Residence life staff organized and hosted Super Bowl parties in each residence hall, allowing students to safely gather to watch the big game Sunday.
“I enjoyed the Super Bowl party,” said Tajah Upshaw, a Neufeld Hall resident who attended the Neufeld Super Bowl party. “It gives students a chance to socialize and connect with each other through sports and good food.”
Refreshments, such a pizza, chips, popcorn and soda were provided at the parties. In compliance with COVID-19 safety protocols all attendees were required to wear masks and no self-serving on refreshments was permitted.
The hardest part was trying to figure out how to keep the events safe and within COVID-19 guidelines,” said Mikey Fimiani, hall director of Bren-dell and the Riley Court apartments, when asked about the most challenging parts of planning the Super Bowl events. “Other than that, the hardest part was normal party planning stuff like making sure there was enough food and drinks.”
Residents were encouraged to only attend the Super Bowl gathering in their own residence halls in order to adhere to social distancing guidelines. The event also goes along with efforts of the university’s COVID-19 Steering Committee to encourage students to stay on campus over the weekend.
“Events like this are important because they get students to stay on campus during the weekend, which is very important because the pandemic is still going on,” said AJ Johnson, resident advisor of Hirschy third floor.
Fimiani was happy with the turn-out of the event in Bren-Dell and said it provided students with a much needed sense of normalcy.
“This is the biggest game of the year for football and its fans, so I was happy that we were able to give residents a chance to still hang out and connect and be safe while doing so,” said Fimiani.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31 to 9 earning Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady his sixth Super Bowl win and his fourth Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award making him the leader in Super Bowl wins, appearances (10), and MVP awards in the National Football League’s history.
