Campus is turning red in anticipation of Sunday's Super Bowl. Tigers showed their Missouri (and Kansas City) pride by sporting Chiefs gear around campus leading up to the big game.
Feb. 9, 2024 Photos and story by Abbie Lankitus
Bode Eisenmenger, a freshman studying sports broadcasting from Kansas City, Missouri, has been a Chiefs fan for as long as he can remember. He’s going to the Super Bowl with his family. “I haven’t slept all week, I’ve been so nervous,” he said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go and see my team play.” Nick Bolton is Eisenmenger’s favorite player (see jersey).Alex Ware, a junior business manager major from Kansas City, Missouri, converted Kesley Kobielusz, a meteorologist at KOMU from St. Louis, Missouri, into being a Chiefs fan. “My family raised me to be a Broncos fan and that didn’t really work out,” Kobielusz said. Both Ware and Kobielusz were in Marching Mizzou when the band played at Arrowhead Stadium in 2022. Also excited for the game is Kesley’s dog, Doppler.Tanner Smith, a junior communication and political science major from Kansas City, Missouri, is on his way home to watch the Super Bowl with his dad and brother. Both of Smith’s parents came to Mizzou, and he said he was impressed with how good the communications and political science programs are here. “I’m just really excited right now," Smith said. "It’s a good opportunity to see family and watch the game. Go Chiefs!”Avani Bichkar, a sophomore studying pre-professional pharmacy from Jefferson City, Missouri, said she's kind-of been a Chiefs fan since high school … but she’s an even bigger Taylor Swift fan. The recent convergence of the two has propelled her existing interest in the Chiefs. “I just think it’s fun to see the social discourse of someone dating someone," Bichkar said. "I love the memes that have come out of Travis and Taylor's relationship.”Andrew Warbritton is an academic advisor for the Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business and was happy to rep black and gold with red, white and gold today. Warbritton got both his undergraduate and master's degrees at Mizzou. “I really enjoy being helpful because every student is different and no problem is ever the same,” he said. Marissa Moore, a junior chemical engineering major, inherited her Chiefs love. Moore grew up in Arizona but went to high school in Columbia. Both of her parents are mid-Missouri natives and jokingly forbade Moore from cheering for the Cardinals unless the Chiefs were out of the running. Oh, and she went to Taylor Swift’s 1989 concert as a kid, so she’s doubly invested!Ryan Bell, a freshman political science major from Kansas City, Missouri, is hoping the Chiefs go back-to-back in Super Bowl wins. “It didn’t happen the last time we tried, so hopefully that changes this time," he said. Both Bell’s grandfather and father came to Mizzou, and he was glad to follow in their footsteps. Sara Nelson is an office assistant at Mizzou's Disability Center. “I’m a born and raised Chiefs fan,” she said. Nelson began working at Mizzou in December and the Columbia native said she's excited to be back on campus. “When I left, it felt like a piece of me was missing. It’s back now that I work here.”Addison Snider is an accommodations coordinator from Sweet Springs, Missouri. She graduated in May with a degree in psychology and a minor in biology and said she's excited her first job is at Mizzou. “I love Columbia, I love Mizzou and I’m excited to continue my time on campus," she said. Snider said she's going to watch the game with a group of friends who’ve watched the entire post-season together. “Let’s go Nick Bolton, M-I-Z!”Jack Pfetcher, a senior nutrition exercise physiology student from Lee Summit, Missouri, has also always been a Chiefs — and Mizzou — fan. Pfetcher’s dad attended Mizzou, and he grew up coming to games and dreaming of being a Tiger. “I’m pretty confident that the Chiefs will win,” he said. “I was nervous during their first Super Bowl, but now that we've been here before, I’m more excited than nervous.”Braden Mustion, a junior biological sciences major from Springfield, Missouri, has been a Chiefs fan since he started watching football. “I want Nick Bolton to do another scoop and score like last year!” he said. Mustion said he plans to watch the game with his parents, fiancé and her family back home.
