Senior Sammi Bell’s Super Bowl game won’t just consist of hats and jerseys painted in one team’s uniform colors, nor will cheers be focused on any single quarterback’s accomplishments.
It will be a family divided — New York Giants versus New England Patriots, a repeat of the 2007 game that had the household on its feet.
Bell takes her father’s side as an avid supporter of Brooklyn’s finest: the Giants. Her softball practice on Sunday took her far from radio or television, creating a rather conflicting dilemma. Bell needed to practice batting, but to make it in time for the playoff game, she would have to toss the bat in the dirt and throw on her father’s hometown jersey.
Bell decided missing the game, Giants versus 49ers, was too much to risk. She and her father left the pitch at 4:30 p.m., arriving home in time to watch the end of the Patriots vs. Ravens game and the kickoff for the Giants vs. 49ers.
Her entire family watched the game, crowded around a couch, shouting at televised images of men in oversized shoulder-pads and helmets.
Supplied with soda, pizza and mini-corndogs, the family settled in for a riveting evening. Bell watched with anxious nerves as two teams she held some loyalty towards duked it out.
Bell felt this season was one of the best ones she has followed. She saw the rise of many new names, covering headlines and inciting screams. Victor Cruz, Ahmad Bradshaw and Jason Pierre-Paul were only a few of her recently discovered favorites.
However, she couldn’t help but cheer for her own hometown heroes, the three Missouri boys on the 49ers: Aldon Smith, Justin Smith and Delanie Walker.
As an ardent football fan, Bell even felt the 49ers’ sorrow at their fumble in overtime. But while she felt sympathetic for an embarrassing drop, she found it nearly impossible to keep from screaming in excitement for her beloved Giants.
Bell has celebrated Super Bowl Sunday in many different ways. This year, she is hoping to spend the Super Bowl with her coworkers at HuHot, standing near the bar and yelling at the televisions, cheering until the end.
By Avantika Khatri
