Super Bowl 52 went the whole nine yards in terms of excitement and intrigue with both teams setting offensive records in a high-scoring contest.
For New England Patriots fans, the memorable night ended in disappointment. The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Patriots, the previous Super Bowl champions and projected favorites, 41-33.
While some spectators watched for the game, others tuned in for the commercials. Across the Palouse, Super Bowl viewers had their own ways of catching the game, from watching it on crowded couches to hitting the local bars.
The men of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity coordinated with their house chef and had a spread of tailgating food.
“It really is all about companionship and hanging out with friends to enjoy the game together. The game itself is cool and all but it is more about the atmosphere and hanging out with the guys,” said Fitsum Wudneh, a junior at the University of Idaho.
The women of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority also enjoyed their own Super Bowl party just down the road.
“Every year we do a big Super Bowl party and our house mom always makes us wings and buys us cakes and we can invite people from other houses to come watch the game with us,” said Kelsea Bullard, a UI sophomore.
For many members of Greek life at UI, Super Bowl Sunday was about gathering a large group of friends and enjoying the event. Lifelong Eagles fan Kenny Nakamura, however, said he prefers to cheer on his favorite team privately.
Nakamura, a member of Theta Chi Fraternity, said he usually watches the game in the privacy of his room or travels to his uncle’s house in Troy.
“It is just hard rooting for an underdog team in a house full of guys who will comment on the game no matter what the outcome is,” Nakamura said.
For fans of the game over 21 years of age, downtown Moscow offered plenty of options to watch the Super Bowl.
Marc Trivelpiece, an employee at the Corner Club, said there were plenty of Super Bowl festivities to enjoy at one of Moscow’s older establishments.
“We did a potluck sort of thing and there weren’t more people here than normal. It was a good environment with just people watching football,” said Trivelpiece. “We had one Eagles fan stand on the barstool and sing ‘Fly Eagles Fly’ after the game, so that was pretty cool.”
Emma Takatori can be reached at [email protected]