Football fans wait to go through security at the Secaucus Junction Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014, in Secaucus, N.J.
Denver Broncos’ Britton Colquitt (4) talks with Seattle Seahawks’ Richard Sherman (25) before the NFL Super Bowl XLVIII football game Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014, in East Rutherford, N.J.EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Jubilant fans sporting the team colors of Denver and Seattle streamed into MetLife Stadium for the Super Bowl on a mild winter evening Sunday, the mood upbeat despite the long lines and intense security procedures.
About 27,000 people had crammed onto New Jersey Transit’s trains by about 4:30 p.m., setting a ridership record. New Jersey State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes said there had been a few minor incidents by mid-afternoon, but that operations had gone smoothly. The weather cooperated, too, with temperatures in the upper 40s for the first Super Bowl in an outdoor stadium in a cold-weather city.
Jake Anderson, 22, a college senior at the University of Northern Colorado, was wearing a Peyton Manning jersey and a Super Bowl hat. He said he had an accounting test on Thursday he hadn’t studied for and didn’t expect to pass.
“This is going to be worth the F I get on Thursday,” he said. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. You have to drop everything and do it.”
The only minor disruption for commuting fans came at Secaucus Junction, the start of NJ Transit’s 6.8-mile line to the stadium in East Rutherford, where they had to pass through a security checkpoint manned by TSA agents.