Super Bowl Sunday is a football fan’s carnival of joy. Food,
beer, commercials and hours of intense play
– what more could you ask for? If you’re throwing together a
Super Bowl party, here are some things to keep in mind – including
what to do with those non-football folks
I f your Super Bowl party is still in the formative planning stages, it could be fourth-and-long and you may have to punt.
Don’t panic if you don’t understand those football terms – you can still pull this thing off. If you do know those terms you have a slight edge, but you might still be lacking in your basic understanding of Super Bowl party needs.
But the universal lesson is this: It’s time to get moving. Super Bowl Sunday is no trifling matter. Regardless of your sporting tastes, it is wise to respect this day.
How big is Super Bowl Sunday? First, a bit of history. Sunday marks the 40th game, and let’s not forget there is a football game to be played. In 1966, the National Football League Green Bay Packers crushed the American Football League Kansas City Chiefs. Television ratings were decent but not startling, and tickets could actually be purchased on game day.
Now? The National Football League – comprised of the American and National conferences – is a massive corporation. A single player may be under contract for more money than the worth of an entire team and its facilities in 1955.
And Super Bowl Sunday? According to USA Today, the Super Bowl is the “second-biggest food consumption event after Thanksgiving. It inspires some truly awful food choices.”
Uh, we’ll get to some of the dangers of Super Bowl Sunday consumption later – although some of us believe there is no such thing as an awful food choice. For now, let’s stick to understanding just how big this unofficial holiday is what experts recommend to pulling off a superb Super Bowl party.
First of all, simple is just fine. Finger foods, hot dogs, salsas, beer, sodas and quick-cook items complement watching game nicely. This can mean a vegetable platter with dips or chicken wings, or both, and more.
For last-minute party throwers, here are is a quick list of tips from homecooking.com, a Web site that offers comprehensive party guides, recipes and commentaries from a wide range of chefs and hosts.
1. Do all your chopping and slicing in advance. Store chopped veggies in plastic bags, ready for the platter.
2. Crockpots are great for keeping foods warm.
3. Choose foods that require little, if any, silverware. Be prepared with plenty of toothpicks and napkins for those finger foods.
4. Have plenty of coffee and sodas ready well before you end the party. Don’t let your friends drive home drunk.
Beer presentation is worth another word or two. Allrecipes.com, a comprehensive food Web site, reminds us to keep in mind that dark beer goes well with fried foods, and pale beer – especially good Mexican brands – go well with lime and chips and salsa.
So even the utensil-impaired can pull this thing off. But we’re going to have to do a little work the day before, and we’ve got to be prepared. What happens if aunts, uncles and children show up for your Super Bowl party with no real interest in the actual football game?
Easy – play games. No, really. If your crowd is just not into football, draft a non-football fan to organize simple games that the kids and non-football adults will enjoy. Try charades, catch or a classic board game such as Monopoly.
OK, so now we’re ready to go, more or less. We’ve invited some people over, more than we first estimated are showing up, and some of them don’t know much about actual football. We know how to present food on the quick and how to occupy folks who lose interest in the game.
But what do we need to watch out for? What dangers might confront us?
Our friends at the United States Department of Agriculture offer one warning. Here is a crucial bit of official Food Safety Advice from Dr. Richard Raymond, USDA undersecretary for food safety.
“While football has the 2-minute warning, the world of food has the 2-hour rule,” he said in a speech. “One of the biggest food safety mistakes people tend to make during these types of gatherings is that they let perishable food items sit out for too long.”
So, let’s not let that food hang around, OK?
But other than common-sense food and consumption issues, there are a couple of interesting mental challenges that, if considered, may help out on Super Bowl Sunday. Robert Butterworth Ph.D., a psychologist, has identified at least two major “psychological difficulties during Super Bowl season.”
Super Bowl Guilt Syndrome. This can happen to men who feel inferior or like wimps because they are not interested in football. Women can get it, too, but when women hate football they tend feel comfortable stating it and then get on with their lives.
Super Bowl Spouse Syndrome. If your spouse is a nut about football and you are not, don’t feel obligated to hang around. They probably won’t care. And if you do something else on Super Bowl Sunday, chance are good you won’t have to battle crowds, always a bonus.
Well, armed with all this basic knowledge, we can now host a last-minute Super Bowl gathering that includes easy-to-prepare foods and will not alienate folks who’d like to join in but don’t have any real interest in football.
Remember, even with minimal planning we can get through this thing and even enjoy ourselves. And not embarrass ourselves. Good luck to everyone.
Super Bowl XL
When: 3:25p.m. Sunday on ABC
Where: Detroit
Who: Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC) vs. Seattle Seahawks (NFC)
Super Ads
Here’s a surprise: Television advertising spots for Sunday’s Super Bowl game cost more than ever. ABC Television reports that 30-second spots on this year’s telecast cost $2.5 million each. That’s up from last year’s record of $2.4 million. In comparison, a 30-second spot for the upcoming Winter Olympics cost $700,000.
And what do viewers get during that 30 seconds? Celebrities, of course. Here is a short list of what ABC says are commercials to look for Sunday:
– P. Diddy’s Diet Pepsi spot. One advertising executive says this spot could do for Diet Pepsi what the slogan “if you think it’s butter …” did for, well, whatever margarine that was.
– Jessica Simpson for Pizza Hut. No one seems to want to say too much about this one.
– Fabio for Nationwide Insurance. Our ad man calls this one “interesting.” But what if no can remember who Fabio is?
-Toyota presents the first-ever bilingual ad for a hybrid vehicle.
Burger King. There will be a lot of these, and we are being told they are funny. One features 50 “Whopperette” dancers, and we’re not certain if that sounds funny or not.
Speak the Lingo
Going to a Super Bowl party and are embarrassed to admit you don’t know what “chucking, clipping or muffing” means? Hey, not to worry. There are serious football fans out there who don’t even know some of this stuff. Here are a few of the fascinating terms you’ll hear during Sunday’s game:
Live ball: A ball legally free kicked or snapped. It continues in play until the down ends.
Loose ball: A live ball not in possession of any player.
Muff: The touching of a loose ball by a player in an unsuccessful attempt to obtain possession.
Neutral zone: The space the length of a ball between the two scrimmage lines. The offensive team and defensive team must remain behind their end of the ball.
If you want to do more homework before the party, go to www.nfl.com, the National Football League’s official Web site that includes a terminology glossary that explains everything football, from A to Z, in simple terms.
