Aussie catches game-winning ball at Super Bowl: 'Pretty surreal'

Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker scored the winning field goal against the Eagles to hand his team a thrilling 38-35 victory in Monday's Super Bowl and an Aussie just so happened to be the one to catch his defining kick. Eamonn Dixon was sitting in the crowd having travelled to the Super Bowl from San Francisco to see the Chiefs make history, but on the morning of the game he didn't even have a ticket.

On Tuesday morning, speaking to Ross and Russell on 3AW, Dixon admitted he didn't even have a ticket to the Super Bowl on the morning of the game. But that all changed when he received a phone call the morning of the big game.

HARSH: Arryn Siposs' 'horrible' moment as Aussie savaged over Super Bowl gaffe

'THIS IS AWFUL': NFL world rages over 'disgusting' act at Super Bowl

"Well, I work in advertising...I worked on the Doritos Super Bowl spot. I didn't have a ticket to the game, but one of my incredible Doritos clients called me up in the morning and said they had a spare ticket," Dixon said, who works at Goodby Silverstein and Partners.

"I got a flight at 12pm and got to the game just as the national anthem was being sung. I was just sitting here and then the ball fell in my lap. Pretty surreal...I was just sitting on the couch and chatting to my wife what we would be cooking for the two kids for dinner then I got the call."

When asked about the moment he caught the ball, Dixon said he was swarmed for photos. However, a friendly security guard helped him escape with the prized possession.

"I caught it and there was a bit of mayhem, because it was a pretty exciting game," he added. "But then the security guard tapped me on the shoulder and said 'I think you should get out of here pretty quickly with that thing'".

Dixon said while a number of people did try and get the ball off him, he was able to get out of the stadium and get the ball back to his hotel room.

The Australian said he was surprised the ball ended up in his lap considering all the kicks in the pre-game hit the net behind the posts. While Dixon currently holds the game-winning ball, it might not stay in his hands.

Butker could make a plea for the game-winning ball to be returned after his historic field goal. Regardless, for the meantime, Dixon can enjoy his moment in the sun.

Super Bowl playing surface comes under fire

Despite a thrilling game at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix, a number of players weren't thrilled with the surface under foot for the game. The excessive amount of painted logos was honed in on as a culprit, with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts even changing cleats at half time in a bid to find more traction. The surface was noticeably torn up towards the end of the game, with fans chiding the clearly troublesome turf on social media.

Aussie NFL star Jordan Mailata was among many to criticise the playing surface, describing it as a 'water park' after the match. With criticism coming from both sides however, Mailata had to concede it was just as big an issue for the Chiefs as it was the Eagles.

“It was terrible,” the Eagles’ offensive tackle said. “But the Kansas City Chiefs had to play on it too and to be fair, they said it was terrible too so I’m sure we were on the same page.

“I’m not a grass expert. It was slick, you couldn’t anchor. You had to get your whole foot in the ground, if you tried to use your toe, it would slip. You saw the receivers (slipping). It was like a water park out there and we’re playing on grass."

Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.