By Sarah Metcalf

When the hometown favorite New England Patriots take on the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII on Sunday, hundreds of college students residing in Boston will be tuning in, rooting for (or against) Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and his cohorts, and munching on their favorite snack foods.

Snack foods have become an intrical part of watching football, especially during the Super Bowl, commonly a more social and publicized event than the week-to-week matchups of NFL teams. Chip and soda companies spend millions of dollars each year advertising with commercials that air before and during the Super Bowl in hopes their products will be the ones served at homes across the country while people watch the “big game.”

“You’ve gotta keep yourself busy during the game, so you eat,” said Johnny Dingills, a junior computer science major.

One football fan believes parties and food are a necessity during the game.

“The parties [happen] because you’re celebrating -you’re celebrating the team and region’s accomplishments,” said Dave Theriault, a junior computer science major,

. “We’ll probably get some people together, order a pizza and drink.”

Some households even make Super Bowl Sunday a family affair.

“We’re having a turkey dinner at my house,” said Chris Krikorian, a senior chemical biology major.

For college students, it may seem as though many foods commonly associated with the Super Bowl are out of the question due to money constraints and the lack of kitchen appliances in residence halls. However, that is not the case, as Wollaston’s in the Marino Center will be doing its best to accommodate for students.

“[Sunday] our deli department is making chicken wing platters with blue cheese dressing, and we’re going to have pre-made two-foot subs available for students,” said Bob Peredna, store manager of Wollaston’s in the Marino Center. “We’re also going to cook and have hot food in the deli section, things like buffalo tenders, boneless tenders, buffalo wings, and we’re also going to do shrimp cocktails. We’re doing a little bit more extra stuff than we usually do.”

Peredna said the most popular type of food students buy on Super Bowl Sunday are Frito products.

“People buy mostly Frito products, things like the ‘Scoops,’ corn chips, and salsa and dip,” Peredna said. “We’re actually bringing in a special delivery direct from the Fritos company Sunday morning. Frito products [on Sunday] will probably triple how many we normally have.”

The restaurants in the Curry Student Center are also capitalizing on what they expect to be a busy Sunday night by offering specials and deals. Pizza Hut is advertising a medium cheese or pepperoni pizza for $4.99, Barnyard Chicken is offering a 12-piece bucket of chicken for $9.99, and D’Angelo’s is promising one dollar off a medium sub and $1.50 off a large sub.

Rohani Defreitas, one of the managers of food services at the student center, is expecting large numbers of people at night.

“Most likely [people] are going to come late at night and watch it on the screens being provided,” Defreitas said. “We usually close at 9:30 on Sundays, but we’ll probably stay open late because the game goes longer.”

Take-out food, especially pizza, is also an extremely popular choice for those fans not willing to leave their rooms and miss any of the game because of hunger pangs.

“We definitely get much more business on Super Bowl Sunday,” said Popi Michaelidis, assistant manager at Boston House of Pizza on Huntington Avenue. “People have little parties, and get together with friends, and they don’t want to cook stuff.”

Michaelidis also believes there will be many orders due to the fact that the Patriots are involved in the Super Bowl this year.

“[The Patriots] weren’t even in it last year, and we still had a lot of deliveries,” she said. “We’ll probably get a lot more this year.”

Peredna also said that the Patriots being involved in the Super Bowl would have a greater impact on sales.

“A couple of years ago, when the Pats won the Super Bowl, we did not have one single bag of Fritos products on our shelf,” he said. “This year, we set aside a couple extra bags knowing that [sales] would probably be the same.”

Peredna said his store would be ready for the big rush that always accompanies the Super Bowl.

“We’re going to have all of our available deli people, and all of our cashiers ready to handle the rush before the game,” he said. “We’re also going to be ready for a rush at half-time, so people can come in and get the stuff they run out of, like chips, soda, or dip.”

And if the Patriots win the Super Bowl? Count on Theriault and his friends, along with hundreds of other Boston citizens, to be celebrating.

“We’re looking for a riot,” Theriault said. “Forget food – we’re going streaking!”