The upcoming Super Bowl has many students choosing sides — not only between the Broncos and the Seahawks, but also between watching the game on Sunday or not.
Some students are so busy with church meetings, family dinners and other activities on Sundays, they hardly have time to even think about the game. Brady Johnson, a sophomore from St. George, usually misses the Super Bowl because of church attendance, but says he would watch the game because he thinks it builds relationships.
“Sunday is a day to focus on three major relationships: with God, with your family and with yourself,” Johnson said. “If my dad and my brothers are watching the football game, I think it’s fine to sit down and watch it with them.”
Johnson’s attitude is typical of many BYU students. They get together with family members and friends to watch the game and have a fun time.
If someone were to ask Riley Crist if it were appropriate to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday, the junior from Gilbert, Ariz. would roll his eyes, shrug his shoulders and say, “We’re doing it as a family, so it’s a family-bonding activity.”
The Super Bowl is not only an opportunity to bond with family, but also an opportunity to marinate a few burgers and neighborhood relationships for Savanna Mitchell, a freshman from Dallas.
“We used to go over to our neighbors’ one-car garage where they would hang a sheet (instead of a projector), whip out some folding chairs and watch the game, Texas-style, barbecue and all,” Mitchell said.
As good as that Texas barbecue sounds, some BYU students are anti-Super Bowl because they believe it defeats the purpose of the Sabbath.
“If you watch (the players) on Sunday, then they have to play on Sunday,” said Victoria Orozco-Vanderwaal, a sophomore from San Diego. “Everyone is supposed to be able to rest on Sunday.”
Chandler Stone, a junior from Sacramento, watches the Super Bowl, but understands how some students’ religious views keep them from watching the game on Sunday.
“I think the people that don’t watch it are honorable. I guess I haven’t really thought about it all that much,” Stone said. “Maybe I shouldn’t watch it, but I do because everyone else does.”
