- Jamine Moton, 43, is the founder of Skylar Security, a security company in Atlanta, Georgia.
- She and her security team worked the 2019 Super Bowl in Atlanta and the 2020 Super Bowl in Miami.
- Here's what working security at the big game is like, as told to writer Jenny Powers.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jamine Moton, a security-company owner in Georgia. It has been edited for length and clarity.
If you've ever been to the Super Bowl or even watched it on TV, you've likely seen what happens at the end of the game: Overzealous fans get caught up in the celebration happening around them and oftentimes get the impulse to rush onto the field to get closer to the action.
This is exactly what we were prepared for in 2019 as my team of 25 security guards and I made our way onto the field at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. It was the Super Bowl LIII featuring The New England Patriots and The Los Angeles Rams, and the game had just a few minutes left on the clock.
My team and I were positioned at the end zone and collectively responsible for ensuring on-field safety, which meant making sure only people with official field access were able to get on the field while stopping everyone else in their tracks and maintaining order.
As 70,000 fans stared at the field, we stood with our backs to the game, focused on the crowd
Behind us, the countdown clock ticked away. We stood side by side, taking it all in, waiting to jump into action should anyone try and gain unauthorized access to the field.
If they did, as the first line of defense, it was our job to detain the trespasser immediately and hand them over to local law enforcement.
Standing on the field, I felt emotional and fought back the tears in my eyes as I thought about my journey to working at the Super Bowl.
I started my private security company, Skylar Security, in 2018
Before that, I worked as a police sergeant for six years in Metro Atlanta. I also studied criminal justice and earned my master's in HR development and business.
As a former member of the 2004 United States Olympic hammer-throwing team and someone with a six-foot, 280-pound frame, working in security seemed like a natural fit.
For Skylar Security, I worked with a developer to build our own security technology connected to an app that allows us to communicate with and deploy staff at a moment's notice.
A few months after launching, I received an email from SAFE (Security, Athletic Facilities, and Events) Management
Since 2005, SAFE has held the security contract with the NFL and is responsible for providing event security and guest-service staffing for the Super Bowl and all its related events.
They asked if Skylar would be interested in providing security guards to cover three eight-hour shifts daily for the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl in Atlanta. Most people think of the Super Bowl as just being the game, however, leading up to the big day there are a very busy two weeks of events, film screenings, and parties that fall under the Super Bowl Experience.
At the time, I wasn't even aware that SAFE contracted local security providers, but I jumped on the opportunity
Skylar was still in its infancy, so back then we only had a network of 75 guards. Using our app, I posted the shifts and alerted our network within minutes. Within half an hour, we had every shift covered.
The first day of work, our team arrived and was prepared to go above and beyond and provide a first-rate customer experience. We even wrote a custom rap song that we performed as fans arrived.
At the end of the day, SAFE called to compliment me on how professional and energetic our team was and asked me to double our shifts.
Working security at such a high-profile event is tiring but exciting at the same time
For two weeks leading up to the game, we worked at both the Georgia World Congress Center and Mercedes-Benz Stadium doing everything from welcoming guests, scanning tickets, and directing foot traffic to checking bags, managing crowd control, and identifying any suspicious individuals or activity.
As the game itself came to a close on February 3, 2019, and our assignment came to an end, confetti fell from the sky and my team and I stood beaming on the stadium's side lines as if we ourselves had just won the game. I remember thinking, "We did it, we pulled it off!"
In 2020, SAFE contacted us again and we worked Super Bowl LIV in Miami
In 2021, we decided to take a step back from our work with the NFL to focus on the needs of our local community in Atlanta, although one day we hope to return to our Super Bowl duties.
As for this year, like tens of millions of other football fans, I'll be sitting on my couch enjoying the game from the comfort of my own home.