It would come from the concession stands.

For weeks, anticipation had been building around the matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. Flights were booked months in advance. Hotel rooms vanished at triple their usual rates. Fans planned outfits, tailgates, watch parties, and reunions. Some had been waiting their entire lives to see their team reach this stage. Others simply wanted to say they had experienced the Super Bowl in person at least once.

People saved for months. Some dipped into vacation funds. Some postponed bigger purchases. A few admitted they probably shouldn’t be spending this much money at all, but shrugged and said, “It’s the Super Bowl — when else am I going to do this?”

For many, it wasn’t just a game.

It was a pilgrimage.

And then they got hungry.

Or thirsty.

Or both.

That’s when the mood shifted.

Screens above the concession counters lit up with glowing digital menus. At first glance, they looked sleek and modern — until fans started actually reading the numbers. The prices didn’t resemble stadium food. They looked more like something you’d expect at an airport wine bar or a rooftop lounge.

Seventeen dollars and fifty cents for a single can of beer.

Nineteen dollars for “premium” options.

Sixteen dollars for canned wine.

Eight dollars for bottled water.

Eight. Dollars. For. Water.

Even in a stadium where people had already spent thousands of dollars just to walk through the gates, those numbers felt surreal.

You could almost see the moment it registered on people’s faces — that tiny pause, that confused blink, like they thought maybe they’d misread a decimal point.

Surely that’s $7.50, right?

Nope.

Seventeen fifty.Even if history costs nineteen dollars a drink.