Super Bowl City, the “Folsom Street Fair for heteronormative jocks” free-to-the-public street party celebrating Super Bowl 50, opened on Saturday with major fireworks, the Bay Lights relighting, a Chris Isaak show, and tens of thousands of NFL jersey-wearing revelers mobbing the Embarcadero. SFist was on hand to get pictures and video of the good, the bad and the most egregiously over-branded aspects of Saturday’s opening proceedings submitted for your approval below.
First up, video from the fireworks grand finale just after the Bay Bridge’s Bay Lights were reignited.
But most importantly, there is a zip line! You can zip line from on high through a fabulous replica of the Golden Gate Bridge. Be warned that within two hours of Super Bowl City opening on Saturday, the entire day's zip line slots had already filled up. You gotta sign up early if you want to ride the zip line.
Image: Joe Kukura
There are so many selfie-taking attractions at Super Bowl City. This one should disprove the old rumor that Peyton Manning has a big head.
Image: Joe Kukura
Pro tip: If you’re going to Super Bowl City, definitely use the back entrance at the Ferry Building. The Market & Beale Street front entrance (pictured above) was thousands deep for most of Saturday. But at the back Ferry Building entrance, people were just walking in right with hardly any lines forming until after 9 p.m.
Image: Joe Kukura
There are many wonderful attractions for kids at Super Bowl City, a point we will stress despite SFist’s general policy general of snark and mockery. This little fellow is fully exploring a Chevron-branded exhibit that explains modern advances in helmets and shoulder pads. Kiss the bicep, kid!
Image: Joe Kukura
The primary thing you will do at Super Bowl City is stand in line. Here we see a line 50-deep just to buy the shitty NFL-branded Super Bowl 50 t-shirt. This is not even a good attraction, people! The good attractions had wait times of 1-3 hours most of the day Saturday.
Image: Joe Kukura
Corporate branding is so egregious at Super Bowl City that even SF Pride would say it’s a little much. But there is booze! It’s $8 for a Bud or Bud Light, $10 for a “craft beer” (Stella Artois) with wine also available.
Image: Joe Kukura
The Justice for Mario Woods demonstrators did a poignant, silent sit-in following their earlier confrontation with the police. You really have to wonder what goes through SFPD officers’ heads when the public clamors this much for their boss to be fired.
Image:Joe Kukura
Here's another video of the stellar fireworks show from a bit further back.
Just as the fireworks ended at 7:48 p.m. an automated emcee announced to the crowd, “Welcome to the Super Bowl City sponsored by Verizon. At this point the City Stage presented by Levi’s is at maximum safe capacity.” SFist was forced to settle for Chris Isaak on a gorgeous HD diamond-vision jumbotron, as probably were many of you. But there are still upcoming free concerts from Aloe Blacc (Monday, 6 p.m.) and Alicia Keys (Saturday, 7 p.m.), as Super Bowl City remains open at Justin Herman Plaza everyday from now until Saturday, 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. and Super Bowl Sunday from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
