Cheer breaks punctuated the action thanks to a troupe including Morgan Riddle, Jenna Lyons, and Reign Judge, waving pompoms in the brand’s signature red, white, and blue. Led by Ian Bradley—analog megaphone in hand—the spirit squad kept energy high. The stylist has been a mainstay at the game since 2015. “The first year was in Central Park, and it was just a funny thing to do and get some free sweatpants,” Bradley reminisced about the tradition. “It was a close-knit group of us, and we didn’t think much of it, but then Kelly [Connor], who is a Vogue alum, got the Vogue team to run the photos, and it became kind of a thing! It’s been so funny to watch it grow, but I think it has the same spirit.” Today, the sweatpants had been swapped for shorts and kilts in non-stretch wool—shockingly, no split seams—but the sentiment remained: good, clean fun with a side of photo shoot, as GQ’s resident photographer Bowen Fernie sprinted the sidelines to catch every moment.

After a triumphant white-team victory, the players, cheerleaders, coaches, and referees headed downtown to The Standard, High Line’s Biergarten, for a proper tailgate and game debrief. Higher-stakes football—Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs—played on the screens as new partygoers and GQ friends joined the festivities, including Machine Gun Kelly. “I honestly thought it was just going to be a photo shoot,” Noah Beck, still in his game-day jersey, told us. “I didn’t know we would actually be playing, but I was so stoked to be getting out there. It was so much fun and brought me back to high school, so I can say it totally exceeded my expectations.”