The Patriots’ dynasty has crumbled. Thanks to stellar late-game defense and a well-timed strip-sack, the Philadelphia Eagles were able to do what last year’s Atlanta Falcons could not: stave off a Tom Brady comeback and claw their way to a 41-33 victory. While the gridiron heroics were exciting to watch, last night’s 52nd Super Bowl also notably saw some crazy ads, a weird Justin Timberlake halftime show, and, of course, the birth of a new, good meme. Read on to relive the night’s best on-field and off-field highlights:
Tom Brady: All I gotta do today is show up and act normal so the humans don’t suspect anything
Giselle: Yes, exactly
Tom Brady: pic.twitter.com/r5ZAXu5SYg— Alpha Male (real) (@SortaBad) February 4, 2018
Tom Brady wore a conspiratorial outfit
Most viewers — at least those not aligned with the Patriots — turned on their TVs and got into their seats wanting to see Brady fail, still recovering from the sting of the last Super Bowl. Simply put, the veteran quarterback started the night as a villain. It didn’t help that he showed up looking like Evil Inspector Gadget.
.@carrieunderwood kicks us off on the biggest Sunday Night of them all.
Watch the #SuperBowl now on NBC or stream: https://t.co/Q1JrUmZiy2 pic.twitter.com/Awxc9zikfF
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) February 4, 2018
Carrie Underwood starred in a live-action Zootopia remake
OK, not really. But while some viewers were surprised at how much of a bop the country singer’s Super Bowl anthem with Ludacris turned out to be, we couldn’t stop thinking about how much it looked like the end credits of Zootopia. Not bad! Just saying.
We’re thinking there won’t be a more high profile photog on the sideline today than @Timberwolves All-Star @KarlTowns! He’s shooting pictures for his hometown @Eagles for #SuperBowl today! pic.twitter.com/iZt80yzDqT
— FOX 9 Sports (@Fox9Sports) February 4, 2018
NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns was taking photos
Undoubtedly, the celeb with the best seat in the house was basketball player Karl-Anthony Towns. The Minnesota Timberwolves star was spotted on the sidelines sporting a “Free Meek Mill” jersey and a nice camera. Some figured he got the same photog gig for The Players’ Tribune that Kevin Durant had at Super Bowl 50, many were just jealous. Nice work, Big KAT.
When you have a national anthem to sing but also forgot about your gum pic.twitter.com/QLO2opMJlC
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) February 4, 2018
Pink was not chewing gum, you guys
Right before she was set to sing the national anthem, P!nk casually spat something into her hand. Many critics tried to go after her on Twitter, assuming it was gum, but many were incorrect. (“It was a throat lozenge,” she tweeted.) Other haters were met with a good ol’ Charlie Sheen clap back: “Yeah but at least I suck while singing our countries national anthem,” she added, “and you just suck by yourself on a dirty couch. #winning.”
Rocky/Eagles hype video on the videoboard and the crowd absolutely loses their minds over it pic.twitter.com/lGMBFUoB2h
— David McCoy (@mccoympls) February 4, 2018
Eagles fans lost it during this Rocky hype video
In case all the Brady booing didn’t convince you this was a mostly Eagles crowd.
Bradley Cooper really wants you to tune in to the Super Bowl on NBC pic.twitter.com/chBaXcEVaQ
— SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) February 5, 2018
Bradley Cooper was having a great night
The only Eagles superfan who was probably more pumped to be there than KAT was Bradley Cooper. The Philly native narrated a hype video, donned moderate green, and soon after Alshon Jeffery’s first touchdown snag, did his best Shia LaBeouf “Just Do It” impression. Fly, “Iggles”! Fly!
https://twitter.com/knicks148/status/960305320772997120
Brandin Cooks got freaking powerbombed
This Patriots receiver, on the other hand, was not having a great night. He started the second quarter by hauling in a catch and trying to hurdle over an Eagles defender for a touchdown. The jump didn’t go as planned, though, and for a few moments, the football game turned into a professional wrestling match.
