Confetti used during Super Bowl celebrations comes from Massachusetts company
Gardner, Massachusetts may be best known as the "Chair City," but it has also played a behind-the-scenes role in some of the biggest moments in American sports and entertainment.
Lombardi Trophy-shaped confetti
Since the New England Patriots won their first Super Bowl, the Lombardi Trophy-shaped confetti that rains down at football's biggest game got its start in the Central Massachusetts community.
"This is our lobby in our office, and you see the pictures of Brady. We've been making the confetti for 20, 25 years now," said Dennecrepe plant manager Dave Dexter. "So that was our claim to fame when we were winning every Super Bowl. And now Drake Maye is going to take us back."
The brightly colored paper begins its journey at Seaman Paper Company, a family-owned business that has produced tissue paper and similar products near Gardner for nearly 80 years.
"We're a major supplier in the U.S. to the consumer products marketplace for those type of tissues," said Seaman Paper Co. co-owner Jamie Jones. "Those same tissues are ones that can be used for making confetti."
At the Gardner plant, the paper is produced and treated to be fade and flame resistant. It is then shipped to a company in California, where it is die-cut for specific events.
Taylor Swift concerts, championship parades
The confetti is used not only for the Super Bowl, but for championship parades, at amusement parks and also for major concerts and performances.
"Taylor Swift comes to mind," Dexter said. "I know we've done Coldplay, Green Day, many, many different venues and artists."
While the Super Bowl order is not the largest the company handles, about 400 pounds of paper, workers say it is the most meaningful, especially in a city full of sports fans.
"It was funny because the fellow who gave us the license said, 'You'll never think about football the same again,'" added Jones.
And with Patriots fans filling the plant, employees say they will be watching closely when the clock hits zero on Super Bowl Sunday, hoping it's the red, white and blue paper falling rather than the alternative.