Seniors go gaga over Super Bowl volunteering experience

It may seem like handing out towels is a mundane job, but handing out towels at Super Bowl 50 is just a little different, especially since it meant getting to rub shoulders with celebrities.

Super Bowl 50, the largest sporting event in America, took place in our own “backyard” on Feb 7. With over 70,000 people in attendance and the average ticket price hovering around $3,000, it was the most exclusive and extreme sporting party the Bay has ever seen.

Senior Sandeep Suresh spent all of last Sunday evening at the Super Bowl, offering rally towels to Carolina Panthers fans.

“A lot of it was just interacting with the people and trying to make them even more excited to be there,” Suresh said. “It was interesting because I also got to be super close to some people I used to only see on TV.”

Suresh was not the only student who got to experience the Super Bowl from the inside; senior Deepthi Sampathkumar was also there. Sampathkumar volunteered at the Gameday Plaza, where she handed out rally towels at the Denver Broncos rally area and got to “interact with a lot of Broncos fans.” Later they got to go inside the stadium and continue their work.

The process to work such a large event did not happen overnight. The two seniors applied months before to get the volunteer spots.

But it was not a simple process: They both had to train for three hours the Saturday before the big game to make sure they understood their roles.

According to Sampathkumar, the training taught the volunteers five key points, but the most important was to initiate contact.

“We had to be really friendly to all the fans,” Sampathkumar said. “We needed to know where things were or direct people to the correct person who would know that information.”

The day started at 6 a.m.. Carpooling to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, the two made it to the event at 7:30.

“Our first shift began at 9 a.m., but we had to go there early to help prepare at the Gameday Plaza outside the stadium,” Sampathkumar said. “We worked till 4:30 right after the game started and we got home around 5:30 to watch the rest of the game at home.”

Both seniors thoroughly enjoyed the experience. “The experience was pretty amazing because I've never been part of that big of an atmosphere before. Everyone was really happy to be there and that made serving them more fun,” Suresh said. “I even got to see Lady Gaga and Stephen Curry before the game.”

Out of the experiences that stood out to Sampathkumar was getting the chance to meet and see various celebrities.

“At the end of one of my breaks, my section of fans were screaming and I thought they were taking a photo-op,” Sampathkumar. “As I reached the crowd, one fan told me Lady Gaga walked by. I was shocked.”

After 15 minutes, Lady Gaga, who sang national anthem, returned to take a photo with a mannequin and that is when Sampathkumar got the courage to go up and meet her.

“It was super cool meeting Lady Gaga,” Sampathkumar said. “My volunteer partner and I were super awkward but we got to make small talk with her.”
On top of seeing many celebrities such as Dee Murthy and Kevin Durant, Sampathkumar had many memorable experiences.

“One of my favorite parts was the fans' spirit. They were insane and really into the game. Overall it was a really eye-opening experience,” Sampathkumar said. “We had to get up [early] to work our shift, but it was definitely worth it.”