Brian Tedder/ Collegian

On Sunday, the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals in sunny Tampa Bay, Fla., for Super Bowl XLIII.

Students in all of the University of Massachusetts‘ residence halls have expressed a degree of disinterest in the game between the two franchises. Several residence halls show no indication of planned activity to bring students together to watch the game.

With the absence of the hometown New England Patriots and little regional investment in the contest, the campus is subdued compared to last year’s hotly debated game between the Patriots and the New York Giants. Then, the game inspired the gathering of a mixed crowd that featured celebrating New York area transplants and a stunned native population. The celebration turned sour and resulted in the arrest of several students on the Southwest Mall.

But the campus is less involved this year and is stumbling toward the game in myopic indifference.

Josh Mark, a junior resident of Patterson Hall in Southwest said, ‘I don’t think my dorm is doing anything. I didn’t see anything around.’

Chris DiMilla, a sophomore resident of John Quincy Adams Tower in Southwest was unsure as well: ‘No idea. There are no flyers in my lobby or floor either. This is weird.’

Students are accustomed to minor get-togethers and watch parties run by Resident Assistants, and in some cases, food and beverages are provided as a dry substitute to private gatherings.

Freshman Jared Gardner, resident of Emerson Hall in Southwest was not given any indication from his dorm either.

Other students are thinking of their own ideas to watch the big game. Freshman Robert Allen, resident of Moore Hall in Southwest said he plans to have his own party. Erika Poole, a freshman living in Van Meter in Central, is prepared for the game as well.

‘My room is having a huge party with pizza and food,’ she said.

Neither residential halls nor students are making much of a to-do over the Super Bowl. No Pats, but there should be wings and beverages aplenty.

Gary Tarantino can be reached at [email protected].