By: Lily Smith

January 23, 2025

Lily Smith is a second-year undergraduate at BGSU from Oregon, Ohio. She is majoring in Sport Management with a Marketing minor. In her spare time, she is an intern in the BGSU Athletics Marketing department, a BGSU Campus Tour Guide, and an avid reader. She is passionate about all things women’s sports, and all things women in sports.

Coming up in just a few short days, I will be departing for New Orleans. I am going with the BGSU Sport Management Alliance, the pre-professional group for Sport Management majors to volunteer and work experiences in and around Super Bowl LIX. I am beyond excited for this opportunity, as this is not something just everyone gets to experience. 

Growing up, I have always been fully immersed in the NFL. Every year, for about 45 years, my family hosts a Super Bowl party. Hosting has been passed down and moved around, but the tradition still remains. These days, the party is hosted at my parent’s house, and is the biggest event of the year for my family. We usually order pizza, drink a lot of pop, and of course, the biggest tradition, the Super Bowl cakes. 

I have no idea when this tradition started, but it has been going on for as long as I can remember. We go over to my Grandma Deb’s house, and my dad, sometimes my Uncle Brian, and sometimes my other cousins, and I decorate these helmet shaped cakes based on the two teams competing that year.

Grandma Deb, myself, and my dad in 2022. 

I am sad to miss out on these traditions, but I know I will be gaining experience during the trip. We have so much planned and so many fun things to do. I have never been to Louisiana before, so I am so excited about our trip to New Orleans and the surrounding areas. My family is disappointed that I will not be there for our party, but they know that this is something that I may never get to experience again. 

Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing my experiences and lots and lots of pictures. I will be using Maxwell Media Watch almost like a travel blog or diary for my Super Bowl LIX experience.

Check out this article by David Dupont from the BG Independent News, February 3, 2025: https://bgindependentmedia.org/bgsu-sport-management-students-suiting-up-for-multiple-assignments-at-super-bowl-lix/

This video link appeared on WTOL two weeks ago, when students were exploring weather and security concerns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVgZXcUC0yA

Finally, this link appeared on Channel 13 announcing plans for SMA to attend Super Bowl LIX: https://www.13abc.com/video/2025/01/12/bgsu-sending-students-super-bowl-2/