Love it or hate it, something about “The Bachelor” hooks people in enough for the show to last 22 seasons so far. On Northwestern’s campus, weekly viewings of the show have become popular among residents.
In North Suites, Noah Haverdink hosts a weekly viewing of the show with some of the other guys from the dorm, with about 15 other guys showing up to watch. The viewing happens every Tuesday night, since they stream it on Hulu.
“We watch after D-groups, so D-group numbers have been through the roof lately,” Haverdink said.
They also have turned the show into a fantasy league, with each viewer making their picks for who will receive a rose that week and scoring points based on how many they guessed right.
“You make your picks before the episode, and you aren’t restricted to the week previous,” Haverdink said. “You get one point for everyone who goes through up until week six. By week seven, only four people go through, so from there you have to pick your winner without watching the rest. So everyone has their winner selected by now.”
The scoring system for the bracket is complicated and changes every week based on the importance of moving forward that week. If you are able to guess the winner correctly, then you get thirty points for that pick alone.
“It’s intricate,” Haverdink said. “I found it online, so I can’t take credit for it. All of the brackets are hanging in the hallway outside my room.”
Since the North Suite residents watch during quiet hours, they can’t celebrate loudly when their pick makes it through, but they still find ways to make it fun.
“While you’re watching, every time someone you picked gets a rose, you snap. We can’t clap or cheer because it’s quiet hours. Usually there’s resounding snaps when Tia gets a rose,” Haverdink said.
In Stegenga Hall, a viewing also takes place, although it is a little less competitive. Resident Director Celeste Ryan invites ladies to watch the show in her apartment every Monday night, when anywhere from four to fifteen people come.
“It was something my RD did when I was in college, and I always really enjoyed it,” Ryan said. For me, it feels like such a good, lighthearted connection point, and I love sharing those silly, dramatic moments with residents in Steg.”
Both Haverdink and Ryan said that they felt a little weird watching the shobecause they know that much of what they see on screen isn’t real.
“Honestly, I’m a little morally opposed to the show, but as much as I hate it, I also really love it. It’s dramatic and funny, and I love the shared moments of freaking out over what so-and-so said this week or who went home and who didn’t,” Ryan said. “But it’s kind of like a train wreck; you can’t stop watching even though it’s awful and weird and gross. It’s just too good.”
Ryan thought Tia would win the show, but after she was sent home last week, she switched her pick to Becca K. Haverdink, on the other hand is pulling for Kendall to make it to the end.
The season finale of “The Bachelor” airs on March 5 on ABC.
