Football fans pack Oakland’s Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts to watch Super Bowl

By Amanda Hari

The Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts was filled with sports fans for one of the biggest games of the year, the Super Bowl.

“It’s a ton of fun, and it’s much more enjoyable than going to a little bar,” said Bill Glenski about being at the Kaiser Center. “It doesn’t matter if you’re rooting for the Patriots or Seahawks and everyone is yelling and being supportive of the teams and very sociable.”

But Bill Glenski did have an allegiance. He was rooting for the Seattle Seahawks.

He moved to the Bay Area from Yakima three years ago, and he has a special connection with the team.

“Cooper Kupp went to school with our kids, and we grew up with his family,” said Glenski. “They’re a wonderful family, all the kids, all the kids in the cup family are very nice.”

But Brigitte Timms says she couldn’t root for the team that eliminated the San Francisco 49ers. 

“I’m a diehard 49ers fan, [the Seahawks] beat the breaks off of the 49ers, so I’m rooting for the Patriots.”

Oakland native, Ricky Garner, said he didn’t care who won; he just wanted to spend time with his community and see the newly renovated Henry J. Kaiser Center.

The center’s grand re-opening just happened at the end of January.

“I love it,” Garner said about the space. “I used to come here a long time ago back when they used to have the Warriors play here when they just started, and then they moved over to the Coliseum. Then they had a lot of concerts here back in the day.” 

While the game was slow at first, the halftime show, headlined by Bad Bunny, had the majority of the crowd on their feet.

In the end, Yakima native Cooper Kupp and the Seahawks were victorious, and Glenski only had one word to describe his feelings.

“Ecstatic,” Glenski stated.