Whether or not you were living under a rock this past Sunday, you had to know that the time had come once again for football fans and commercial enthusiasts to join together once more for the ever exciting and ever eventful Super Bowl. Lancer Productions (LP) hosted Longwood's long-lasting tradition, the Super Bowl Party, in the Lankford Student Union Ballroom and ABC rooms to provide not only a great excuse to leave one's room, but an opportunity to be able to join friends and rivals in a comfortable and energy-filled environment.
Oh, and spoiler alert: Giants won.
At the event, couches were set up in front of large projections on screens while various finger foods, such as chips and salsa, hot wings, and pigs in a blanket were served free of charge. Decorations were also hung up on the walls to exemplify both teams and to create better team spirit.
LP Assistant Director of Traditions for Hospitality Callee Early estimated that around 80 to 100 people attend the event every year. With so many people, she said, "It gives a really fun atmosphere, even if you don't like football. I know I don't. But everyone's pumped up and excited. It's really fun to watch the people interact with each other." She added that it was a great event even to bring strangers together at, uniting them by similar interests.
LP Assistant Director of Traditions for Bands and Security Brittney Wright added, "Everyone wants a Super Bowl party to go to, so having all your friends to come here [is a better option]. Most people on campus live in dorms, so it's not 15 people crammed into a dorm room." She also commented that the aspect of free food, compared to going to a restaurant such as Buffalo Wild Wings, was also a great incentive for students to attend the event.
The success of each Super Bowl Party event always depends on the game, itself. Anna Rigg, director of performing arts of LP, said, "Probably the most telling [sign] will be how many people we have at the end of the game to see how really successful it was. I know some people leave in the middle and they come back, but I think those people who stay, we'll be able to gauge how interested in most what we did … If it's a landslide, they're gonna leave early."
Junior Kristen Finchum, a Giants fan, said her newly fostered interest in football stemmed from her family and the fun in "the rivalry between teams."
As for her motivation to attend the Super Bowl Party, Finchum said, "It beats sitting in my room all day. It just gets me out to socialize more."
Senior Kyle Pemberton admitted that he wasn't rooting for either the Giants or the Patriots, saying, "My team's not playing. I'm a Red Skins fan, so I don't really know who to pull for."
He added, "Red Skins motto is, ‘There's always next year,'" and was able to enjoy the event regardless.
Pemberton said the aspect of football he is most interested in is "probably the competitiveness. It's an American sport. I guess you could say … it's like a brotherhood. It's like a bonding that these guys [have] for one last game. They were bonding together to achieve [and] accomplish the end reward and being the best."
Pemberton said that the best part of the event was "probably seeing all the students come out. I'm also involved on the SGA [Student Government Association], so putting students first and seeing all the students come out to such sponsored events – it's great to see people I don't normally see coming out and just getting a little bit more involved in the organizations and the things that are being put on this campus. So, hopefully, we can continue to do it as a university … to get people more involved with things around campus and to appreciate yourself the things that are going on all around."
If interested in finding out about any near future Lancer Productions events, go online at www.lancerproductions.longwood.edu or to the Lancer Pro page on Facebook.
