Eamonn Dixon is the epitome of being in the right place at the right time.
The Australian creative director living in San Francisco hasn’t even planned on going to this year’s Super Bowl and now has one of the most priceless pieces of NFL memorabilia in NFL history in his possession.
“I was sitting at home in San Francisco, and [Doritos, his client] called me up at 10am and basically said that one of the people had pulled out and said there was a spare ticket if I can make it in time.
“I thought ‘well, I’ve always wanted to go…’ so I raced out here, got a flight, got an Uber, and got here just in time to start, and then the rest is history.”
Getting there on time was no small feat. A flight from San Fran to the State Farm Stadium in Arizona takes around two hours.
“I got to the game just as the national anthem was being sung. I was just sitting there and then four quarters later the ball just sort of fell in my lap, which was pretty surreal.”
Then, after the Kansas City Chiefs had converted the match-winning field goal, Dixon was in the right place at the right time.
“I caught it and then there was a bit of mayhem,” he said.
“It was a pretty exciting game and everyone was asking for photos with me and giving me high-fives, and then the security guard tapped me on the shoulder, and he said, ‘I think you should get out of here pretty quickly with that thing before some other people try to grab it.’
“Everyone was trying to get it off me but one of my friends who I was with, I shoved it in her bag and we sort of got ushered towards the exit. And all of a sudden I was out in the car park. It was all just a bit of a blur.”
Following his win, Dixon has apparently been sitting in his hotel room holding the famous ball.
Dixon told The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald that he grew up playing Aussie rules but reckoned his catch was the result of “dumb luck.”
“You don’t expect it, that’s why I was a bit taken aback … luckily I held on to both the phone and the ball.
“I didn’t drop the phone and luckily I wasn’t holding a beer as well, that would have been a bit awkward.”
While Dixon was able to hold onto the ball, the Doritos ad he helped produced couldn’t quite hold our attention in the same way. Starring Jack Harlow, the ad shows the star switching from rapping to playing the triangle and turning the music world upside down.
Dixon plans on selling the ball. It’s reported to be worth anywhere from an estimated $300,000 to $500,000.
