket”. As the crowd headed to Levi’s Stadium, he and a few other ticketless fans shouted their offers. Anyone got a spare ticket?
One lady offered him an end-zone ticket for $4,000, he said, shaking his head incredulously. Another shifty fellow was eager to part with a ticket that Elliott was pretty sure was a counterfeit. The most he was willing to pay was $500.
“My chances of getting a ticket? Probably zero!” he said with a laugh. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, he said. He was pretty sure he’d be watching the game from home, but his real goal was just to soak in the excitement of the event.
“I like the Broncos well enough, but really I wanted to go to the game because this is the 50th Super Bowl,” he said.
For many, this was an extraordinary occasion, with the eyes of the world focused on the South Bay as it hosted Super Bowl 50. For Mountain View, which was serving as a transit hub for those heading to the event, the day got off to a remarkably smooth start.
Organizers estimated 12,000 fans heading to the game would pass through Mountain View, but there was no way to immediately determine if that number was accurate. Dozens of police officers from all across the country were patrolling the downtown station, making it feel at times like the security personnel outnumbered the football fans.
Among the lucky few heading to Levi’s Stadium were Jerry Luttrell and his son Bill, both from the Denver area and sporting their orange Broncos gear. After 39 years as a Broncos season ticket holder, Luttrell got a call that a few weeks ago that he had won a lottery for a limited number of Super Bowl tickets. Neither of them knew quite what to expect.
“This’ll be a once in a lifetime experience,” Bill cheered. “This should be a really good game.”
A short walk away from the train station, practically every bar and restaurant was gearing up for a big day with Super Bowl-related promotions. It promised to be one of the busiest days of the year. It was an all-hands-on-deck kind of event, said Al Licea, manager of Molly MaGee’s pub.
“We honestly don’t know what to expect,” she said. ‘Everyone was hyping this up so much, so we’re doing our best to prepare.”
Among her own lineup for the day was 250 hot dogs ready to be grilled, as well as special cocktails themed around the champion teams. And beer – they were probably going to be pouring a lot of beer, she said.
On Monday, VTA reported that 9,500 passengers used its system to travel to and from Levi’s Stadium on Super Bowl Sunday. Approximately 60 percent of those VTA passengers connected to Caltrain in Mountain View.
“Outbound light rail and bus service from the stadium cleared crowds within an hour after the game ended,” VTA said a press release.
I live around the Jackson Park/Willowgate area and I walked downtown around 1pm. The Caltrain/VTA station was busy, but everything was very orderly.
I walked home around 3pm (I wanted to catch the kickoff at home) and by then things were very quiet (apart from the Blue Angels zooming around).
I thought the City of Mountain View, the police department, sheriff’s department and VTA/Caltrain staff handled this very well.
It went off w/out a hitch from my perspective. The free flyby ended up being an unplanned mini block party on our street. I enjoy being friendly to the out-of-towners too, and they seemed genuinely appreciative. Good human connections made, if you’re into that sort of social positivity…right here in our little neck o’ the woods.