DANTE LASTING
Sports Editor
For football players, getting to the Super Bowl is not an easy thing to do and is every player’s dream. For me, it was an experience of a lifetime, and it was a trip I will never forget.
The game on Sunday was amazing, as anyone would expect, but the real work started the day we got into Florida.
We arrived on the morning of Jan. 29 and did not have much time to relax once we got in. We had to check into our motel in Dania Beach then get to the volunteer headquarters in Miami before getting to our first shift of the week at the Super Bowl Experience. It all started to really sink in that we were going to be a small part of the biggest game of the year after we checked into the headquarters and got our credentials.
Along with those came a lot of free stuff from the host committee to wear throughout the week. We received a dry-fit polo shirt along with a quarter-zip sweatshirt and a windbreaker. The Miami host committee paired up with clothing brand Perry Ellis, who designed all the volunteer gear.
After that, we made the journey over to the Super Bowl Experience. The Experience was housed in the Miami Beach Convention Center. With traffic in and around Miami being very hectic, it would take about an hour to go 20 miles or so. Once we arrived at the Experience, we received another set of credentials: a Swell water bottle and a teal long-sleeve that we needed to wear while we worked.
The Miami Host Committee and the NFL did a really nice job with the Super Bowl Experience. It was perfectly placed at the spacious Miami Beach Convention Center where for the week before the Super Bowl it was transformed into an NFL fan heaven. From the moment I stepped into the enormous main showroom, my inner fan came out, and I was like a kid in a candy store.
For the fans who bought tickets, there was so much to do and you could really spend the entire day there. From current and former players signing autographs, to taking pictures with the Lombardi Trophy, every Super Bowl ring and some Hall of Fame bronze busts. There were also more interactive activities from being able to walk across the NFL Draft stage, walk into your favorite team’s locker room and test your skills at every part of the NFL combined.
A few of the members of our group were stationed at the 40-yard dash, which was one of the more popular activities. There was a lot of running around that night, and not just from those competing, but from me as well.
My job was to bring the runners’ phones, wallets and bags down to another volunteer by the exit, so they did not have to worry about hanging on to it while they ran. As the night went on, more and more runners wanted me to film them as they ran the 40-yard dash with their family and friends.
By the end of the night, our whole group realized how much time and effort that goes into just one day of Super Bowl week.
Thursday, Jan. 30 was another long day as we were all up early for a three-hour training at Hard Rock Stadium from 8:30-11:00 a.m.
The training was a lot of common sense information that most of us already knew, but we did get what we were to wear on Super Bowl Sunday. We all received another polo, a gray rain jacket and a Super Bowl hat. After that, we got a bite to eat at Cafe Metro before another shift at the NFL Experience from 1 – 6:30 p.m.
With all these Super Bowl events spread out between Miami Gardens, downtown Miami and Miami Beach, public transportation was not an option. The whole group split into two, and we filled up two minivans driven by Professor Becker and Dr. Fischer. At all times, getting in and around the Miami area was filled with traffic, which meant that we spent a lot of time driving, which led to some crazy conversations.
On Friday, we had time in the morning to enjoy the South Florida weather because we did not have to be in downtown Miami until 1:30 p.m. It was a nice change of pace because instead of being at the Convention Center, we were volunteering at Super Bowl Live.
Super Bowl Live was an outdoor fan festival located at Bayfront Park. There were a lot of different activities and sponsored events along with food and live music. This was a free event for anyone to attend, which was different from the NFL Experience, which you had to buy a ticket to get into.
Our group was spread out all over the park, and I was placed at the NFL Pro Shop with Alexandria Walsh. We both were placed at the exit of the shop interacting with people as they left.
Saturday was a lot more of the same as we were back at the Convention Center for the Super Bowl Experience. It was the last day of it being open, so there were a lot of people there trying to get as much in before it closed for good. For that shift, they had me stationed at the NFL FedEx Air Challenge. This was where the fans had three attempts to throw footballs at three targets at different distances.
Super Bowl Sunday might have been the longest day out of all of them, but it was the most amazing experience.
Now, the company that was in charge of all the volunteers was not the most organized and when we got to the stadium in the morning. There was a lot of confusion and standing around. But once they placed us where we needed to be, my excitement started to pick up.
They split up our big group so that two people were on the 100 level, two people were on the 200 level and the remaining eight people in our group were on the 300 level. The 300 level was where most of the media were stationed and where they set up to watch the game. So, our job was to greet the media and fans as they came up to our level and guide them to where their section was.
We mostly stood and explored a little bit until around 2 p.m. when they opened the gates. To see all the excitement on fans faces as they entered the stadium and came up to their section was unlike anything else. I saw little kids bright-eyed and in awe of where they were and older people who had waited 50 years to see their Chiefs make it to the big game.
Once the game started, there wasn’t any foot traffic on our level, so we were able to go in the aisle and watch. To be able to experience the Super Bowl, the halftime show and the trophy ceremony after was unlike anything I have been able to be a part of.
The game itself was great, and it is something I will never forget. I am so grateful for the opportunity I was given to go on this trip, and I would not trade it for anything.