SBA Super Bowl Internship Recap
My (Jatin Nayyar) experience working at the Super Bowl lasted from Thursday, February 4th to Saturday, February 6th. The first thing we did upon arrival was picking up our credentials. To do this, we went to the Tampa Bay Convention Center, where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl parade was held. We were temperature checked multiple times and used an app to ensure we were not experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms. Once we received our credentials, we headed to our first shift at Julian B Lane Park. After we were temperature-checked again at the park, we went to our shift. Jake Weintraub and I worked the 40 yard dash, working with IT staff to time four runners at the same time and getting those times from the computer system to the scoreboard for fans to enjoy and react to. When we were on break or not working in general, we enjoyed the festivities ourselves, as the NFL Experience consisted of the Lombardi Trophy, a Hall of Fame Museum and countless other attractions that were amazing to us since at the end of the day, we love football too!
On Friday, the whole GW group helped set-up for a silent auction hosted by the Sports Philanthropy group from 1-5 pm at the Tampa Zoo. We helped place all the auctioned items and unravel all the paintings for the show. On Saturday, we were fortunate enough to attend the actual event which was attended by some celebrities and big figures within the Sports Industry. Some of the athletes in attendance included Earl Christey, Tyrone Keys, Johnny Damon, Adam Hall, Jim Mcmahon, and Ricky Williams. Once that sense of being starstruck wore off, the networking opportunities were really something that we were thrilled about. It was an amazing opportunity, and I was even able to get an internship with a former NFL player to help him build his brand and mine.
The Athletes and Causes Philanthropy event helped raise tens of thousands of dollars for charity.
The day of the game was an unforgettable experience. While kickoff was set for 6:30pm, our day as game-day staff began at 9am when we left for the Florida State Fairgrounds where again our temperatures were checked, a COVID symptom questionnaire was administered and our game-day credentials were picked up. Once that checkin process was finished, we left for Raymond James Stadium. After going through another round of temperature checks and multiple general security checks, we checked in again and got into the stadium itself. At this point, it was still only 11:30am, a full three hours before the gates were opened to the limited number of fans that the city of Tampa allowed into the stadium.
I (Jake Weintraub) was stationed just inside of the Southeast tunnel. The role had three main aspects; pre-game, halftime, and post-game. Pre-game, my role was to work with management to get the Vince Lombardi hologram from the tunnel onto the field. Every last detail of the Super Bowl LV experience on game-day was pre-planned and rehearsed down to the second. For the hologram, it had to leave the tunnel at exactly 6:19pm, and not a minute later. Around the halfway point in the second quarter, the halftime show dancers arrived outside the tunnel and began to get into formation so they could get onto the field for their performance with The Weeknd. When it became time for the show, each and every one of these dancers needed to show security their wristband credentials so that nobody who didn’t belong on the field would be able to compromise the show and the event in general. It was unbelievable being able to see the personality behind these seemingly robotic dancers that I had seen on TV for my entire life. They cheered when the Bucs scored just before the half, a dancer needed to use the bathroom less than a minute before their performance was set to begin, and after the show, they all were yelling and jumping around with excitement because they had just killed it.
The field on Super Bowl Sunday.
The pure humanity that I witnessed in every aspect of an event that is so militant and disciplined was truly extraordinary to see and be a part of. The final responsibility that we had was getting the family and friends of the Bucs players onto the field in a safe and orderly manner once the game ended. We built a staging area from barricades, and had to make sure that everybody had the proper clearances to enter the field to go celebrate with the team after such a historic Super Bowl win. For all of these aspects of the Super Bowl, the Southeast section of the tunnel had to be completely shut down so that everything could run as smoothly and safely as possible. Witnessing what truly goes into putting on the biggest single sporting event on the planet was truly something that will stick with me throughout my career within the sports industry. The biggest takeaway that I had was that not even the smallest things are ever left up to chance. Making these types of events successful really is a science, and seeing that science in action was one of the most special experiences of my sports life to this point.