My mom always would tell me before I left the house to have fun and to make good choices. She’d then end the conversation with “Don’t get hurt!” because she knew my job as a photojournalist meant I would get into hectic and dangerous situations.
But you never think that you’ll get injured while covering a sporting event.
This past weekend at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, I found myself on the field for one of the biggest sporting events in the world. And I thought to myself “This is pretty cool! Nothing bad can happen to me here.”
The game clock read 14:10 in the fourth quarter. It was first-and-10 and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw a pass intended for wide receiver Deebo Samuel in the end zone. But covering Samuel tightly was Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed, who was sprinting at full speed to keep up with him.
The players weigh 408 pounds combined and they were heading right for us with no signs of stopping. Purdy’s pass was overthrown and Samuel had no chance of catching the ball. As I saw the throw, I picked up my smaller camera with a zoom lens and expected to make a photo of Samuel catching the ball. But things happen very quickly in the world of sports photography and you have very little time to react. In this particular moment, I had two seconds to realize no one was catching the ball and that they weren’t slowing down! And here we go — this could end badly or I can survive and have churros for dessert after dinner.
Luckily these players are superior athletes and can turn on a dime. Or in this case, leap high buildings in a single bound!
San Francisco Chronicle staff photographer Carlos Avila Gonzalez was kneeling to my right when this was happening. I’ve known Carlos for the past 29 years and have covered many sporting events including World Series, NBA Finals and, of course, Super Bowls. Deebo Samuel was able to sneak past Carlos and another photographer but L’Jarius Sneed was coming straight for Carlos like a 6-year-old runs to the kitchen to grab the last slice of cheese pizza from their older brothers.
As I pondered my life and all the choices I made that day (especially not having the chocolate chip cookie that was in our media lunch meal earlier), I thought about my mom’s words: “Don’t get hurt.” And before I could start my first Hail Mary prayer I felt the breeze of a 192-pound cornerback leaping over Carlos as majestically as a gazelle leaps a river in the Serengeti.
As both players collided with the padded wall behind us I let out a few choice words that I can’t repeat since this is a family newspaper. Carlos, being the super nice guy that he is, immediately turned around and asked Samuel and Sneed if they were OK. I looked at Carlos and said, “Really?!?”
So Mom if you’re reading this, I’m OK. What’s for dinner?
Check out the photo-by-photo recap of Jose’s experience, shot from his own perspective.
San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel (19) runs at full speed attempting to catch and overthrown football while being chased by Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed (38) in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. The players kept running into the end zone and Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed leaped over San Francisco Chronicle staff photographer Carlos Avila Gonzalez to avoid crashing into him. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel (19) runs at full speed attempting to catch and overthrown football while being chased by Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed (38) in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. The players kept running into the end zone and Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed leaped over San Francisco Chronicle staff photographer Carlos Avila Gonzalez to avoid crashing into him. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel (19) runs at full speed attempting to catch and overthrown football while being chased by Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed (38) in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. The players kept running into the end zone and Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed leaped over San Francisco Chronicle staff photographer Carlos Avila Gonzalez to avoid crashing into him. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel (19) runs at full speed attempting to catch and overthrown football while being chased by Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed (38) in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. The players kept running into the end zone and Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed leaped over San Francisco Chronicle staff photographer Carlos Avila Gonzalez to avoid crashing into him. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel (19) runs at full speed attempting to catch and overthrown football while being chased by Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed (38) in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. The players kept running into the end zone and Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed leaped over San Francisco Chronicle staff photographer Carlos Avila Gonzalez to avoid crashing into him. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel (19) runs at full speed attempting to catch and overthrown football while being chased by Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed (38) in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. The players kept running into the end zone and Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed leaped over San Francisco Chronicle staff photographer Carlos Avila Gonzalez to avoid crashing into him. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel (19) runs at full speed attempting to catch and overthrown football while being chased by Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed (38) in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. The players kept running into the end zone and Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed leaped over San Francisco Chronicle staff photographer Carlos Avila Gonzalez to avoid crashing into him. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel (19) runs at full speed attempting to catch and overthrown football while being chased by Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed (38) in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. The players kept running into the end zone and Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed leaped over San Francisco Chronicle staff photographer Carlos Avila Gonzalez to avoid crashing into him. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel (19) runs at full speed attempting to catch and overthrown football while being chased by Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed (38) in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. The players kept running into the end zone and Kansas City Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed leaped over San Francisco Chronicle staff photographer Carlos Avila Gonzalez to avoid crashing into him. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
