“This is the first time we’ve ever given away Super Bowl tickets,” explains Jeannie Klisiewicz, host of live remotes for The Ellen Show. “There was something about the energy in Atlanta, and we knew that we needed to get here. That’s when we contacted Georgia Tech.”

The crew flew in and started setting up, and within the hour host Ellen DeGeneres had tweeted for fans to dress up like a cat and meet at Callaway Plaza.

The veiled messages started two days prior to setup. “If you’re around Georgia Tech/Atlanta area, keep your Wednesday free,” DeGeneres tweeted from her official Twitter account.

Many fans weren’t sure if DeGeneres was coming to campus in person. The talk show host instead interacted with the crowd via satellite.

Computer science student Ryan Brooks was one of the first in line. Nearly five hours after talking to producers from the show, he was chosen as a finalist, singing a rap to DeGeneres to nab the tickets. Ultimately, he was edged out by another competitor, but is still being flown to Los Angeles for a taping of The Ellen Show.

“Came up a little short, but hey I’m not going to complain about a free trip to California,” he says.

Katie Battle, a nurse from Kennesaw, Georgia, ended up with the song DeGeneres chose during the live taping. That meant tickets for two to the Super Bowl.

Daisy Bourassa, a chemistry post-doc and recent graduate, and Kathryn Lanier, a biochemistry Ph.D. student, were also finalists. They will be flown out to California as well.

“We were in the far, far back, and we were screaming the whole time. Then she came up to us and said, come into the circle,” Bourassa explains. “Now we’re going to Ellen.”

“This is one of the largest live shots we’ve done,” Klisiewicz explains. “The people here are so sweet and kind. We really had a wonderful time.”

See the full clip from Ellen's show here.

Watch Georgia Tech's Live stream from the show taping here.