One of the biggest surprises during my second semester at Swarthmore was how enthusiastic the student body became as the date for Super Bowl LVII (2025) crept closer. I grew up near the Philadelphia area, so it was not unusual for me to experience the hype surrounding the big game: especially with a lineup like the Eagles v. the Chiefs. Nonetheless, I was thrilled to watch the campus community, full of people from all around the world, show their varying support for the different teams. For my family’s sake, I, of course, wore my forest green hoodie (with a little Woodstock and Snoopy decal playing football) and sent out “Superbowl Party” invitations to some of my friends in preparation for the occasion. On the day-of, some of my friends and I walked to the Co-op, which is the food market in the town of Swarthmore, to grab strawberries, chocolate, milk, caramel, apples, chips, queso, and soda for the celebration. The food places within the Ville all accept Swat Points (one of Swarthmore’s fake currencies), so we were able to get everything without having to pay out of pocket.
It is important to note that, despite the overwhelmingly large number of Eagles fans around the Swarthmore area (shoutout Philly) many of the friends with whom I watched the event were actually Chiefs fans. Contrarily, walking back to my place from the Co-op, I noticed some of my other friends sitting at Ship’s Bottom, a local brewery. I ran in to say “hello,” dragging my companions along with me. Equipped in Eagles gear from head-to-toe, my friends in the brewery explained their grand plan. Like much of the Swarthmore community, they were going to watch the first portion of the game in town, then take the 6:15 PM train, about halfway through the game, to Center City Philadelphia (near town hall) to gather for celebration with the rest of the city’s population.
It was about 4:30 PM when we dropped everything off at my dorm, so, with about two hours left until the big game, we went to the dining hall for an early dinner. All of the desserts had been made green for the occasion, so I grabbed some steak, green beans, and a mountain of rice krispie treats, cupcakes, and cookies: all that same signature shade of emerald. While we were sitting around, talking, another friend walked by and invited us to a separate Superbowl party that they were hosting. Quickly, we grabbed our things and followed them to Willet’s Hall (an all-freshman dorm on campus). There, they had laid out a spread of pizzas, pretzels, and wings. My friends made their plates and we turned on the game.
Now, despite having been to dozens of games in my lifetime, football is one of those sports that I had never quite grasped. However, being in Willets with so many friends, rooting on the team, allowed me to be carried along in a wave of immense excitement. Since the room’s population was split fairly evenly between Eagles and Chiefs fans, we were able to argue (by which I mean friendly banter, of course) with one another throughout the entire thing. About five minutes before the end of the first half, I departed towards my dorm to set things up. I dragged the groceries down to the Danawell kitchen–thankfully empty–and began to organize things as other friends slowly began to trickle in. We made trays of chocolate covered strawberries and caramel apples while the Kendrick Lamar halftime show played in the background. Following this, we carried our trays of treats up to my dorm room: stopping by to say hello to another group of mutual friends who had been watching the game on the television in the Danawell 2nd floor lounge. Once inside my room, we watched the game’s finale (Go Birds!) and celebrated–both Eagles and Chiefs fans alike–on a well-deserved victory: texting friends and joining the cheers across campus.
My friend and I prepping for the game at the dining hall (left) and our homemade chocolate-covered strawberries (right).
While I am not the most involved person when it comes to football, moments like these spent with friends: laughing, talking, making snacks, and eating good food, truly embody the community that drew me to Swarthmore in the first place: a place of community and of pride in culture, tradition, and, of course, (once again, completely unbiased in saying this) the Philadelphia Eagles.