Author: Mannion McGinley
Super Bowl Sunday is a big deal across the country. That energy was fully reflected in the Siegfried Hall 24-hour recreation space by 6:30 this Sunday night. The Brother and Sister Commissioners of both dorms Mae Irvin, Sean Seidl, and myself as well as Jade Fung, PW’s Athletic Commissioner, worked to put together a socially distanced Super Bowl Watch party. It was a complex feat.
All three TVs had the game playing on Siegfried’s first floor. Some people could play pool and watch one TV in their kitchen. In the other room, the football-watching commitment was more intense. Everyone had made their predictions before the game started (two-thirds of both dorms had picked the Chiefs). With two chair and couch groups facing two TVs, the kick-off was jokingly accompanied by spinning arms and a stretched out “Gooooooo-oh! Irish!” For those who don’t know, that’s a tradition here on campus for an Irish kick-off and those watching the game carried the tradition over for a night.
Half time also caused a great deal of emotions across the room. It was almost consensus in the room that The Weeknd’s singing was amazing but his gold-lit moment with the cameraman was quite interesting. Twitter blew up with that as a meme and the room broke into resounding choruses of laughter.
Even if someone wasn’t a football fan they were watching intently in the main room as the game went on. Every commercial break the group continued their game of commercial bingo -- every year, someone online will make different bingo cards with all the potential commercials. The Commissioners downloaded and printed those cards to give to each participant. No one wanted to miss a single commercial as they waited to see if it would be the square they needed to win. At one point in the night, 3 people were waiting for a Fiverr commercial, 4 for Cheetos, and 2 for Triller. The ones who got that final square they needed were able to win an Irish Woodworks key chain, a new organization here on Notre Dame’s campus. Some of their pieces are dorm oriented and some have a broader campus appreciation.
Overall, whether participants were football fans, thought The Weeknd was a halftime hero or they took this opportunity to become a commercial genius, the event was a success. And, although each attendee was well spread out, with masks on, it was a nice opportunity to build the community that has been missed so heavily on campus.