PACIFIC OCEAN — USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) sailors gathered around televisions Monday morning to watch the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos battle for the title of Super Bowl 50 champion 18 time zones away in Levi’s Stadium.

The football game was a welcome break for the crew, which is underway on a regularly scheduled deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet Area of Operations.

“It didn’t matter that the Super Bowl was on a Monday,” said Personnel Specialist 2nd Class Michael Smith, from Oklahoma City. “Me and a lot of other people lose track of the days.”

Stennis’ Morale Welfare and Recreation division anticipated the crew’s desire to view the event and set up the largest inflatable screen they had in the hangar bay.

“The bigger the screen, the better the game,” said Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class Markteisha Gill, from Miami, MWR assistant treasurer.

“We wanted to make people feel more at home, so we did as much as we could … watching the game made people feel connected with their loved ones back home.”

According to communications officer Ensign Amber Howell, from Severna Park, Maryland, satellite television signal is not always guaranteed in the middle of the ocean, but thanks to Stennis’ Combat Systems department, sailors saw the game with little interruption.

The ship’s position was given to Theatre Information Systems, and they provided the ship with a satellite signal for the Super Bowl.

“Without working with TIM, we would have had a spotty unreliable signal during the Super Bowl,” said Howell.

A steady course, adjusted work schedule, good satellite reception, large screens and the biggest football game of the year gave sailors a little taste of home.

For more news from USS John C. Stennis visit www.stennis.navy.mil or www.facebook.com/stennis74.