--- description: Around the time the tide was beginning to turn for the Patriots in Super Bowl LI, New England superfan Mark Wahlberg was leaving the game. title: Why Patriots Fan Mark Wahlberg Left the Super Bowl Early image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Patriots Superfan Mark Wahlberg Left the Super Bowl Before That Epic Comeback  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Feb 6, 2017 6:36 PM CUT  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Feb 6, 2017 6:36 PM CUT Right around the time the tide was beginning to turn for the [Patriots](http://time.com/4661030/super-bowl-2017-tom-brady-stolen-jersey/ "undefined") in [Super Bowl LI](http://time.com/4660730/super-bowl-2017-patriots-win/ "undefined") Sunday night, New England superfan [Mark Wahlberg](http://time.com/4660867/celebs-super-bowl-2017/ "undefined") was spotted leaving the game. The _Patriots Day_ star — who was with his wife and two sons — was filmed exiting NRG stadium near the beginning of the fourth quarter, meaning he missed out on seeing his team execute the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime. > [](https://twitter.com/Allen%5FReid/status/828433338012749825) Wahlberg later took to Instagram to explain his early departure. “I had to leave the game early because my youngest son wasn’t feeling well,” he captioned a photo of his family on the field before kickoff. “Trust me, I would have loved to be at the stadium — but family first. Doesn’t mean I don’t love my Patriots too!” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4661129/super-bowl-2017-mark-wahlberg-patriots-win/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4661129/super-bowl-2017-mark-wahlberg-patriots-win/"},"headline":"Patriots Superfan Mark Wahlberg Left the Super Bowl Before That Epic Comeback","datePublished":"2017-02-06T18:36:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:40:50.665Z","description":"But he had a good reason","url":"https://time.com/4661129/super-bowl-2017-mark-wahlberg-patriots-win/","keywords":["Newsfeed","mark wahlberg","New England Patriots"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4661129/super-bowl-2017-mark-wahlberg-patriots-win/","name":"Patriots Superfan Mark Wahlberg Left the Super Bowl Before That Epic Comeback"}}]}] ```