Emersonians Work Behind the Scenes and in Front of the Camera at Super Bowl LIV

Two groups of Emersonians were down in Florida to interview Chiefs and 49ers, work crazy long days, rub elbows with celebrities, and a whole lot more.

Communication Studies Assistant Professor Maria Scott was the trip director for a team of public relations students who were selected to work with the Super Bowl Host Committee, and a team of WEBN reporters covered the big game.

Scott and her students created a robust blog about their thoughts leading up to the trip, seeing and interacting with celebrities, and what it was like to work at one of the biggest international events in the world.

Scott started off the blog by reminiscing about her previous Super Bowl experience:

“All the stuff that ‘administrators’ work on that is behind the scenes is what can make or break a trip, an event and just about anything in life that has a lot of moving parts,” wrote Scott on January 15. “I personally learned working my first Super Bowl back in 2001 that my natural skill of hyper organization was very beneficial in these circumstances. So, 19 years later, here I am with 21 students about to embark on a trip for them to gain a wonderful glimpse into a world-class sports event, with a communication slant.”

After a tour of the convention center by Scott, the students were thrown into the thick of things. Emily King ’22 wrote about her Day One experience working two shifts at the Social Media Command Center monitoring Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

“As we sifted through the volumes of Tweets and Facebook posts, I started to feel like mine was such a menial task. I didn’t realize the importance of my actions until I replied to a tweet with a photo that was posted by someone who attended the NFL Experience. It was just a simple, ‘Great photo! Glad you had a good time,’ but that reminded me how crucial my part really was,” wrote King.

Several WEBN reporters got out from behind the lens and in front of the camera before Sunday night’s main event. Tyler Englander ’21 reported on Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes wanting to end the Chiefs’ 50-year Super Bowl drought, and Natalie Clydesdale ’20 interviewed 49er Richard Sherman about being tested for performance enhancing drugs.

Englander also reported on a fascinating side note — Kansas City Chief Laurent Duverany-Tardif became the first medical doctor to play in a Super Bowl. And Ryan Ribeiro ’21 took a story from off the field, providing a personal look at Chief Damien Wilson reflecting on his reunion with teammate Anthony Hitchens.

Part of the PR’s team experience was getting a dose of the real world said Calvin Jacey ’22 and Jaclyn Galvin ’22, which as many public relations professionals can attest to — you’re not always dealing with smiling, happy people.

“My 13-hour day started at the transportation booth located near Radio Row. Our job was to provide information about transportation to media-related events to all the media members,” wrote Jacey. “However, there was a bit of a problem. From my understanding, press members were frustrated because there were not enough buses. As a result, we heard a lot of their of their complaints. Although it was overwhelming, I remembered to be patient and sympathetic. I could understand their frustration. Sometimes in life, you have to be the middleman.

“Ben [Pejko] ’20, Calvin [Jacey], Morgan [Mitchell] ’22, Quinton [Copeland] ’22 and I all had to do a lot of interaction with angry members of the media,” wrote Galvin. “This experience taught us a lot. It taught us how to interact with frustrated people who wanted answers. We learned how to examine a situation and act accordingly based on the circumstances. Personally, I learned that I love helping people and absorbing some of their stress, even if I can’t necessarily provide an answer for them.” 

Galvin got to see lots of famous folks like former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, and Martha Stewart. Nolan also had a dream come to life as she met her idol, Jackie Nolan. “I think she is absolutely brilliant. She perfectly combines comedy with sports reporting. She has made her way up the ranks at different companies, and is now hosting her own show with ESPN called Always Late with Katie Nolan. She also has her own podcast called Sports with Katie Nolan.”

And we’ll end with this cool poem by Ben Pejko about saying hello to rap star and Miami resident Rick Ross.

I – I 

S – aw

A – n 

I – ndividual that I

D – efinitely loved in 

H – igh school (and still love). 

I – t was shocking

T – o see. I usually 

dO – n’t get starstruck but I 

R – eally did this time. 

I – was happy to tell my high

sC – hool friends about it. 

K – nowing that I would meet him 

R – eally knocks my 

sO – cks off. 

S – uper Bowl weekend

S – tarts today!!