Super Bowl Sunday

Come Super Bowl Sunday, David Maass '08 will be a man on a mission.

"Since the object of the Super Bowl party is to recreate the experience of actually being at the big game, I plan to conclude the night fleeing naked from my friends at Public Safety with a bottle of malt liquor in one hand and a Patriot fan's wallet in the other," says Maass, who describes himself as "not a Patriots fan."

He is a weekend warrior, determined, along with hundreds of fellow Princetonians, to enjoy Super Bowl XXXIX to the fullest.

And the mechanism of fun this Sunday? None other than the infamous Super Bowl Party, that quintessential American tradition that brightens the bleak midwinter landscape in which it takes place.

Parties big and small

It seems Princeton's strategy for creating Super Bowl revelry and delight will be two-pronged.

As far as official events go, the Frist Campus Center will hold a Super Bowl party for the entire campus community. Frist has held Super Bowl parties every year since its opening in 2000, except for those years in which the Super Bowl fell over the University's Intersession break.

Food will be provided, including six-foot subs and buffalo wings. Princetonians will, of course, provide the people — always the most important part of any party.

"The crowd typically includes people who are very much into the game as well as those who simply want to gather in the company of their fellow Princetonians," said Laurie Hall, the Associate Director of Programs at Frist.

Hall expects "several hundred" people in front of both big-screen TVs on the 100 level of Frist.

For those who desire a more intimate viewing setting, however, there are plenty of options. There are certain to be numerous small gatherings of good friends all across the campus in dorms and common rooms.

Additionally, most eating clubs plan on holding either blowout bashes or informal gatherings of members around a TV — with plenty of junk food and cold beverages to go around, of course.

Informal is the key word.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

"We aren't having a 'party,' per se, but surely there will be people hanging out in the TV room," a junior in Tiger Inn said. "In general, I think we're a little too lazy and disorganized to really plan and execute a party."

In truth, though, planning a successful Super Bowl party requires only a few basic elements: "Alcohol, food and a big-screen TV," according to Casey Riley '08.

Maass, meanwhile, modifies the classic triumvirate of Super Bowl necessities to reflect his own needs: "Pork rinds, pretzels and beer."

Indeed, the art of the Super Bowl party will be found in many different manifestations this Sunday.

One group of students living in Rockefeller College plan on combining the key features of a Super Bowl party with a beginning-of-second-semester party, hoping that the combination of the big game and the lack of important schoolwork will help fuel a Bacchanalian fire of considerable magnitude.

War of words

Without the aid of any of the drinks that are sure to cause altercations between rival fans down in Jacksonville, fighting words have already begun to fly.

"Who do the Patriots think they are, anyway?" Mass asks. "The 1972 Miami Dolphins? Did they win every game this season? No? Who beat them again, late in the season? Oh wait, it was the Miami Dolphins — that's interesting."

Antipathy for the two-time defending champion New England Patriots seems to run high among Princeton students, with many hailing from the state next door where team loyalty runs deep.

"I'll be wearing the same Eagles sweatshirt I've had since I was six," Riley said.

Ultimately, one only hopes friendships between New Englanders and Pennsylvanians — likely strained by the revelry of Sunday night — will reemerge unscathed Monday morning.

One also hopes to not have to run naked from Public Safety.