Emily Egan
Student Life Editor
This past Sunday featured the biggest sporting event in the country and the return of a certifiable legend: pop icon, business mogul, and new mother, Rihanna.
The stakes were high, but Rihanna delivered. She performed a medley of her greatest hits on a floating stage, surrounded by backup dancers clad in white jumpsuits. Ever since then, it has been all ESU students can talk about.
“I thought the halftime show was awesome and unpredictable. She definitely performed songs I was not expecting her to, but I loved the flow of it. The floating stages were also amazing! Finally, having the pregnancy news come out at a super bowl halftime show was crazy. It was sad to know we won’t be getting a tour, but I am overwhelmingly happy for her to have another baby with her partner, A$AP Rocky. Overall, one of the better and best halftime shows I have ever watched,” said Anastasija Gligorevic, senior.
“I thought the game got pretty intense during the last two quarters, with both of our teams neck-and-neck. Was it disappointing when the Philadelphia Eagles lost? Yes. But did Rihanna deliver a solid, if almost strong, halftime show, all the while revealing her second baby bump and promoting Fenty Beauty (for the millionth time)? One thousand percent, yes!” exclaimed senior, Matthew Feely.
ESU Sophmore Katie Pabon was a little preoccupied with work during the Superbowl but gave Rihanna her full attention when the half-time show began.
“During the game, I was mostly sneaking chicken wings in the back to snack on while my customers were indulged in the television. Only when Rihanna came on did my attention go to the screen; her performance was underwhelming compared to previous super bowls because normally, there are special guests who join in as well, but finding out she was having another baby then made sense towards her performance! Her stage presence was admired, and I felt nostalgic. I love all her songs!” she said.
ESU junior, Destiney Lloyd-Griffin, isn’t a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs or the Philadelphia Eagles. Her team is the New York Giants, but if it’s not their year, she always roots for the little guy.
“I always rep the Giants, but when my team isn’t playing, I go for the underdog. Even though both teams were on the same level, I was rooting for Philly because I live in Pennsylvania, so I wanted to represent! Honestly, I really believed Philly didn’t come to play; they came hungry and were cooking Kansas City at first. It was a good game, I didn’t expect it to be that good!
Destiney felt that the Eagles were treated unfairly.
“I really wish Philly won… in my opinion, I feel like the Eagles should’ve won because they were up the majority of the game; something didn’t sit right with me with that penalty.
The one thing that saved her mood was the Halftime show Rihanna put on.
“Honestly, I was so excited when RiRi came on! I was dancing, and singing, because she was playing the throwbacks I grew up on! I wish it were a longer performance… I immediately noticed that she must have been pregnant, and I feel like her pregnancy with baby number two played a big part in her performance tonight. I do wish we did get more of a performance from her, but she really doesn’t need to do a lot to get the crowd going! I’m very impressed with her vocals, and I feel like she has come a long way.
All in all, ESU Students were in awe of Rihanna’s performance, and all agreed that Superbowl LVII was a great game. Theories are already being thrown around to guess what icon will perform next year!
Here’s a link to check out some of the performance if you missed it!
