Spirits were high among Howard University students who gathered in the theater at the Mazza GrandMarc apartments in College Park, Maryland, to watch the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday.
Pizza boxes lined the front table below the humongous screen at the watch party, which was put on by Jaedon Arnasalal, a graduate assistant and law student.
Arnasalal hosted Super Bowl watch parties annually during his three years as a resident assistant at Cook Hall on Howard’s main campus. He teamed up with the HU Philly Club for this year’s gathering.
Eja Richardson, who came out to watch the game, said she is tired of the Chiefs constantly winning and wanted to see someone new come out victorious.
“I like Jalen Hurts,” Richardson said. “I like DeVonta Smith. I want to see them win. No hate … to the Chiefs. I just needed them to get humbled this one time.”
Since their win last year against the San Francisco 49ers, the Chiefs have been aiming for three wins in a row — something that has never been done in NFL history.
“We’re going for that three-peat so don’t even get it twisted. We’re doing it,” Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs quarterback, said at the team’s victory parade last year.
The Eagles were quick to shut these hopes down. They were up by 24 at halftime, and the Chiefs had not scored at all.
With Chiefs’ fatigue rampant, many attendees at the watch party just wanted to support the Eagles because they weren’t the Chiefs. “I just don’t like them,” said biology major Gabby Best, referring to the Kansas City team.
Although she’s not a huge football fan, she says she had to come out and cheer on the Eagles.
“I had to show up and watch them win.”
The night was a great experience, especially for Philly fans. The Eagles took home the Vince Lombardi trophy, ending the game 40-22. This is the Eagle’s second Super Bowl win. The last time the Eagles and Chiefs went head-to-head was in 2023, and the Philly team had a less than desirable outcome.
“I’m proud of the camaraderie I felt in the movie room,” said Arnasalal, who loves hosting these types of events. “A lot of Philly fans came out, so it was really cool seeing that Philadelphia action.”
“It was a nice way to just disengage and relax, and I’m really happy people popped out.”
Azia Ross is a reporter for HUNewsService.com.
