How Stanford students spent a local Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl Sunday often calls for watch parties and tailgates around the country, especially when getting tickets to the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara – only a 30 minute drive from Stanford’s campus – cost thousands of dollars. For many students, Super Bowl Sunday was less of a must-watch sporting event and more as an excuse to gather, eat well and spend time with people they care about.

For Jadon Urogdy ’27, the appeal was all about atmosphere. At Durand, Urogdy and his friends set up tents and an outdoor TV to recreate the feel of a game-day tailgate without leaving the neighborhood. Urogdy took on grilling duties himself, adding, “I’ll be grilling hot dogs, which may be a humbling test of my cooking abilities.” As for the Super Bowl itself, he admitted his rooting interests were complicated: “Frankly, as a diehard Denver Broncos fan, I hope both teams lose,” he said, noting that the chance to watch the game with close friends in good weather mattered far more than the final score.

For An Doan ’25, M.S. ’26, the game was as much about continuity as it was about football. Doan watched the Super Bowl in Munger with the same group of friends she watched with the year before, a deliberate choice rooted in how her relationship with sports has evolved during her time at Stanford. Having grown up moving frequently and without much exposure to football, Doan said being at Stanford and having access to games helped spark her interest, particularly during her senior year. A trip to a 49ers–Seahawks game at Levi’s Stadium last fall proved pivotal, cementing her Seahawks fandom.

In Adams Hall, Megan Njeri ’26 approached the night with an eye toward both tradition and community building. A Resident Assistant in the dorm, Njeri planned a Midwestern-themed Super Bowl spread filled with comfort foods, seeing the watch party as an opportunity to create a welcoming, shared experience for residents. She also connected with Resident Fellow Kyle Douglass to make events like Super Bowl Sunday plant the seeds for stronger dorm culture moving forward. The night fit into a longer-term vision as well, as Njeri and her friends had already talked about investing in a better TV for future Super Bowls, hoping to turn the gathering into an annual Adams House staple.

Others opted for a more low-key approach. Sofia Zhao ’26 attended her sorority’s Alpha Kappa Delta Phi watch party, a casual gathering hosted in the house where members brought snacks to share and spent the evening together. The RSVP flyer captured the tone perfectly, reading, “I hope both teams have fun,” a sentiment Zhao said was very much achieved by the end of the night.

Across campus, Super Bowl Sunday became less about the outcome on the field and more about the shared experience of it. Whether through backyard tailgates, themed menus or relaxed watch parties with friends, students found their own ways to turn a nationally televised event into something personal, communal and distinctly theirs.

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