Every year, millions of Americans partake in the wing-eating, jersey-donning holiday that is Super Bowl Sunday. The night offers fierce competition, celebrity-filled commercials, and elaborate performances by top-grossing musical acts. For this reason, University students tuned into the program at some point on Feb. 7, whether they were with their respective Greek organizations or at a common room dorm party. This week, we’re going over all things Super Bowl, from game highlights to campus events, and even some commercial analysis.

Game Highlights

The NFL’s most durable defensive unit proved its might in the Super Bowl, as the Denver Broncos forced four turnovers and limited the highest-scoring offense to just 10 points on the night. In the end, Carolina’s offensive line couldn’t hold up as it allowed seven sacks and failed to consistently move the ball down the field. However, in a game of formidable defenses, Denver did not have much luck offensively either. Peyton Manning threw for only 141 yards on the night, as Denver was one-for-14 on third-down conversions. Luckily for the Broncos, the defense gave some early scoring assistance off of a fumble recovered for a touchdown, and a late fourth-quarter rushing touchdown sealed the game for Denver. Overall, the Broncos did enough to keep Carolina out of sync, dealing the Panthers only their second loss of the season. Head coach Gary Kubiak led his team to a Super Bowl victory in just his first year with the team, while Manning will have gone out on top if this is in fact the final performance of his illustrious career.

Commercial Analysis

For many people, Super Bowl commercials are the most important part of the night, so we did some analysis of this year’s ads. At $5 million for every 30 seconds of advertisement, the stakes are high for companies willing to spend that amount of money. Expectations were high as well; if a company is shelling out millions of dollars, their ad should be perfect. However, the general consensus this year was that the anticipated commercials were overall dull.

“Commercials are my favorite part about the Super Bowl, but this year none of them were very notable. They all seemed like ads you’d see any other night, which I wasn’t expecting,” Kathryn Chesebrough ’18 said.

While that did seem to be true in general, there were a few ads that received praise. Here are some fan favorites:

Budweiser–The Bud Light Party

Put Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen together and you’re guaranteed a good laugh. This parody on election speeches was relevant and refreshing. Nice job, Budweiser.

Audi–David Bowie “Starman”

This heartfelt advertisement depicts an old astronaut reminiscing in a car that brings him back to taking off in a rocket ship. Combined with a tribute to the late David Bowie, this one was a winner.

Doritos–Ultrasound

It wouldn’t be the Super Bowl without a creative Doritos advertisement. One of the more talked about commercials of the night, this one shows a dad using Doritos to mess with a baby in an ultrasound. Quirky, but funny.

Campus Events

Different organizations from all facets of campus life put together various Super Bowl events for University students on Feb. 7. Sororities and fraternities hosted viewing parties in their suites and houses for members of their organizations and potential new members. Provided with wings and other Super Bowl staples, Greek members enjoyed this time to watch football and bond with their brothers and sisters. Residential Advisors also organized events for their residents, setting up large quantities of greasy food and prizes for those who participated.

“We used a simple divide-and-conquer strategy to get all the Super Bowl necessities like food, awesome prizes, and, most importantly, excited spectators. It was a lot of fun, both to plan and execute, and much like the Super Bowl, it was a team effort,” the RAs of Larison and Harris Halls said.