What You Didn’t See on TV at the 2025 Super Bowl: Secret Service, Surprise Cameos and More (Exclusive)

The Philadelphia Eagles are flying high.

The team clinched their 40-22 victory over reigning champs the Kansas City Chiefs, who struggled to even put points on the board during the big game’s first half.

PEOPLE was on the ground at Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans to see the action first-hand. Here’s what you didn’t see on TV during Super Bowl LIX!

The Big Easy was filled with Eagles fans, who solidly outnumbered the Chiefs’ contingent — and the stands at the Superdome were no exception. Even when the Chiefs did manage to score, the stadium seemingly couldn’t be bothered.

By contrast, each time the Eagles made their way to the end zone, the entire stadium erupted into cheers and chants.

“Fly Eagles fly, on the road to victory. E-A-G-L-E-S. Eagles!” could be reliably heard throughout the entirety of the game.

Before either team started scoring touchdowns, however, they took turns warming up on the field. Patrick Mahomes practiced throwing the ball to various players — including Travis Kelce, who, after running through some drills, even danced a little while on the field.

Numerous celebrities made their way across the field prior to kickoff as well, including Jay-Z with his daughters Blue Ivy, 12, and Rumi, 7, and Bradley Cooper with his daughter Lea, 7.

Plus, Patriots legend Tom Brady was met with cheers as he walked onto the field to shake hands with some of the employees and other media members ahead of his Super Bowl broadcasting debut.

Beatles legend Paul McCartney was also spotted in attendance!

Around 4:30 local time, throngs of photographers went running to the corner of the Chiefs end zone, where President Donald Trump suddenly emerged from the tunnel to wave to the crowd and pose briefly for photos.

While the security presence in New Orleans felt slightly more intense than what might be usual for a Super Bowl given the events of Jan. 1, the sheer volume of armed guards and secret service agents inside the Superdome was hugely noticeable, especially on the side of the stadium opposite from where Trump’s suite was.

Then, it was time to bring both teams back onto the field. The Chiefs ran out first to thunderous booing after being introduced by longtime fan Jon Hamm, and the Eagles soon followed, with Bradley Cooper doing the honors for Philadelphia.

When Trump was first shown in his suite on the jumbotron, the cheering inside the stadium was more audible than any discontent. Taylor Swift, however, wasn’t so lucky.

When the global icon, who arrived around 4:45, was shown on the big screen for the first time, she was met with intense booing. Her surprised reaction to the crowd’s apparent disapproval went viral.

Around 5:30, Christian singer Lauren Daigle and trombonist Trombone Shorty joined forces for a performance of “America the Beautiful,” and just five minutes later, Jon Batiste showcased his musical talents while performing the national anthem.

Once kickoff was officially underway, the Eagles wasted no time taking ownership of the game. Quarterback Jalen Hurts scored the team’s first touchdown with just about six minutes left in the first quarter as the entire stadium erupted into cheers.

With the Chiefs failing to be on the board by halftime, the teams took their reprieve to strategize and regroup while hordes of people swarmed the field to transform the astroturf into a stage for Kendrick Lamar.

The “Poetic Justice” rapper surprised the country with his special guest performers Samuel L. Jackson and Serena Williams, and, yes — the entire crowd (all 65,719 of them) did sing along to “Not Like Us” with Lamar.

After the performance, the stages were disassembled just as quickly as they were erected, and the Chiefs were able to score in the third quarter when Xavier Worthy linked with Mahomes for a 24-yard TD pass with less than a minute left to go in the third.

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With just minutes to go in the fourth quarter, DeAndre Hopkins scored a touchdown, making the score 14-40. Despite the points, the Eagles felt confident enough to begin celebrating. While the stadium hardly reacted to Hopkins’ touchdown, the Eagles players and staff on the sidelines (and the fans in the stands) were already congratulating each other with high fives and hugs. There were still some three minutes on the clock when Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was ceremoniously bathed in Gatorade.

By the time the Eagles officially secured the world championship title just minutes later, there were stirrings of “Hey, hey hey, goodbye” coming from the excited Eagles fans filling the Superdome.