As the NFL season slowly winds to a close, the University of Idaho campus is full of excitement for the upcoming Super Bowl LII.
Bars off campus tend to get more crowded as our older students on campus crowd in to glue their eyes onto the screen while they yell and cheer for their favorite team, more students are glued to their phones just waiting for updates on their favorite teams. The national excitement for football fans’ favorite time of year is palpable.
Very few places can avoid the excitement of the road to the Super Bowl. Young fans and their families turn to fan-favorites such as Buffalo Wild Wings. Even the sororities feel the buzz.
As the playoffs close in on the Super Bowl it is becoming more and more obvious that the big game will be the Minnesota Vikings vs. the New England Patriots, where many believe the Patriots will come out victorious.
It is really challenging to beat out the Patriots’ coach-quarterback mashup. They also have a close to perfect opponent-specific play calls. With Gronkowski and a few flawless running backs, Tom Brady will have all the opportunities he needs to beat the defiance on the opposing side of the turf.
What naturally comes out of two strong teams leading the charge in the NFL? Bandwagon fans — it is hard to miss the apparent ride of Tom Brady jerseys around campus and the distinct bright purple of the Vikings jerseys.
Most individuals have distinct ways that connect themselves to teams within the NFL. These two teams may be far from Idaho but as you walk around campus it becomes apparent that there are still handfuls of fans for each team.
Many Idaho students around campus are from out of state and have professional teams they associate themselves with, but for home-grown Idaho students, it may not be as easy to identify with a team in a state that has no professional teams of its own.
This is where bandwagon fans jump into the picture. When you don’t have a local team to support, why not support the team destined to win?
The Vikings may or may not have been the clear bandwagon team all season but have recently given fans plenty of reasons to believe they have what the fans want.
And let’s be honest, when aren’t the Patriots a bandwagoner’s dream?
Yet according to Maury Brown of Forbes, the most popular NFL team in the state of Idaho is neither of these teams, but instead the Seattle Seahawks.
Whoever Vandals choose to represent on their jerseys, the excitement around the playoffs bring a new life to campus and the diversity in support can only enrich that buzz.
Marisa Lloyd can be reached at [email protected]