Yes I’ll be watching tonight. I never miss the Super Bowl. I’ll have my butt in my recliner for kick off! Much earlier than that actually.
My love for football started back in 1972. I was 11 years old and I started to appreciate the game. That’s also the year I became a Miami Dolphin fan. If you’ve heard this story before I apologize for bringing it up again but if you haven’t….
In 1972 the Patriots were, shall we say, not a championship team. They were so bad (“How bad were they?”), they were so bad they weren’t even on TV every week. The road games were televised but they couldn’t sell enough tickets by game time to justify broadcasting them from Shaeffer (Sullivan) Stadium. The Dolphins were in the midst of their undefeated season. They were good, they were on TV a lot, the weather looked great, the cheerleaders looked even better and they had flashy colors. That was the beginning of me being a Phin fan. Fast forward to today and the Dolphins haven’t been to the Super Bowl since 1974 but I still have hope. And I love the game.
Football is my only, what I call, “destination sport” meaning I will go out of my way and plan to watch every Sunday. I watch every week starting at 12 p.m. with the pregame show and then I watch the 1:00 p.m. and the 4:00 p.m. games. The family even makes it a day with Sunday Funday Football snacks. We plan all week and then each of us, three couples, makes a snack and serves it on Sunday. A couple of years ago we stopped doing “Sunday dinner” because we realized we were stuffing ourselves all afternoon and then no one had an appetite at dinnertime. I don’t usually watch the Thursday night, Sunday Night or Monday Night games unless the Dolphins or the Patriots are playing. Forty years of being a morning radio guy has pretty much kept me from being a night owl.
I know there are some people who don’t like football and many have no interest in the Super Bowl if their team is not playing but it’s always been a big event at our house. My day starts with the pregame show and then stay right through the game. I start with the pregame show on the network that is covering the game which is Fox this year. I think the NFL Network is starting at 9 a.m. but even I don’t spend THAT much time with it. Fox is starting at 1 p.m. Of course this does mean I have plan my snack intake very carefully. I don’t want to eat it all before kickoff.
Here’s our menu for this year and, yes, we do have a menu written out that’s been on the refrigerator for about two weeks.
- Linguica cheese rolls
- Buffalo chicken dip
- Mozzarella sticks
- Nachos
- Tacquitos
- Cheese and crackers
- Chips and guac
- Maybe a few last-minute additions
I will tell you that next Sunday I’ll be lost. It happens every year. We have had a routine on Sundays since back around Labor Day and suddenly….. there’s no game. I tried NASCAR one year but I just couldn’t get into it. That’s usually when my wife and I start going out for breakfast after church. Then maybe a walk and a nap.
So today it’s the Kansas City Chiefs versus the Philadelphia Eagles. Like many people I have Kansas City fatigue as they play in their third consecutive Super Bowl. They beat the 49ers last year and the Eagles the year before. They’ve been to a total of six of them.
While I would love to see the Eagles win and Saquon Barkley get a Super Bowl ring, I think the Chiefs will win in a close game.
I just hope for a good game when my teams are not in it. Does anyone else think the commercials are not as great as they used to be? Many are still funny but I don’t feel like we see the same level as we used to. Maybe that’s just the older me thinking, “Back in my day…..”
Oh and tonight I will do my usual right after the halftime show. This year it’s Kendrick Lamar. I’m not really a big Kendrick Lamar fan but I will be going on social media right after his performance. It never fails: Half the country will love it and half the country will hate it. Don’t believe me? Check it out.
So enjoy the game, or the food, or the commercials or the halftime show. If you have no desire to watch any of it, enjoy your Sunday.
Whatcha doing next Sunday? Any plans? I’ll be free.
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