By Michael Kinney
MOORE, Okla. — The Super Bowl has as much tradition and pageantry as any sporting event in the world. For those who are not lucky enough to actually be at Miami’s South Beach this weekend to experience the atmosphere that comes with the unofficial national holiday, the classic at-home Super Bowl party is the next best thing.
Super Bowl XLI will be broadcast live in more than 230 countries. And the national average for people attending a Super Bowl party is 17.
Regardless of which state or country the party takes place, if you are the host, that is a lot of people who either can bad mouth your efforts or sing your praises.
To make sure your Super Bowl party will be talked about Monday morning around the water-cooler, here are five keys to success:
5. Think about ambiance. Background music isn’t just for dates anymore. A mix CD or IPod with football-themed songs keeps everybody in the mood. Keep the volume low until an hour before the game. Then turn it up to medium-high and watch the heads bob.
A few songs to consider are: “We are the Champions” by Queen, “Walk This Way” by Run-DMC, “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns & Roses and “I Luv It” by Young Jeezy.
4. Clean house, clean party. Nobody wants to watch a game as huge as the Super Bowl in an unkempt environment. Clothes laying around, ants crawling across the kitchen floor and old peanut butter sandwiches still laying on the bathroom counter are signs that you didn’t put much care into your visitors’ comfort.
Do not be afraid to invest in a cleaning service the day before the game. Even though you may never use them again the rest of the year, your guests will appreciate the hard work you put into it. And if you are single and plan on inviting a few ladies whom you want to impress, a clean house says a lot about who you are an what you can offer them.
3. Remember, it’s a long day. The game will not actually be played until 5 p.m. But the CBS pre-game show starts at 1 p.m. ESPN begins even earlier, running close to five hours before the game kicks-off. If your Super Bowl party is to last that long, you must have some secondary entertainment options.
While hardcore fans may want to hear analysts break down the throwing motion of Peyton Manning and Rex Grossman, others could care less. If you have a basketball goal in front of the house, leave the driveway clear of parked cars. Have all footballs and basketballs pumped up to optimal level and make sure baseball gloves are set out in clear sight.
But, most importantly, the back rooms are to be used to hide the children or for Madden tournaments. That means a PS2, PS3 or XBox must be on the premises and have fully working controllers.
2. The right food is essential. If it was just a regular season game or even wild-card weekend, you could get away with serving nachos, maybe ordering a couple of pizzas and picking up a case of cheep beer and the big sandwich. According to the California Avocado Commission, Americans eat 8 million pounds of guacamole and 14,500 tons of chips on Super Bowl Sunday.
You don’t want to be a guacamole-and-chip person? Think two tables of diverse eating selections. One filled with the standards such as burgers, hot dogs, chips, fried chicken, chicken wings and cheese steak sandwiches.
But to set the party off right, the second table must have a few delicacies that normally would show up in a fine restaurant. Dishes may include cajun chicken alfredo, fried catfish or sweet and sour pork.
1. Size does matter. I was leaving a store Sunday night and I saw a pair of men lifting a 50-inch flat screen TV into the back of a truck. Think that was just a coincidence with the Super Bowl a week away? Hardly.
According to bellaonline.com, the National Electronic Dealers Association reports sales of big screen TVs increased 500 percent during Super Bowl week last year.
Super Bowls are to be watched on high definition, 64-inch plasma TVs with surround sound and theater speakers. If you can’t afford that set up (which I can’t), make the best of whatever you have.
You can try to fit six grown men on a pink love seat, serve nothing but pork and beans, have a broken air conditioner and not hear one complaint. But, if you decide to host a Super Bowl party with the 13-inch black-and-white TV, you might as well start looking for a whole new group of friends. In fact, just move the next day to a region where the story of your party has not yet reached.
Try Alaska.
