(GULF SHORES, Ala.) It has all the trappings of the traditional Super Bowl party, lots of food, lots of friends, and, of course, a TV. But few Super Bowl parties have been going on since 1975!
"It started out as a small group of guys," says Charles Love, "only about 3 or 4 of us and has grown to between 15 and 20 guys."
They are guys who were all college athletes years ago, most scholarship players for Arkansas State. And every year they get together somewhere to watch the big game. The past few years, they've been meeting here.
But there's more going on here than just a party.
To understand just how close this group is, consider how they met- most were among the first black athletes at Arkansas State University during the late sixties and early seventies.... and it was at a time in history when that really meant something.
"There were very few black students," says Love. "In fact there were only a few and they were athletes. And we formed that bond because there weren't many of us there.
"We used it as leverage, because we were athletes, to really have some changes in policies that we saw as students, not just black students, but students, that didn't bring the campus together as students. So we used that leverage to really change things at Arkansas State."
Arkansas State did change as did America. And over the years, so have the guys now known by their wives as "The Super Bowl Group."
And as the guys grew older, this annual party evolved into an annual reunion. Beer and cocktails eventually were replaced by faith and fellowship.
"A lot of the men here have grown," says fellow Super Bowl fan Richard Thomas. "We have reverends here, ministers, we have deacons. So it's grown into more or less a fellowship, as well as a our time to get together."
It's all about camaraderie, a network of friends that are there for each other, even when the game is over.
"Because we're here celebrating each other," says fellow fan Arthur Leak. "And most of all, celebrating our relationship with God."
And one more thing Leak is celebrating.
"Yeah, there's a football game on that the Giants are going to win!"
