Students gather for free food, Super Bowl watch party at the Rec

As commercials leading up to the Super Bowl rolled on the big screen projector, students gathered at Troy’s Campus Recreation Center to watch the action Sunday night. 

The Rec held a watch party for the big game on one of its basketball courts. All students were invited and free food was provided. 

Alex Ford photo

Students grab their portions of free food before taking their seats to watch the Super Bowl Sunday night.

“This is one of our engagement retention events that we try to do throughout the semester,” said Assistant Director of Campus Recreation Matthew Pisarski. “We've done them in the past for away football games, and then we decided to do one for the Super Bowl this year, so we try to come up with different ways to help engage with the students and retain these events here on campus for different weekends. 

“It's great seeing that people want to be here. Over the years, I’ve seen an increase in attendance from the students.” 

The energy in the room was lighthearted and competitive as some students rooted for one team over the other. The Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 29-13. 

“I’m rooting for the Patriots, since it would be nice to see them win one again,” said Caleb Johns, a junior business major from Baltimore, Maryland. “Even though I honestly think the Seahawks are going to win, I'm still going for the Patriots. 

“I was kind of bored, and my friends aren't watching the game with me, so I was like, yeah, I'll come by and check it out. It’s events like these that are where you meet friends.” 

While the Super Bowl focused on the Seahawks taking down the Patriots, some students were most impressed with Bad Bunny’s halftime performance. 

“I was very excited to see his performance,” said Linda Hoetssch, a freshman exercise physiology major from Austria. “I feel like people have been talking about him a lot, so it's nice to see that he gets his moment.  

“Me and my friends are not from the U.S. We obviously know the Super Bowl is a big thing, so we were very excited to watch.” 

By the end of the night, students were able to leave knowing how the big game ended and with leftover concessions. 

To keep up with future events that the Trojan Fitness Center will put on, visit @troycampusrec on Instagram.