AVRIL KING
Social Media Asst.
113.7 million people. According to FOX Sports, this is how many people nationwide viewed Super Bowl LI. And as the highest-rated broadcast of the year, who wouldn’t want to catch a part of the action?
Lucky for 18 Fredonians, they were able to view this event in person.
For the third time, the Sport Management Club, headed by professors Penny Hite and Jason Becker, was able to organize a trip to one of the largest sporting events in America, this year in Houston. By attending, students were able to work for the NFL Experience, which was located at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, enjoy the city and learn about what it takes to make the Super Bowl happen.
The selection process for this extraordinary opportunity was mainly first-come, first-served, according to senior sports management major Michael Rogacki.
“Our professors came to us … we went last year too, to San Francisco, and so that gave everybody kind of an idea of what it would be. And then we started having meetings and our professors just told us how much it would cost,” said Kristen Swann, a senior journalism major with a sports management minor. “We had to pay for our hotels and our plane tickets, and basically everything.”
At the Experience, fans of the NFL were able to play interactive football games, view paraphernalia from the NFL Hall of Fame and even meet some of their favorite players.
But helping out at the event wasn’t the only adventure in store for the students; along with working shifts at the Experience, they also had the opportunity to view the Super Bowl live.
“I can’t even describe to you how loud and huge it was compared to any other football game I’ve ever been to,” said Rogacki.
The trip was so worthwhile that Fredonia sports management graduate Andre Jacquez came back to his college home to participate in the event again this year.
“I was fortunate enough to attend Super Bowl 50 last year during my senior year. I knew this was an opportunity that I wanted to experience again, so I reached out to both professors via email stating my case as to why I wanted to go. They were both receptive and excited to have me back on board,” said Jacquez. “I could have easily volunteered on my own and did my own thing. However, I wanted to experience this with my Fredonia family — with my professors, former classmates and new friends. The trip brought everyone together. Not only did I strengthen my current relationships with my professors and classmates, but I created new friendships with students I just met.”
For these lucky Blue Devils, this Super Bowl wasn’t so much about winning or lose but about joining together and having a good time.
“It provides our country with a day to relax and have fun. It’s an outlet for everyone to come together and be worry free,” said Jacquez. “The Super Bowl is much larger than football. You don’t even have to like football to enjoy the Super Bowl.”