THIS KICKER KICKS SPIRALS BETTER THAN ALL THEM DUCKS BRADY BEEN TROWING TONIGHT!!!
https://t.co/U1YclgrpmE via @youtube
— xSTAYxJXXKYx (@SmokinSensi) February 5, 2018
This field goal “attempt” didn’t go as planned either
With the Eagles up by six before the half, the Patriots tried to shave the deficit with a field goal. It didn’t happen. There were multiple missed kicks tonight, but none was more odd and mesmerizing to (re-)watch than this one. You could practically hear it go “DOINK!”
Everyone’s screens went blank
A few minutes before halftime, everyone’s screens went inexplicably and completely blank. It was either a very expensive mistake or a fantastic Black Mirror ad.
Justin Timberlake features Prince in Super Bowl halftime https://t.co/P9BtnGEpVC
— Variety (@Variety) February 5, 2018
Justin Timberlake saluted Prince with a giant tarp
When news broke that Justin Timberlake would maybe perform with a Prince hologram, people lost their shit. What was probably meant to be a sincere tribute to the Purple One on his home turf just didn’t… feel right. (Especially considering Prince thought holograms were demonic.) Fortunately, the hologram didn’t happen. What we got instead was this giant tarp, which appeased some… but still pissed off many others.
https://twitter.com/SBNation/status/960343914602430464
This kid just wanted his Timberlake selfie
The real star of the halftime show was this kid who quickly fumbled for his phone and tried to snag, as Timberlake put it, some “Super Bowl Selfies!” “I just thought to myself, ‘I’ll never get this opportunity again in my whole life,'” the kid told the Pioneer Press. “I just went for it.” On the inside, he was excited, but on the outside, it looked like he was busy thinking about things like “Cat Person,” Scientology, and why Ellen DeGeneres was standing right next to him. In other words, he was immediately memed to oblivion.
Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles threw and caught a TD
The Eagles star made history right before halftime by becoming the first quarterback to both throw and catch a touchdown in a Super Bowl. It was a particularly brutal play for Patriots fans to watch, as it happened not long after the Pats tried something similar with a stone-handed Tom Brady. Pretty much everyone made the same joke, paraphrasing Gisele Bündchen’s infamous “my husband cannot fucking throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time” remark. Shruggie.
https://twitter.com/sportingnewsca/status/960349028608368642
Tom Brady fumbled at the worst possible time
Near the end of the fourth quarter, while mounting another late-game comeback, Brady misfired. The Eagles’ Brandon Graham found the Pats’ signal-caller cocking his arm and seized on the opportunity to strip-sack him. The turnover — the New England’s first — set up a field goal that would give Philadelphia an eight-point lead and almost certain victory. While Brady played an incredible game — he threw for a Super Bowl record 505 yards and topped the 10,000 mark for passing yards in postseason games — the Lombardi Trophy wasn’t in the cards. “It feels so good.” Graham said after the game. “Everybody that doubted us? We world champs.”
Eli Manning and Odell Beckham, Jr. recreated a Dirty Dancing scene
Weird commercials this year, as usual! But we especially liked watching this Dirty Dancing riff and seeing Danny DeVito (as a red M&M) get hit by a truck.
http://gph.is/2nHXwbr
OK, Bradley Cooper was having a REALLY great night
After Jake Elliott’s dagger of a field goal, we checked back in with Cooper to find him thanking the heavens. Or cursing at them. He made a deal with the devil that if the Eagles won he would make a Midnight Meat Train sequel, right?
Kevin Hart with the Rodney Dangerfield treatment at the trophy presentation. #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/brhHIWYwgu
— Al Smizzle (@AlZeidenfeld) February 5, 2018
Kevin Hart tried to get onto the Eagles’ celebration stage, but security rejected him
There’s usually not that much to see after the game’s over, but this year, Philly fan Kevin Hart was caught trying his best to make it onto the celebration stage. Unfortunately, he was Mutombo’d. But hey, as they say, there’s always next year!
Article courtesy of Thrillist.