Super Bowl LVI: A Quiet Event for the Biggest Game of the Year
Isaac Kitchen | February 24, 2022
Every slightly chilled February, people gather around to watch the Super Bowl. This year saw the rise of what can only be described as an underdog story as the Cincinnati Bengals went toe-to-toe with the Los Angeles Rams in a game many considered in favor of the Rams.
Ever since emerging as a team in 1968, the Bengals have had little success in making it to the much-coveted championship, with their last chance being almost 33 years ago in Super Bowl XXIII versus the 49ers. The Rams themselves have had only one Super Bowl win in 1980 versus the Steelers.
Yet the high tensions felt by the fans of both teams seems to have done little to translate all the way from LA and Cincinnati to here at Warren Wilson College (WWC). The Super Bowl party only managed to attract a crowd of around six people as the game started.
We made ourselves cozy in the place where many events on campus happen, the spacious lounge area of lower Gladfelter. An array of squat, navy blue couches and chairs fanned out from a large flat screen that blared the event of the evening.
All around, on tables and clutched in hands, was a veritable feast of snacks: chips and salsas of all kinds, fruit snacks, sodas and a veggie platter. The choices were endless, especially for such a small crowd. Attendees seemed to be there for a variety of reasons, some not having to do with football at all. One person claimed they were there for the ads, another seemed more interested in the halftime show, and one claimed to not know much about football.
While all these small bits of chatter went on, the game started. The national anthem was sung, and the coin was tossed. All of the rituals of the event were completed before none other than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson came out onto the field to thunderously announce the teams.
The game began in full swing as the chaotic mass of bodies clashed with gusto to roaring cheers and applause. To those gathered around though, the game drew only a bit of attention, with most only looking up from a snack or phone during one of the many high production ads that played at a frequent pace.
Any sort of pregame chatter slowly died down as people settled into a long, drawn out game that seemed somewhat evenly matched for the first half, at least, with the score at halftime being 13-10 in favor of the Rams. With that, the halftime show started — a show most can't help but pay attention to. This year's show was set upon an odd stage in the shape of three bright white houses where artists like Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, Eminem and 50 Cent put on quite the show.
Soon enough the halftime show ended with the rest of the game passing in a heated back and forth match, which saw the Rams eke out a 23-20 victory over the Bengals with only a sliver of time left to play. Despite this, the small crowd still gathered in lower Gladfelter, which had shrunk to just five people, were practically all half asleep by the end, bringing the quiet, sleepy Super Bowl party to an end.
