Common Super Bowl Viewing Party Mistakes
By Loot, NFL Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
In the interests of full disclosure, this is the perspective of a person who is not the most optimistic person in the world. I can be downright negative and overly-judgmental. And not everyone shares that perspective. At the same time, when discussing a certain behavior or how to act in a situation, you need a Negative Nelly to break it all down. You don't want an apathetic person who couldn't care less about much of anything. No, you want a discerning, perhaps even a neurotic eye to make sure you will stand up to the scrutiny.
A Super Bowl party or just watching the game with a group can go one of two ways. Let's look at some different areas that you'll want to consider.
Choosing Where You Watch a Game: If you're a hardcore football fan, you would naturally want to be surrounded by some like-minded people. In other words, you don't want to watch a game at one of the Real Housewives of Orange County's house. It's an event. A ton of people watch it and not all of them are really football fans. If you go to such a party, you might not see the things you want. People will be more enthused about the commercials than football. Some guy is chewing your ear off about something going on at work during the game-defining drive in the 4th quarter. In other words, don't go to the beach and complain about the sand. Don't expect non-football fans to act like hardcore fans all of a sudden.
Food: There's one of two ways of looking at it. With the game being so long, some food will be needed. But people have certainly had fun watching the Super Bowl without a veritable smorgasbord of food. You can keep it simple or try something more difficult and elaborate. But if hosting a get-together, the goal is to appeal to as many people's tastes as possible. You don't want to get too artsy and showcase your creative side to an overdone point, unless you are a proven commodity as a chef and don't mind missing big parts of the game.
I implore people to pursue superior pizza. If you select from any of the chain pizza places, you get a pass—except on Super Bowl Sunday. If ever there was a day to get a good pizza, this would be the day. I don't wanna see the Meat Lovers pizza and I don't wanna hear the word "Domino" unless you're discussing the song Blueberry Hill for some reason.
Chit Chat: Again, it's a get-together and watching a football game is a social event where a lot of talking takes place. There's a few things you want to avoid saying. First of all, don't say you like the commercials more than the game unless coming off like Andy Cohen is something you want to pursue. Again, feel out the crowd. If you're watching with hardcore football fans, the quality of your discussion is more of a concern. No one is saying not to be you, but a lot of times, there is one guy who keeps saying ridiculous stuff during the Super Bowl. Don't be that guy.
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You also don't want to talk too much or say things at the wrong time. For all the wonderful ladies out there, this is one time of the year to not bust chops. It's a personal assault to your mate's sense of manhood when you can't even spare him the 3-4 hours to watch the Super Bowl unencumbered. Do things with a smile, look after the kids, and be agreeable. Don't emasculate your man. And while it is a Super Bowl get-together that is social, it's also the most-important game of the season and a possibly historical event. There will be some critical junctures in the game where it's nice to focus on football and not have some guy filling the air telling you about how he got his truck raised.
Intoxicants: Again, feel out the crowd. Don't step too far outside the box. Don't spark up a joint if you're watching the game with nice family people. Don't pound 25 beers when everyone around you is in the 4-5 range. Remember, the magnitude of the game doesn't have to resonate in the magnitude of your inebriation. Granted, a lot of people look to days like this for massive consumption. Be around like-minded people. Raging drunks don't want to be around relatively-sober people. And to an even greater extent, nothing is worse than being sober and being trapped in a situation with loud obnoxious drunks.
Betting: One of the more exciting aspects of the big game is the wagering. There are odds posted on everything from who will win the game to minutia like how long it will take to sing the National Anthem. It can be hard to have a lot of money on the game and be around people—for some. Some can take it in stride, others need to be around other bettors when watching football or you can feel out of place. It can be extra painful to be amongst company as you try to hide the fact that you just lost a grand betting on the over on the National Anthem. And if you bet with your friends, keep it on the fun level. This is not a good day to have people moping over a big gambling loss in what is supposed to be a festive situation.
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