A group of students studying and interning abroad in London this semester sat next to a surprise spectator as they watched the Super Bowl. Olin Junior Colin Wells tells of the chance encounter in a London pub.

Olin Junior Colin Wells:

The encounter with Tom Cruise was quite exciting! A group of us went to this restaurant called Balthazar, where there was a large party for the Super Bowl, starting at 11:30PM London time. The upscale French restaurant was decked out in NFL gear, foam fingers, the wait staff dressed like referees, and 17 courses of American-style appetizers throughout the game.

About 20 minutes into the game, we realized all at once that the man sitting at the table not 5 feet to our right was Tom Cruise, intently watching the game with some friends. Like a group of pre-teen girls at a One Direction concert, we were kind of freaking out; enough, in fact, that the manager of the restaurant came over to our table informing us with a wink that we were not to take pictures “of any guests.” Understood. Half the night we were watching the game, and the other half we watched Tom to see his reactions to the game—being from Denver, I was happy to see that he was cheering for the Broncos. At around 3:00AM as the fourth quarter came to a close, we saw that Tom was getting up to leave. We weren’t sure if we should ask him for a photo, as Cruise’s body guard had told several other patrons throughout the night ‘no.’ However, Ophelia Chen went for it and asked Tom himself, who smiled and said “sure.” Getting a photo with him was a great way to end the night for the Bronco’s victory over the Carolina Panthers.