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For Syracuse University freshman Ericka Desrosiers and her five friends, trying to plan a hangout session together is no easy feat. Whenever they try to gather to watch a movie, the troupe’s rowdy dynamic becomes a whirlwind of never-ending high energy, which is probably why they have never once finished a movie together.

So, when the group spent a month planning how they would watch Super Bowl LX, it felt like an impossible task. However, when learning that the Super Bowl would be streaming in the Schine Atrium, the group finalized their viewing plans. They planned to arrive early to get the best seats in the room.

“Today was good, it was a practice for us,” Desrosiers said. “Basically, plans don’t make it out of the group chat.”

Since 2021, Schine Student Center’s LED video wall has been the epicenter of SU’s televised sports watching, from UEFA Champions League soccer matches to the Orange’s basketball games. Whether students are taking a lunch break or skipping class to witness a tie-breaking 3-pointer, the video wall unites them in small and large groups for the love of the game.

On Feb. 2, the Puerto Rican Student Association, La L.U.C.H.A., Latiné Honors Society and SU’s Student Government Association hosted a “Watch Party Benito Bowl” in Schine. The event brought a large group of students to watch reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny perform in the highly anticipated halftime show and the Seattle Seahawks battle against the New England Patriots.

SU sophomore Diana Bonilla-Prado helped host the event. She said their goal was to bring a big audience to witness the “powerful and engaging” performance.

Desrosiers and the majority of her friends supported the Patriots during the Super Bowl. Miles Anderson was the group’s only Seahawks fan.

While Anderson defended his team, his friend Fahim Issifou interrupted with “You’re just saying a bunch of nothing,” which led to a larger debate. Uzzekiah Harvey said the Super Bowl was “Drake Maye’s race,” and Eskerly Benitez argued that if Diggs won the championship ring, she hoped to see another ring on Cardi B’s finger.

When the Schine Atrium hosted the Watch Party Benito Bowl for this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, crowds covered two floors of the building to catch the video wall. Some groups arrived early to reserve a seat. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer

Heated rivalries are common in the Atrium. SU senior Alex Calabrese still remembers watching the 2022 World Cup on the video wall as a freshman. Calabrese, who grew up in London, has seen his fair share of different sporting events in person, from the Olympics to the Champions League. These events bring together visitors from all around the world to support their respective countries and teams. The video wall brought a similar feeling, he said.

During the World Cup, the Atrium projected every game of the tournament. But, in the highly anticipated game between Switzerland and Serbia, Calabrese recalled the space’s division for the controversial game. One side supported Switzerland and the other Serbia, though many supporters weren’t of those nationalities.

“It was the most full I’ve ever seen in this room. I did not feel like I was in America, to be honest,” Calabrese said. “Whether it was France, Switzerland, Senegal, Cameroon, Argentina, every country was represented here, which was really, really awesome.”

Four years later, Calabrese ended up in the same spot for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics’ 5,000-meter women’s speed skating final: in front of the Atrium’s video wall. In the final stretch, Calabrese was on the edge of his seat with his hands on his head. Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida crossed the finish line, winning by a tenth of a second. Calabrese cheered. Immediately after she won, he rushed off. Like many other students, he squeezed in the viewing between classes.

Since Feb. 6, the Atrium has showcased various winter sports during the Milan Cortina, from figure skating to curling. Students have been in and out of the Atrium to stay up to date with the games.

SU senior Hans Pedersen and his dad decided to hang out in the Atrium while waiting for their car to charge. Luge played on the top half of the split screen and the SU men’s basketball team on the bottom half. Though they know nothing of the sport, the Pedersen’s decided to watch luge over basketball.

“I’m more interested in watching these dudes fly on the ice,” Pedersen said.

Freshman Martin Fields was catching up with the Olympic hockey games while having lunch at Schine. A longtime hockey fan, Fields said the USA and Canada are the two main nations he is watching. On Thursday, Canada and Czechia competed against each other in the quarterfinals. A Team USA fan, Fields was rooting for Czechia to win.

While Fields is primarily a hockey fan, he’s also stayed up to date with other winter games. With the Atrium streaming all sorts of other sports, it was the best way to watch them, he said.

Whether students are taking a lunch break or skipping class to witness a tie-breaking 3-pointer, Schine Student Center’s video wall brings students together in small and large groups. The screen has become a constant for some students. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer

Sophomore Whitman Brida usually sits on the couch alone while killing time in between classes. On Monday, the Atrium broadcast a soccer game between FC Barcelona and Girona FC.

Though Brida is a fan of Barcelona, his main team is Liverpool FC, he said. In fact, Brida scheduled his classes last semester around Liverpool’s game schedule in the Champions League, so he could catch it in between classes in the Atrium.

While Brida also enjoys the rousing energy of sports bars, the Atrium has a calmer atmosphere, he said. The couches offer a comfier space, and the proximity to food spots allows students to eat with a side of entertainment, Brida said.

But, depending on who’s playing, that may not always be the case.

While students crammed to study during finals season last May, the Atrium streamed the second-leg Champions League semifinals. It was Barcelona versus Inter Milan, who were performing at their peak.

In the first leg, the final score was tied at 3-3. The second leg was one of the most enticing games of the season. Of course, the Atrium had to stream the game.

Brida remembered spotting students who crept out of their study tables, moving to the front of the Atrium to watch the tantalizing game.

“Everyone was studying for their last couple of finals, but they came down here for the insane game,” Brida said. “When Inter had the last-minute goal with the backheel above the goalkeeper, it was crazy. I like Barcelona enough where I got pissed off that they lost. It was a great game.”

Students have kept up with the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in the Atrium, watching everything from hockey to luge.Taite Paradise | Staff Photographer

For Desrosiers, that same atmosphere was present at the Watch Party Benito Bowl. It was the easiest way to round up football fanatics, Bad Bunny fans and her rowdy friends in one space.

“It’s just unity. We’re all from different places, but at the end of the day, we all came here together to watch the game,” Desrosiers said.

While graduate students Ryan Brouchoud and Ryan Jacobs came to Schine to support the Patriots, their friends, Claudia Reto and Leslie Saldaña, were rooting for Bad Bunny.

Reto and Saldaña, who had never watched a sporting event in the Atrium, made their way to Schine to absorb the buzzing atmosphere around the match. Reto said they enjoyed immersing themselves in American culture alongside Latin American students.

As the speaker blared for the start of the halftime show, students rushed back to their seats to watch the musician perform. The Atrium was sprinkled with students wearing Puerto Rican jerseys, flags wrapped around their backs and cheers shouted in Spanish could be heard left and right.

Students at the front sat down on the floor to make way for others at the back, who were tiptoeing to watch. Crowds extended toward the back doors of the Atrium, and students who couldn’t find a seat in the main space sat on the floor above to view the historic show with their peers — even if their views were slightly obstructed.

As Bad Bunny’s halftime show came to a close, a thunderous applause erupted from the Atrium. For Bonilla-Prado, the final scene of the performance encompasses the gathering. By using the video wall, hosting the watch party symbolizes an opportunity to bring Latino students of different identities together to witness the culturally and politically significant event.

“There’s a lot of strength in numbers,” Bonilla-Prado said. “Seeing other people you wouldn’t normally see on an everyday basis and watching something that is so important to our communities, it brings a sense of welcomingness. It feels like we’re connected by one experience.”

Disclaimer: Alex Calabrese formerly worked as a staff writer for The Daily Orange. Calabrese did not influence the editorial content of this article.

Published on February 19, 2026 at 1:33 am
Contact Tara: tabintes@syr.edu