Shelly Windeler-Epley is expecting to spend a relatively quiet evening at her Marietta home viewing the Seattle Seahawks-New England Patriots matchup in Super Bowl XLIX at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Az., Sunday at 6:30 p.m.

“I may have a few friends over, but we’re not going to make a party out of it,” she said. “I want to watch the football game on the big screen.”

Windeler-Epley said she’s been a football fan all her life. In high school, she was a cheerleader. Much later, she became the wife of the late-great Gene Epley, the Marietta College head football coach from 1991-2002.

A native of the Pacific Northwest, it doesn’t take a petroleum engineering major to know who Windeler-Epley will be rooting for in the big game.

“The Seahawks, of course,” she said. “I grew up in Spokane, and worked in Seattle.

“Go Seahawks!”

Windeler-Epley said she attended and graduated from the University of Washington in 1970.

“I’m a Huskies fan,” she said. “I was there when Sonny Sixkiller, a member of the Cherokee Nation, was the quarterback.”

Windeler-Epley paused.

“I was a music major, and played classical piano,” she continued.

“I also skied for the University of Washington and traveled a lot on the west coast.”

Who did you cheer for in the College Football Championship game between Ohio State and Oregon?

“The Ducks,” Windeler-Epley said, laughing. “I kept a low profile, of course. But I really wanted to put an Oregon flag out in the front yard.

“Ohio State, though, played great, and deserved to be the champion.”

Since moving to the Mid-Ohio Valley in the late 1970s, Windeler-Epley maintained ties to the state of Washington area as her mother still resided there. A couple of years ago, though, her mom passed away at age 98.

A year ago, Windeler-Epley was thrilled when the Seahawks claimed their first Super Bowl with a 43-8 triumph over the Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. She’s naturally hoping they can repeat.

“I like (quarterback) Russell Wilson a lot, and it’s obvious the Seattle fans love him,” Windeler-Epley said. “I also like their cornerback (Richard Sherman). I like the way CenturyLink Field (home of the Seahawks) is so loud and puts fear in an opposing team.

“But, you know, I also like New England quarterback Tom Brady and (head coach) Bill Belichick.”

Windeler-Epley paused.

“I think Gene (Epley) might have known Belichick,” she said of her late husband who died in 2010 after a courageous bout with cancer.

Sunday’s Super Bowl showdown won’t be the only thing on Windeler-Epley’s mind.

“The (Pittsburgh) Steelers are my second favorite team,” she said. “Gene was a big fan of theirs.

“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of and miss him.”

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Ron Johnston is the Marietta Times sports editor, and can be reached at 376-5441 or at rjohnston@mariettatimes.com