MATT VOLZ
Sports Editor
PARKER GURNETT
Staff Writer
MASON NEALE
Special to The Leader
For this year’s Super Bowl, 14 Fredonia students from the Sport Management Department and the School of Business traveled to Las Vegas as part of an internship program through the NFL.
The group was chaperoned by Dr. Kerry Fischer of the Sport Management Department, Dr. Linda Hall of the School of Business and her husband, Mark.
Four members of The Leader — the three of us, along with sports photographer Kayla Welsh — were part of the group.
The FansFirst! Teammates program provides the opportunity to work behind the scenes at the Super Bowl and the events leading up to the game.
Before the trip, we had multiple online training sessions to attend. Each session lasted roughly one hour.
These were solely focused on training for the Super Bowl Experience (SBX) events that took place the week leading up to the game, as not all Teammates work on gameday.
The SBX was held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on the famed Las Vegas Strip, about a mile from Allegiant Stadium where the game was played.
We flew in from Buffalo on Tuesday, Feb. 6 in the afternoon.
Originally, the plan was for us to work one shift at the SBX on Thursday and then work on gameday at the stadium.
However, when the opportunity came for us to also work a shift on Wednesday, we accepted.
The SBX is a fan-centered series of events, with all sorts of games and activities that fans can participate in.
For our shifts, many of us worked at the FedEx Air Challenge, a game in which fans have three footballs to throw at various targets.
Some were in charge of wayfinding, directing people towards wherever they needed to go.
Others were taking pictures for fans in front of the Vince Lombardi Trophy or at the NFL Draft stage, where fans could experience being drafted first overall by their favorite team.
These were particularly long shifts, lasting from 1:30 to 10 p.m. both nights.
On Friday, after our SBX shifts were over, we went over to Allegiant Stadium for our gameday training.
The coolest part was probably seeing Post Malone from a distance, but more importantly, the training prepared us so we would know where to go and what to do on Sunday.
Being on the stadium complex while the Super Bowl was being played is something we will never forget.
We may not have been inside the stadium itself seeing the field, but we were still there within the action.
During our shifts, we were in charge of managing the exterior break rooms of the stadium.
There were numerous break rooms on the exterior of the stadium, with each one serving a slightly different group of workers.
One of the break rooms was the Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC) headquarters.
CSC is the company that employs the security workers in the yellow jackets you probably saw on TV a few times.
Some people worked in the main break room, known as 050. The rest worked in tents set up near the four main entry points to the stadium, known as zones one through four.
During our shift, our main job was to work alongside the catering company to keep the break rooms stocked with snacks and drinks. This included going to get more chips, cookies, water and Gatorade to keep those stations full at all times.
Another job that we were tasked with was keeping the break rooms clean and tidy. This included wiping down the tables, fixing the chairs and taking out any trash.
In some break rooms, workers passed out the hot meals that came with a meal ticket every worker received.
In the break rooms there were TV’s for the workers to watch the game while on break. Although the TV’s were there, we did not get a chance to actually watch the entire game, but we were able to check in on the score throughout its duration.
A few people in some of the different zones were able to see celebrities come into the stadium as break rooms one through four were near different entrances to the stadium. A few of the stars included Alicia Keys, Jay-Z and some of the cast from the show “Dance Moms”.
This may not have been the most glamorous side of sport management for us to work, but it is still an important aspect of sports. Understanding and working in a behind-the-scenes environment that most fans probably don’t even think about is an important lesson and goes to show just how many levels there are to planning and running a massive event such as the Super Bowl.
Not only was our business trip to Las Vegas an amazing opportunity for us to learn and experience real life sports business, it was also an opportunity for us to grow as people and experience a completely different environment. When we finally got to have some downtime, we took complete advantage of it and went out on adventures.
We took a day to go to the SBX as fans, since it’s much different to work it than to attend as a fan.
Many of us got to meet our sports idols and legends, including former Bills quarterback Matt Barkley, former Giants quarterback Eli Manning and Hall of Fame 49ers quarterback Joe Montana.
Even sitting in lines for hours to get to meet someone turned out to be some of the best times on the trip.
Every night, after we worked our crazy shifts, we would all get back to our house, get changed and hang out.
Some of us would play cards in the kitchen for hours, while others would chill in the living room and watch movies.
A few of us would sit around and watch highlights of random NFL players, like Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco or Jets quarterback Tim Boyle.
Even the chaperones were enjoying the company and made great memories with the students.
On Monday, after all of the NFL work was done, we all decided to get tickets and go to a Vegas Golden Knights game.
The atmosphere was electric, as the energy, entertainment and pregame show were all spectacular.
Some of us were prepared to heckle former Sabres captain Jack Eichel, but we were unable to because he missed the game due to injury.
We got to experience all of the excitement and culture of Las Vegas and got a taste of what it is like to live out in the desert, something none of us here in Western New York get to experience at all.
Next year’s Super Bowl will be in New Orleans, and some of the underclassmen from this year’s trip may go again.
The trip was a remarkable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and while it took quite a bit of work, it’s something we’ll never forget.
