OLEAN, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills may not have played in this year’s Super Bowl, but that didn’t stop Western New York from having six local connections at the game’s festivities from St. Bonaventure University.
“Coming to St. Bonaventure, I never thought that [going to the Super Bowl] would ever happen, but this school gets it done,” said senior and Station Manager, Steven Stutz.
Stutz was joined by five other students Isaac Howson, Jonathan Walker Nathan Solomon, Stephen Scheppner, and Thomas Baia.
Steven, Isaac and Thomas are all from Western New York too.
The six students all came from St. Bonaventure’s student radio station WSBU 88.3 The Buzz.
“We would do an hour or so live and three hours recorded to be posted [every day],” Steven said.
St. Bonaventure was one of less than ten schools in the country that was allowed to send students to media row before the Super Bowl.
This marks the sixth time since 2018 that The Buzz has sent a team to radio row. (Access wasn’t allowed in 2021 because of COVID protocols.)
Students like Thomas Baia interviewed everybody from NFL players, like Washington Commanders running backs Antonio Gibson and Brian Robinson to commentators, like Syracuse graduate Noah Eagle.
“Jim Nantz, I told him what my plans are [after graduation] and when he was walking away, he said ‘I like your path and to keep working hard’ and that was like ‘woah’,” Thomas said. “Maybe the coolest [interview] was the US Air Force Thunderbirds who did the flyover. We had two of the pilots on [the show].”
The group of six stayed in Las Vegas for the week leading up to the game and were back in Olean to watch the Super Bowl at home.
Still, the group left with an experience that will last a lifetime.
“I think this will be up there for the rest of my life to go to the Super Bowl radio row and work it for the week, I was truly honored,” said junior, Isaac Howson.
“I think we will stay connected through this, and it’ll always be something that we will talk about,” Steven said.
An experience so special that it’s still sinking in.
"Maybe next week when I’m sitting in class, I will be thinking ‘I was in Las Vegas not that long ago and we did all this stuff’,” Thomas said. “I don’t know if it’s completely sunk in, but it will soon.”
