By Dena Adi/and Marley Malenfant
Most students spent their Super Bowl Sunday in front of the TV watching the big game, but a few of them managed to see it in person and make a few bucks as well.
Ron T. Ennis/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/ MCT
SE student Evan Arter was thrilled when he found out he would work the Super Bowl.
He received a job with County Fair Vending, selling snacks at major sporting events like the World Series and the Cotton Bowl. But the opportunity to work the nation’s biggest sporting event was “mind blowing.”
Arter, along with everyone else working the Super Bowl, met at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie Sunday morning to receive assignments and credentials.
“The lines were crazy,” Arter said. “There were so many people that the Dallas SWAT Team had to come and help keep things under control. I got my credential and left.”
The stadium gates originally were planned to open at 1 p.m. but didn’t until 2 p.m.
“They were still working on the temporary seating, welding and fixing it up,” Arter said. “Most of the vendors came late, probably because of the chaos at Lone Star Park.”
Although they didn’t let him wander away from his assigned spot in the upper deck, he still saw celebrities.
“I saw Lil’ Wayne and Owen Wilson at a distance,” he said.
The atmosphere of the game itself was “amazing and surreal,” he said.
The fans traveled far and wide compared with all the other sporting events Arter has worked.
“There were people visiting from all over the place — Montana, California, Virginia and even the U.K.”
He also pointed out “people’s fanhood” with Packers and Steelers fans covered in paint from head to toe wearing wigs and Cheeseheads galore.
“There was definitely more Packers fans than there were Steelers,” he said.
Even though he was working, Arter watched most of the game. His most memorable moment came at the end when Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw a pass that was nearly intercepted on fourth down with only seconds remaining.
“I thought Ben was going to pull something off, but after that, everyone knew [the Green Bay Packers would win],” he said. “The stadium went ballistic, and I got chills.”
SE student Chamelle Fowler also was scheduled to work the game as a Cowboys Stadium usher, something she’s done since the building opened two years ago.
She said it’s cool to meet celebrities, but the fans make the job exciting.
“There’s fights. There’s drunks. There’s people all over the place,” she said before the game. “There’s 50,000 people screaming. You get goose bumps. The energy is just a million.”
Fowler didn’t know what to expect Super Bowl Sunday. She said employees had to wear a special uniform, which they didn’t receive until the day of the game.
“They want everything exclusive,” she said. “Everything is hush, hush.”
