Traditions
I’m back in crunch mode at work, so the next few weeks will be very busy and will leave me little time to post. That being said, here’s a brief recap post of this past weekend while I can still get it out there.
The Super Bowl for me, as with most people, is about tradition and each year there are several traditions I participate in that make this day especially unique. For some, this day might be about football, the hype, the commercials, the celebrations, but for me I take a different approach.
Tradition #1: Snack Foods
This is what Super Bowl should be about and this year was no different with chips, dips, greasy appetizers, fried goodness, sweet confections, and the occasional “healthy” carrot stick. It isn’t Super Bowl Sunday without a wall of munchies to scarf down.
Tradition #2: Dinner
To go along with the snack side of things, we had our traditional football tailgating meal of bacon-wrapped sausages topped with grilled veggies accompanied by baked beans. A Midwestern meal for a Midwestern Super Bowl.
Tradition #3: Beer
What game isn’t complete with beer, and our shindig was not lacking the most crucial element. I brought over my Chicago Bears mug and made sure throughout the game it was never left dry.
Tradition #4: Overeating
This is the result of the aforementioned traditions – my annual gorge-fest that tops any holiday, because at least during holiday eating there are at least some healthy foods available (i.e. vegetable dishes). But for this day, I let my eyes get the better of me and my stomach as I tried to muscle down just one more spinach-artichoke puff. It’s really a day about food and beer, and I can’t help but to agree.
Tradition #5: Late-Night Stomach Pains
When all is said and done, I am left a bloated carcass full of greasy and beer-y goodness. Unfortunately, my stomach doesn’t appreciate tradition #4 as much as I do and so I’m left writhing in pain cursing those last bites of food. I know this can be prevented, but at the risk of losing everything leading up to it, I can handle a little pain for one night every now and then.
Tradition #6: The Puppy Bowl
Aside from the food aspect, there are some other things associated with Super Bowl Sunday that have become family traditions. One of them, especially, is the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet where adoptable puppies play in a small football arena. This is always better to watch than any pre-game or half-time show, and it drives my dog wild with excitement. This year they added a kitty half-time show of cats playing to the sounds of disco music.
Tradition #7: The Football Pool
This is our way of making the game more engaging, by putting money down on random squares in a grid to guess what the last digit of each score is by the end of each quarter. Hopefully that makes sense to you, but the important thing is to just make the game more interactive by provoking more shouting at the teams and players. There are four payouts during the game and this year, I happened to win one of them, thereby returning my investment into the pot. It’s not about winning or losing, it’s about gloating over the losers when you win.
Tradition #8: Football
Between all the snacks and all the bets and amidst the playing puppies, there is still a football game to watch on TV. Though usually second to everything above (or in this case eighth), it does provide with some useful breaks to rest up from food and it gives you something to shout at while you drink your beer. As long as the game is engaging for the full 4-quarters, you’re guaranteed a good time with food and beverage.
The Super Bowl for me, as with most people, is about tradition and each year there are several traditions I participate in that make this day especially unique. For some, this day might be about football, the hype, the commercials, the celebrations, but for me I take a different approach.
Tradition #1: Snack Foods
This is what Super Bowl should be about and this year was no different with chips, dips, greasy appetizers, fried goodness, sweet confections, and the occasional “healthy” carrot stick. It isn’t Super Bowl Sunday without a wall of munchies to scarf down.
Tradition #2: Dinner
To go along with the snack side of things, we had our traditional football tailgating meal of bacon-wrapped sausages topped with grilled veggies accompanied by baked beans. A Midwestern meal for a Midwestern Super Bowl.
Tradition #3: Beer
What game isn’t complete with beer, and our shindig was not lacking the most crucial element. I brought over my Chicago Bears mug and made sure throughout the game it was never left dry.
Tradition #4: Overeating
This is the result of the aforementioned traditions – my annual gorge-fest that tops any holiday, because at least during holiday eating there are at least some healthy foods available (i.e. vegetable dishes). But for this day, I let my eyes get the better of me and my stomach as I tried to muscle down just one more spinach-artichoke puff. It’s really a day about food and beer, and I can’t help but to agree.
Tradition #5: Late-Night Stomach Pains
When all is said and done, I am left a bloated carcass full of greasy and beer-y goodness. Unfortunately, my stomach doesn’t appreciate tradition #4 as much as I do and so I’m left writhing in pain cursing those last bites of food. I know this can be prevented, but at the risk of losing everything leading up to it, I can handle a little pain for one night every now and then.
Tradition #6: The Puppy Bowl
Aside from the food aspect, there are some other things associated with Super Bowl Sunday that have become family traditions. One of them, especially, is the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet where adoptable puppies play in a small football arena. This is always better to watch than any pre-game or half-time show, and it drives my dog wild with excitement. This year they added a kitty half-time show of cats playing to the sounds of disco music.
Tradition #7: The Football Pool
This is our way of making the game more engaging, by putting money down on random squares in a grid to guess what the last digit of each score is by the end of each quarter. Hopefully that makes sense to you, but the important thing is to just make the game more interactive by provoking more shouting at the teams and players. There are four payouts during the game and this year, I happened to win one of them, thereby returning my investment into the pot. It’s not about winning or losing, it’s about gloating over the losers when you win.
Tradition #8: Football
Between all the snacks and all the bets and amidst the playing puppies, there is still a football game to watch on TV. Though usually second to everything above (or in this case eighth), it does provide with some useful breaks to rest up from food and it gives you something to shout at while you drink your beer. As long as the game is engaging for the full 4-quarters, you’re guaranteed a good time with food and beverage.
posted by Chris Burzlaff @ 2/07/2007
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