Super Bowl Sunday: It's Not Just About the Game

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... and NY wins!

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Photos

Day 20 : KLC gets an Ohio Super Bowl Party!

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Update: It's done! Only one thing stood between the Patriots and a perfect season:
New York.

I caught the second half at a local sports bar- I sat next to a guy who was recovering from a broken neck, gearing himself up to get back into skiing.

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Super Bowl Sunday has taken on holiday proportions in the US, and Canadians are getting into it, too (The Grey Cup is okay, but it's not as exciting when your country only has something like eight teams).

It's year forty-two. 

Yes, children, this is the time of year where the household with the biggest television set and/or the largest/most futuristic barbecue sends out the evites or just gets on the phone, and everyone in his/her/their social circle swings by before kickoff with beer, packaged snacks, things to stick on the futuristic grill.

The Giants ("New York Football Giants" if you phone their headquarters, though the baseball Giants have now been in San Francisco for ages) vs. the Patriots, who are within striking distance of a perfect season.

Then there are the non-game elements of the broadcast: the halftime show and the ads. Super Bowl advertising has become more interesting than the game itself, which tends to be NFC-dominated. Advertisers spend a ridiculous amount of money in order to get their latest thirty-second magnum opus in front of the eyeballs of the world. 

Come halftime, we get to see a big-name entertainer perform, usually in a medley of hits, which always kind of bugged me. These days, though, the double-sided tape is deployed to avoid any overblown nonevents. 

Today, though, such tape will not be needed, as classic rock icons Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will be performing. According to a typo on superbowl.com's caption, Tom Petty formed his band in 19776 and is joining us from the distant future: good to see that he still hasn't changed his image! 

It's not just about the game: msot of the coverage is talking about the game, or talking about talking about the game, or other such weird ancillary coverage. For me,  (at least when I'm not *ahem* working),  Super Bowl parties have been about friends and food. Particularly food: my friends' events tend to be more tapas bar than sports bar.

 I flipped on a television, and coverage has already begun: pre-pregame coverage, complete with a Google map of the stadium at the University of Phoenix. Ryan Seacrest hasn't appeared on the air... yet.

No, wait- there he is. They have a red carpet for the Super Bowl?! Is this new? The thing is half a mile from the actual stadium! Where are the guys who paint themselves blue supposed to park? I'm serious. 

They're just filling time at this point- time to go post a rugby article. Be right back. 

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will be performing a 12-minute set.
Visitors to the stadium are expected to spend an average of $60 per person on... stuff.

Some guy (with a graph behind him) was saying that advertisers' websites get an average of 400% more traffic on Super Bowl Sunday. 

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Kick back, crack open the beverage of your choice, and enjoy the show. Let us know your favorite bit.

Oh, and designate a driver or take a cab/bus home. Don't kill yourself.

Oh, and the secret to perfect nachos lies in using several types of chili when making the salsa by hand. 

Oh, and if your TV is criminally large, no worries. We at NowPublic won't tell on you.