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Whether you’re in it for the food, the friends or the football, Super Bowl Sunday is this weekend, and many Syracuse University students are celebrating the event in unique ways. Planning watch parties and ordering wings are just some of the things they’re doing to commemorate the big game.

The Los Angeles Rams will be playing the Cincinnati Bengals for the 56th Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m., and Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige and Eminem will headline the halftime show.

Many SU students felt that the teams playing this year are not that important to them, although everyone expressed their excitement to hang out with friends and indulge in Super Bowl food staples.

Sophomore Bella Young said she misses watching the Super Bowl at home with her family and friends at a big party. Young is from Los Angeles and is shocked by how much of a big deal football is on the East Coast.

“Honestly, I don’t have plans yet. I know my close guy friends are going to watch so I’ll probably be with them. Maybe we’ll go out, or maybe we’ll just stay in the dorm. But it is funny that LA is in the Super Bowl. It’s different being on the East Coast because football is way bigger here,” said Young.

Senior Matt Stetter doesn’t know what his plans are for game day yet. Stetter looked across the table at his friend and suggested that maybe they host a watch party. His friend nodded and continued to do homework.

Stetter reminisced about his hometown Super Bowl watch parties and said he hopes to introduce a game he plays every Super Bowl with his family back home in Chicago.

“I’m just hoping for a good game. I’m from Chicago so I have no stake in it,” Stetter said. “At home, we used to play a game called ‘squares,’ which is where you gamble on the end score of each quarter. Hopefully I can try to play that here this year.”

Grant Snyder, a sophomore studying supply chain management, is also rooting for the Bengals because of Joe Burrow. Snyder does, however, wish the New England Patriots were playing in the Super Bowl this year, he said.

“Plans for the Super Bowl…probably just going to hang out with my boys and watch the game,” Snyder said. “I want to see Joe Burrow and the Bengals win because they are the underdogs.”

Thomas Kitchell, a senior from Los Angeles, said he is interested in the underdog story of the Bengals and their quarterback Joe Burrow. If the Bengals were to win the Super Bowl, Burrow would be the first football player to have won a Heisman Trophy, a college state championship and the Super Bowl.

“I might have a couple people over to watch, I might go to a friend’s house,” Kitchell said. “I’m also excited for the chips and dip because that is the best Super Bowl thing. I don’t know why, but M&M’s are also a staple for me.”

Snyder’s two roommates, Jack Ferrari and Anthony Cibulsky, said that they will be watching the game together and ordering wings. Cibulsky said that his friends at home in Virginia aren’t that into sports, so it will be nice to be with roommates that follow football.

Ferrari, however, said he misses watching the Super Bowl at home because he would usually attend big watch parties with his family and friends. He added that he is a passionate football follower and is disappointed that the Buffalo Bills didn’t make it to the Super Bowl.

“I’m rooting for the Rams because my friend is a Bengals fan, and he’s gonna tell me that Joe Burrow is better than Josh Allen if the Bengals win, and I don’t want that to happen,” Ferrari said.

Published on February 13, 2022 at 6:44 pm