The Super Bowl is over. The Philadelphia Eagles have shocked the NFL world by defeating the ageless Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. With the end of the season, we look ahead to a long, cold offseason full of retrospectives and what could’ve beens. But now, we take a moment to look back at the highlights, the memes, and the unforgettable moments from the Super Bowl with the highest amount of offensive output in league history.
But not every perspective is the same. As fans look through the hours of Super Bowl footage from the week of the Big Game and others scroll through thousands of photos that captured the glory of the Eagles and the deflating of the Patriots, we have to remember there’s always a story behind the photo.
Immediately following the Super Bowl, we spoke to veteran Getty photographer Elsa Garrison who was shooting the game and had her pick her five favorite photos from her 14th (!!!) Super Bowl. Some look like they can be from any football game in existence, but we know the story behind the shot and the context it’s in is worth well more than a thousand words, and Garrison is here to talk us through them. Starting with Kevin Hart drunkenly trying to storm the field after the Eagles win.
Kevin Hart Works His Way Onto The Field
“He was right next to me. I was sitting behind the stage area waiting for the Eagles players to come off and he was trying to get in the penned-in area and security wasn’t allowing him because he didn’t have the proper accreditation. He was… “complaining” we’ll say to the security guard who was just shutting him down. He got denied by field security which was pretty interesting since he’s Philadelphia’s biggest fan.”
“You can see right then and there he’s trying to get on the field and his exact words were: ‘Are you shitting me?’ He kept saying ‘you’re shitting on me right now!’ That went on for about three minutes then he gave up. I was like, ‘really, you’re not going to let Kevin Hart in?'”
Bill Belichick Walks Off
“When he looks happy he looks mad. When he’s mad he’s happy. He looks the same. I was following Brady initially, then ran into Bill and shot a few frames of him. At the AFC Championship game, I followed him to the post-game scrum and I think I saw him smile once and I was like: ‘whoa,who is this guy?’ Obviously, they’re not happy with how that game ended. His face is telling of that. The disappointment of not getting the win. But yeah, I’ve chased him and Brady around the field for the last ten years, and he never gives you much. Maybe if they would’ve won he would’ve smirked but that’s as good as he’ll ever get.”
Gronk’s Last Touchdown?
“I’m sad that he would have to retire at such a young age, but if I have the picture of his last touchdown, I would be honored and proud that I was able to capture that moment in history. My favorite(s) of that moment are the catch and him spiking the ball. You always want to nail that peak action picture. But, celebration pictures always have a special place in my heart. You feel connected to them. You can experience their joys and frustrations. I’d lean more towards the spike picture but the catch picture… I thought: ‘This score could be the game-winner. I nailed it.’ But then, of course, we know that wasn’t the case.”
Alshon Jeffrey Hauls In The First Touchdown Of Super Bowl 52
“The very first touchdown scored of the game. A nice, tight picture. I was so satisfied when I saw this. Nailed it.”
Nick Foles Is Showered By Confetti As He Takes In His MVP Performance
“Sometimes when you get those confetti showers they’re too heavy or they’re not heavy enough. This was just perfect. The confetti blowers did great! I didn’t really have a horse in this race, but I really wanted this game to be good and I wanted Foles to have a good showing. If the Eagles had lost, I hoped he had a good showing because he’s like the perennial backup and now he came in for Carson Wentz and I think it was the greatest thing ever.”
And finally, here’s Elsa hard at work trying to avoid the elated Eagles mascot. It’s a tough job.
