Senior Andrew Ding has been the MVP of his friend group, volunteering his house for their annual Super Bowl viewing party.
“We always watch the game at Andrew’s house, because that’s how it’s been for the past eight years. It’s tradition,” said senior Alvin Lui, Ding’s long time friend.
Let’s take a look at his four keys to Super Bowl party success.
1. Get your squad together
Every year, Ding and his friends kick off the Super Bowl hype by starting a Facebook event.
They limit the group to about ten to fifteen of their closest friends, and even though they see each other every day, having the event helps them coordinate and figure out what’s going to happen.
2. Get organized
Once you got the whole squad hyped up, the next thing is food. Because what’s a Super Bowl without Doritos Locos Tacos? In order to ensure that there are plenty of chips and dip to go around, Ding and his friends create a Google doc for food signups weeks beforehand.
“One year we had KFC because no one brought food so I had to buy it all,” Ding said with a sigh. “That’s why we have a Google doc now.”
Since they know exactly what they need, they divide up responsibilities. This way, instead of leaving all the pressure of providing food for everyone on one person’s plate, everyone contributes.
“There are slots with salad and veggie dip — because you don’t want to kill your colon — and then pizza, chips, soda, drinks, cookies fruits, and how many we want of each one,” Ding said, then narrowing his eyes, “Alvin usually signs up for the chips.”
3. Keep it fun and casual
As a part of their tradition, Ding and his friends like to place bets on the game to make things more exciting. Their bets are mostly just for fun, with low stakes like one or five dollars.
“Last year one of our friends was a Seattle Seahawks fan, and I wanted the Patriots to win,” Lui said. “So the bet was if the Patriots win, he’d have to wear my Patriots shirt to school and my Kennedy [P.E.] shorts and a Barron Davis Jersey that were all too small for him, but he never did the bet.”
One year, they placed a one dollar bet and the loser ended up paying the winner in pennies. Whether the bets are serious or not, incorporating casual activities gets everyone hyped up.
4: Game day!
On game day, everyone arrives with food and traditional entertainment: video games and a football. Because let’s be real, no one wants to sit on the couch during halftime, so Ding and his friends play football at a nearby park.
“It’s more of a friend tradition,” Lui said. “Some of us watch [and play] football and some of us don’t, but we all still come to the Super Bowl party because, well, it’s the Super Bowl.”
For them, it’s less about the actual game than it is about spending time with the whole group when everyone is present.
“I don’t watch any football,” senior Justin Lin said, “I just go to hang out with my friends.”
Ding, Lui, and Lin collectively agree that their favorite part about the party is the good vibes that come with the spirit of the game.
“Everyone’s just super excited to watch the game, and it’s great when we actually have an organized party for once,” Lui said.
“Dude, you didn’t even sign up! No one signed up yet!” Ding said, yelling at the two sitting on the couch.
Lin shrugged and reassured Ding, “Oh we will, we will. We’ll get to it today. Probably tomorrow.”
