Super Bowl Sunday
By Loot, NFL Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Everyone has their own ideas of how to make the perfect Super Bowl Sunday. For us, there are certain elements that have to be in place. Here is our ideal Super Bowl Sunday:
Betting: You knew this just had to be a part of the big game experience. Super Bowl betting is the biggest day of the year for sportsbooks. It’s a betting bonanza and it’s easy to feel left out when having nothing riding on the game. The options are endless for this game. You can bet on everything from who will win the game to how long it will take to sing the National Anthem.
If you want to bet on which team will win the game, you can choose to bet against-the-spread.
San Francisco 49ers -4
Baltimore Ravens +4
That is a point-spread. San Francisco at -4 means they need to win the game by more than 4 points for a bet on them to win. For a bet on Baltimore +4 to win, they can either win the game or lose by an amount under 4 points. Maybe you don’t like point-spreads and just want to bet on who will win the game.
San Francisco 49ers -200
Baltimore Ravens +170
In the above example, each team has odds, expressed on the money line. To win this bet, the team you bet on simply has to win the game. San Fran at -200 means you have to bet $200 in order to win $100. Baltimore at +170 means if you bet $100 on them, you would win $170. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
In Super Bowl betting, you can bet on almost any aspect of the game. There are called prop bets. You can bet on which team will score first, which player will get the first touchdown, whether a certain wide receiver will catch a certain number of passes, or even if there will be a safety. Basically, a bet will be available on almost every imaginable facet of the game. Again, when there’s an over-under on how long it will take to sing the National Anthem, that should tell you Super Bowl betting is wide-open.
WHERE CAN YOU BET ON THE SUPER BOWL USING YOUR CREDIT CARD? --> BOVADA SPORTSBOOK
Pre-Game: Some us have been overly-saturated by hype by the time the game rolls around. Two weeks of heavy publicity will have taken place by then. Still, you don’t want to just roll out of bed and find that you’re suddenly watching the game. This is a game where you want to be around other people. So pump up the pre-game and get everyone revved-up for what is the single-most important game in American sports.
Get your ducks in a row. Get all the food ready. Set up the seats. Organize. Because when that game starts, you don’t want to be running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Have everything ready to roll so that it pretty much takes care of itself.
Food: This can be a sticky area for some. This is the Super Bowl. It’s not an airing of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Maybe save that gluten-free recipe for another day. A lot of us made New Years resolutions concerning our diet. By the time the Super Bowl happens, we’ve been good for over a month and now it’s time to reward ourselves.
Don’t over-think it. Barbecue always works. Chips and dips. Wanna be healthy? Put out some carrot and celery sticks, but then get that ranch rolling. No one is looking for a duck-meat salad or something you’d see on Top Chef. No chutneys. No reductions. Get some tacos for the gang. Lay out a heaping pile of corn tortillas, then have a tub of various meats to choose. Don’t make people get irritated with you--make them love you. Spreading a lot of food around with different choices of delicious items is the goal here.
But keep it easy. Taco meat can stay warm if kept on a chafing dish, as can barbecued items. Give people a window in which they can eat. Avoid food that goes south a few minutes after it’s finished.
Halftime: By now, you probably have a belly full of meat. Avoid that second-half sleepiness. Let’s get some coffee going to end the second quarter and then hit the backyard for a little pick-up game. The weather around the country during this time of the year might be dicey, but don’t let that stop you. The halftime is longer than usual and maybe the consensus is that you don’t want to watch an aging woman that used to be Madonna prancing around on stage.
Note: If the first half of the game didn't end up as you expected and your wager is toast, you can always get down on a second half bet at Bovada, who carries halftime lines on ALL football games!
Get the pigskin out and slop it up in the mud a little bit. It’s supposed to be a fun day and as we get older, we have to sometimes force ourselves to do what used to come naturally. Then we all inevitably say that we should do that more because of how fun it is. If you’re careful to not rip your MCL, it will pump enough wind in your sails that will last the rest of the game. Let’s just be careful to not track a bunch of mud back into the house. By this time in the day, our wives might have already had it with us.
Hopefully, you will see a great game. Remember this is the last football you will see for months and months. So really absorb it. It won’t be long before you are jonesing for football. Even though by Super Bowl Sunday, you’ve been watching it non-stop for months, enjoy it for what it is. It’s history. Relish in it. Then when it’s over, hang out a little bit. Watch the celebrations and presentation of the Vince Lombardi trophy and other awards. Super Bowls are meant to be soaked in, so this is the one day you can go into overdrive and not feel guilty about it.
For Those Who Don't Get It: Super Bowl Party Etiquette.
