Super Bowl Security Theater: "This is exactly what the planners of the first mass transit Super Bowl had in mind."

WSJ reports on the security theater that the Super Bowl crowd had to deal with going to the game:

Long security lines and heavy crowds caused delays for football fans heading to MetLife MET -1.47%  Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday afternoon, transit officials said, a rocky road for what organizers had called the first "mass transit Super Bowl."

Officials overseeing the event had engaged in an aggressive campaign to encourage most of the expected 80,000 attendees to use public transportation.

The system of trains and buses ferrying fans to East Rutherford, N.J. lent the event part of its unique New York City area flavor, along with the cold weather.

And the system functioned smoothly, passengers and officials said, until about 2 p.m., when a crush of fans swarmed NJ Transit trains.

The situation was most crowded at the Frank R. Lautenberg Rail Station in Secaucus, a busy transfer point for trains to the Meadlowlands Sports Complex.

Riders there were forced to go through a security checkpoint before changing trains, and they complained of long lines and overwhelming heat. Medics were called in, and security officers tried to calm down angry crowds, said passenger Lucy Checketts, 60.

"We were just herded on these stairs, and it was quite scary," said Ms. Checketts. "If someone would have fallen, it would have been terrible."

An NJ Transit spokesman said the delays were short-lived and "relatively minor in nature." He said water was provided to riders who had to wait in Secaucus.

"New Jersey Transit this evening safely and efficiently transported more than 27,000 customers to a level 1 security event," said the spokesman, John Durso, referring the security designation given by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. "This is exactly what the planners of the first mass transit Super Bowl had in mind."