The Super Bowl is always one of the biggest entertainment events of the year, and millions have witnessed some strange events. Audiences have seen things from scandals involving the players to mistakes with the festivities to random incidents that make for great water cooler talk the next day.
So, with this year’s final game day fast approaching, readers can prepare by looking back at the weirdest moments to ever occur at the Super Bowl.
Need more Super Bowl 2024 recommendations? Check out who is performing in the Super Bowl halftime show, how to watch the Super Bowl for free, and 3 great sports documentaries to watch.
Still want more Super Bowl alternatives? Try the 5 best Netflix TV shows to watch instead of the 2024 Super Bowl, 10 great TV shows to stream instead of the 2024 Super Bowl, 10 great movies to watch instead of the 2024 Super Bowl, and 3 great Hulu shows to watch instead of the 2024 Super Bowl.
10. Max McGee wins hungover
The Super Bowl is a time for hard partying for many, but this incident of pre-gaming is something else. On the eve of the very first Super Bowl, the Green Bay Packers’ own Max McGee went out and drank so much that he ended up playing with a hangover the next day.
Amazingly, McGee made seven receptions for 138 yards and scored two touchdowns, winning the Packers the game.
9. Don Shula’s stolen watch
Remember that iconic moment when Miami Dolphins Coach Don Shula was carried up by his team after they won Super Bowl VII?
Well, while the players hoisted up Shula, a fan came onto the field to try and shake his hand, only to yank his watch right off his wrist. Fortunately, Shula was able to go after the fan and retrieve his watch.
8. President Reagan tosses a coin
Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration was on the same day as the Super Bowl XIX, so the U.S. president could not appear at Stanford Stadium to do the coin toss in person. The solution: Reagan flipped the coin from the White House while being broadcast on satellite TV.
7. ‘Left Shark’ upstages Katy Perry
Katy Perry headlined the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show on a fantastic beach party-themed stage. But what most people seem to remember from it was how one of her shark-dressed dancers seemed to dance out of sync with the other backup dancer.
To be fair, it can’t be easy dancing around in that shark costume. Nevertheless, “Left Shark” has since become an Internet phenomenon that did the unthinkable and stole Katy Perry’s spotlight.
6. The Indiana Jones Halftime Show
The Super Bowl has featured many bizarre halftime shows over the years, including one with an ice skating rink and another with Mickey Mouse and his friends from Disney. But the weirdest gimmick has to be when Disney promoted their new Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye at Super Bowl XXIX.
Audiences saw Indy and Marion Ravenwood embark on a bizarre quest to steal back the Vince Lombardi trophy, encountering singers Patti LaBelle and Tony Bennett in one of the most outrageous musical performances ever.
5. The Great Brady Heist
Tom Brady’s celebration of the Patriots’ victory at Super Bowl LI was cut short when his gameday jersey went missing. This disappearance led to an investigation by the NFL, who even brought in the FBI to help retrieve the jersey. A month passed before the authorities found the jersey all the way in Mexico.
The investigation revealed that a tabloid journalist from Mexico used his credentials to sneak into the Patriots’ locker room before making off across the border with the jersey. To think all this trouble was over a shirt that reeked of Brady’s B.O. Who says football isn’t fun to watch?
4. The Blackout Bowl
Super Bowl XLVII came to a grinding halt when part of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans went dark. This sudden blackout resulted from a failure in the Superdome’s electrical relay system, which was ironically supposed to protect the power supply.
The lights went out, and people were trapped in one of the stadium elevators. This blackout put the game on hold for 34 minutes until the power came back on.
3. Thurman Thomas loses his helmet
Bills running back Thurman Thomas suffered every player’s worst nightmare when he lost track of his helmet during Super Bowl XXVI. Thomas put the helmet in a special area as part of his regular pre-game ritual.
But after the coin toss, Thomas didn’t see the helmet in its usual spot, forcing him to sit through the first two quarters until it was recovered.
2. Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction
While performing together in the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, Justin Timberlake accidentally exposed Janet Jackson’s breast while ripping off part of her costume.
This wardrobe malfunction may have only lasted less than a second, but that brief glimpse at Jackson’s bedazzled nipple sent shockwaves that stunned millions of viewers, outraging parents and censors alike, making it one of the most talked-about moments in TV history.
1. The Super Bowl streaker
Janet Jackson wasn’t the only one who showed more than expected at the Super Bowl. The singer’s wardrobe malfunction overshadowed the moment in Super Bowl XXXVIII when infamous streaker Mark Roberts snuck onto the field disguised as a referee and then sprinted around in a football thong with his million-dollar sponsor tattooed on his body.
The Super Bowl is famous for its wild marketing campaigns, but this was on another level.
