Back to back. I have lived in the city of the Super Bowl two years back to back. How you may ask?
I spent a year in Houston committing a year of my life serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA. A one year commitment to serving the United States with a mission to end poverty, or at least alleviate it. I volunteered with the YMCA of Greater Houston as a Newcomer Youth Coordinator.
Now I am in Minneapolis for graduate school. Pretty wild right?!
My Super Bowl experiences:
1. Stay vs. Leave
Last year I left Houston Super Bowl weekend to visit my now husband in Florida. Long distance is no joke so any moment to escape to paradise and see my man, I was there! On the other hand this year I stayed in Minneapolis for the weekend festivities. The week of the Super Bowl was a struggle due to me being sick but I made it through. I went to the Mall of America where I saw athletes and sports fans everywhere. There was a hype energy all throughout the mall.
2. Live/d Close to the Action
If you can believe it I live/d almost exactly 10 mins away from both stadiums. I guess you can say I like being around the action but far enough away to escape the foolishness. But yes people I was basically at the Super Bowl right?!
3. Possible Zero Waste Marriage
The City of Minneapolis is a trailblazer. This most recent Super Bowl had a full pledge effort to incorporate zero waste practices at the national event. The effort was truly inspiring. I didn’t get to see much of the efforts due to my limited Super Bowl festivities but there is a great short article read that explains more of the zero waste efforts.
Unfortunately I didn’t attend the actual Super Bowl game. Because of course I didn’t have a couple grand to drop on a game. However, I will say to know there was a campaign and money invested in this effort is a strong positive step forward. I admire the Super Bowl committee and the NFL’s bold efforts. I don’t know if the marriage of zero waste and the Super Bowl will last but I sure hope so!
After a night of good food and friends, I ended by Super Bowl experience with getting a reusable bag from the grocery store. I thought what a perfect addition to my reusable bag collection and what a thing to get for the occasion. I happy to say I didn’t fall to badly into the consumption black hole but got something meaningful to my home and day to day living.
How was your Super Bowl experience and have you ever lived in a host city of the Super Bowl?