As Patriots and Falcons diehards get ready to head to NRG Stadium in Houston for Super Bowl Sunday, they’ll wait in lines and push through crowds to find their seats. That’s after having made arrangements for hotels, parking and excursions in Space City.
Not Frankie Morales. The Lakewood native and his girlfriend will awake that morning securely tucked in a bed inside the stadium.
Morales, 30, is the winner of a Super Bowl LI contest from Courtyard, the “official hotel of the NFL.” Thousands of people entered the contest for a chance at a souped up stadium suite, complete with bed, where the ultimate NFL fan could stay overnight and walk just a few feet out a door to watch the big game the next day. Fans were asked to submit photos on social media using a hashtag and Morales’ entry was picked for being the most “passionate.”
Just before the contest deadline was up in November, Morales, a Cowboys fan, covered himself in a pile of blue and white jerseys and posted a photo on Instagram along with various scenes of himself at games.
The winner of our #courtyardsuperbowlcontest has been chosen. We’re excited to host Frankie M. & his guest for the ultimate #SB51 sleepover! pic.twitter.com/qyRM5xJ8IT
— Courtyard Hotels (@CourtyardHotels) January 20, 2017
This will be Morales’ first trip to the Super Bowl, and he really didn’t even see himself going this year, especially because he didn’t have a horse in the race. He found out he had won the “Superbowl Sleepover” two weeks ago, after he left for what he thought would be a date night.
His girlfriend, McKenna Crilley, knew otherwise. She told Morales’ friends they were headed to a surprise 30th birthday party. But then Miles Austin, a former wide receiver for the Cowboys, showed up. Morales was dumbstruck as he entered the room and saw cameras, his friends and Austin, a fellow alumnus of Monmouth University and one of his favorite players, who told him he had won the contest.
Hermesbet Courtyard Super Bowl Sleepover Contest Winner Reveal
“It was perhaps one of the most surreal experiences of my life,” Morales tells NJ Advance Media. “I’m notoriously hard to surprise.”
Even if he hadn’t been the type of East Coast Cowboys fan to travel for games — he estimates he’s been to five — Morales is no stranger to large-scale events like the Super Bowl. He now lives in Stamford, Conn., where he works for the WWE as an associate producer for international television. At last year’s WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, he met the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
The in-stadium suite, which Courtyard outfitted with a bed, overlooks the field. Along with the room, Morales and Crilley get access to Super Bowl weekend events, a separate hotel room outside the stadium and surprise “customized in-stadium experiences.”
Morales says he won’t officially be rooting for one particular team Sunday from his baller suite, but the Falcons will probably generate more enthusiasm from the Cowboys fan.
“Living in New England, I’ve had my share of obnoxious Patriots fans,” he says.
Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.
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