SLC and women’s rugby team to host Super Bowl viewing party
Fans social distance during an NFL football game between the Green Bay Packers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jeff Haynes)
This Sunday, Kansas City and Tampa Bay face off in the Super Bowl LV. The Student Leadership Council has partnered with the women’s rugby team to host a watch party for the game. The first 50 people to arrive at the event, located in the rec center gym, will be allowed to view in-person.
The doors will open at 6 p.m. A mask and yellow health screen are required. There will be a temperature check station at the door.
This game will mark the 55th Super Bowl to date. The game itself will start at 6:30 p.m. The Weeknd will be performing the halftime show between 8 – 8:30 p.m.
In previous years, the Super Bowl party was hosted in the Deacon Jones Dining Hall by SLC. While this year will look different, Secretary of Student Engagement Matt Smolen said he is excited to connect with other students either in person or virtually to watch football and fellowship.
“You’re going to be eating some food, you’re going to be watching a game,” said Smolen. “We’re still going to have the big screen. It’s still going to feel like a big game … we’re here to watch a Super Bowl between two teams have fellowship with food and everything.”
This year’s Super Bowl will be the first time in Super Bowl history a competing team will be hosting the game in their city — Tampa Bay.
On Wednesday, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor announced anyone visiting Tampa’s popular outdoor destinations for the Super Bowl will be required to wear a mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
This year there will only be 20% capacity in attendance at the game. The attendance includes 7,500 healthcare workers who received the vaccine and were offered a free ticket, plus the other 14,500 fans who have purchased tickets.
If the Chiefs win this year, they will become the first-ever team to win a back-to-back title. The Chiefs won the Super Bowl game against the San Francisco 49ers last year.
This year’s Super Bowl looks different for numerous reasons, one being the planned poetry reading before the football game. Amanda Gorman, the 22-year-old poet who recited a poem at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, will recite a new poem before the game.
Her new poem will honor three Americans — Los Angeles educator Trimaine Davis, Florida nurse manager Suzie Dorner and Pittsburgh-based James Martin, a Marine veteran who volunteers with the Wounded Warrior Project and who has taken in local kids facing issues at home — for their work during the coronavirus pandemic. The three have also been named honorary captains for the Super Bowl by the NFL, according to NPR.
The Super Bowl will be available for streaming on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Youtube TV, CBS Sports and other sports-related channels.
