If you drop thousands on a Super Bowl ticket and go to the trouble of attending the game, you’d think that staying awake would be the easy part. But at least one dude needed to catch a few Z’s in the stadium, and his first-quarter nap earned him viral fame.
Karisa Maxwell, a producer and deputy editor at Sporting News spotted him from her seat in the first level near the Chiefs’ endzone and tweeted a video of the dude, who wasn’t dressed as a supporter of either team. It shows him leaning back, eyes open and mouth agape, as the fans in front of him stand to see the field at Hard Rock Stadium. It’s honestly impressive that in a loud stadium on a hard chair he was able to sleep at all.
Somehow, this man is sleeping through the #SuperBowl.
We’re still only in the first quarter. pic.twitter.com/erK0gfpqvQ
— Karisa Maxwell (@KarisaMaxwell) February 3, 2020
He eventually woke up, and a friend showed him the tweet, which was already blowing up on Twitter. This understandably caused Maxwell some consternation. How do you tell someone that you made them a minor internet celebrity while they were napping, particularly when he could probably identify you easily?
Oh no… His friend is currently showing him the video. The whole section knows.
WHAT DO I DO?!
— Karisa Maxwell (@KarisaMaxwell) February 3, 2020
Maxwell did eventually speak to him face-to-face, and his response is understandable, though it would have been nice if he’d had a better sense of humor about the whole thing.
So, I realize everyone was expecting an update on the sleeping man.
Following halftime, I hesitantly walked up to introduce myself and asked him for an interview to find out more.
He was clearly annoyed and said “absolutely not.”
I would say he needs to relax, but … 🤷🏻♀️
— Karisa Maxwell (@KarisaMaxwell) February 3, 2020
Hopefully, it makes him feel better knowing that while the Chiefs’ dramatic victory and the incandescent halftime show will be remembered for years to come, he can sleep soundly knowing that his 15 minutes of viral fame will be over soon.