Muller’s Pub at Rider attracts football fans to watch the 2026 Super Bowl
By Michael Bolcato and Stacie Hueter
Every year, millions of sports fans gather around their TV screens to watch one of the most anticipated sport events of the year: the Super Bowl.
Rider Dining hosted their annual Super Bowl Watch Party at Muller’s Pub this year. The staff worked hard to sell the football aesthetic through green and brown colored balloons, which represented the turf field, and nachos that were served with salsa and football field placemats.
The students were most excited for this year’s lineup, the Seattle Seahawks vs. the New England Patriots, along with the Bad Bunny halftime show. Most students wanted to view the event purely for the Puerto Rican artist, but some stayed for the game as well.
Freshman business administration major Giovanna Leuck said she initially came to watch the halftime show but “stayed for the competition of the game.”
Other students came for the main event, the match itself.
Freshman sports media major, Patrick Madigan, said he was rooting for the Seahawks to come out on top.
“I would like to see [Sam] Darnold win the Super Bowl after the career he dedicated,” he said.
The comfortable seating and the food prompted a handful of people to choose Muller’s Pub as their destination for the watch party.
The game and halftime show were not the only things that students were looking forward to. There were several commercials that debuted during the game, a Super Bowl tradition.
From movie trailers like, “Super Mario Galaxy” and “Minions 3,” to fast food chains, such as the star-studded Dunkin’ version of “Good Will Hunting,” the live broadcast featured an array of advertisements that appealed to different students. It served as a break between each major development in the game.
As the game escalated, Bad Bunny’s long awaited performance finally occurred. Excitable cheers from loyal fans pierced through the room, as he sang his most popular songs like “Tití Me Preguntó” and “Monaco,” along with a special guest appearance from Lady Gaga.
Some students demonstrated enthusiasm toward the game, such as Maria Bolcato, a sophomore film and television production major. Her cheers reverberated across Muller’s Pub whenever the Seahawks scored touchdown passes.
“I say the Seahawks fairly edge out the Patriots,” Bolcato said
Ultimately, Bolcato’s prediction came true, with the Seahawks winning at the end of the four quarters and beating the Patriots, 29-13. This marked their first win in over a decade, since the 2014 Super Bowl. The loss for the Patriots marked the first time that they lost the championship since Feb. 4, 2018.
One notable highlight was the Seahawks’ defense over Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who was forced to sack and to turn the ball over numerous times throughout the game. Fans turned out to be correct in assuming that the Seahawks secured their win when the Patriots did not start scoring until the second half of the game, a telling testament to how unstoppable the Seahawks were.
The watch event concluded with students amazed about the game’s final results, blown away by Bad Bunny’s performance, and eager to see what happens at next year’s Super Bowl.
