The biggest televised sporting event in North America is upon us. Whether or not you enjoy football, it is very likely you will tune into the Big Game airing on Sunday, February 12, 2023 on CBS. While I am not admittedly the biggest football fan, I love getting in to the sprit of the Big Game! Every year my family hosts a party to celebrate, and I love getting into the Big Game spirit.
It is easy to get enthusiastically involved when your team is in the game. Unfortunately for most of us, that will not be the case. Only two teams out of the 32-team league earn the honor, and this year, Kansas City and Philadelphia will have their moment in the spotlight. But just because the Texans aren’t at the big game, doesn’t mean we can’t get into the celebration.
Learn the Lingo:: Football Cheat Sheet
Listen, I get it. Not everyone was immersed into football culture growing up. However, here are a few terms that are helpful to know.
Offense:: The team with the ball {that is trying to score}. Consists of a quarterback, running backs, wide receivers, a tight end, offensive linemen, and a center.
Defense:: The team trying to prevent the other team from scoring. Consists of defensive linemen, linebackers, and defensive backs.
Special Teams:: Mostly kickers, punters {who also kick the ball}, people who hold the ball for them, and people who attempt to catch the kicked balls and run them down the field as close as possible to the end zone.
End Zone:: Where a team scores points. Each team has their own, and they switch end zones at the end of each quarter.
Quarter:: The game consists of four {15-minute} quarters.
Overtime:: If both teams have the same amount of points at the end of regulation, the game will go into overtime until a winner is declared.
Down:: Each team gets four downs to advance the ball per play. If they advance more than 10 yards on any given down, the downs restart. After four attempts without scoring or if the offense scores, the other team takes possession of the ball.
Touchdown:: When a team crosses the plane of the end zone with possession of the football. Worth 6 points. Touchdowns are typically scored by the offense, but they can be scored by the defense or special teams if they take possession of the ball and score during the same play.
Extra Point:: Exactly what it sounds like. Immediately after scoring a touchdown, the scoring team’s kicker attempts to get the ball through the goalposts for one additional point.
Two-Point Conversion:: Teams sometimes strategically try to score two additional points instead of one. In these cases, they attempt to score a mini touchdown. The success rate is less than 50 percent.
Field Goal:: The offense’s kicker attempts to kick the ball through the goalposts from a distance in order to score three points.
Safety:: Note:: These are extremely rare. They are the unicorns of football. When the offense commits a foul or an offensive player is tackled in their own end zone {not the one they should be scoring in . . . the one allllll the way on the other side of the field}, the defense is awarded two points.
Sack:: The defense tackles the quarterback before he has a chance to throw or hand off the football. Kind of a big deal.
Turnover:: When the offense loses the ball prematurely. This can be due to a fumble {they got a player to drop the ball while in possession of it} or an interception {the defensive players catch the ball instead of the offensive players}.
Flag:: The players do something they are not supposed to do, so the referees throw a yellow flag to symbolize this infraction. There is almost always a penalty.
A Super Setup
Now that you are well-versed in the lingo, it is time to plan your decorations. One way to do it is to go to Party City or Amazon.com and order all of the pre-printed football themed party supplies. There are so many things to choose from. It is always a safe bet to go with green table covers to represent the turf, brown football cups, these fun Gatorade sports bottles, and black and white striped goods to represent the referees.
Fun Football Food
The food is always the best part. Because the game is the real draw here, it is up to you how involved you want to be in cooking and prep. Finger foods and grazing boards are always surefire hits at my house. Bonus points if you can make it look like a football or football stadium. If the food can be cut into a football shape or adorned with a decorative toothpick as well, even better. These football-themed cookie cutters can be used to create decorative cookies, fruit, and sandwiches. Football themed cupcakes are easy to make with a little piping bag finesse or a fun topper.
If cooking is not your thing:: outsource. Support your local pizza place or order to-go food from any local restaurant. Many restaurants will likely have special deals for Big Game party pack meals that will feed a crowd or just your family. Top tip:: Plan ahead and pick up your order, as the delivery drivers will likely be swamped.
Contact your local bakery to see if they are making any football themed sweet treats. Stop by H-E-B and pickup some pre-made goodies like themed cupcakes, a cheeseball {or three}, some crackers, chips, jalapeño poppers, and anything else that takes the stress out of the prep. The goal is to enjoy the day, not to make it “perfect.”
Dress the Part
Pick one of the teams, and wear their colors, dress up like their mascots, or don official merchandise for the game. If you really want to go all in, get colored wigs, glasses, and other accessories. It is fun if the family is divided, so there is a bit of friendly rivalry throughout the day. Alternately, wear your own team’s colors or jersey. For added effect, order these eye blackout stickers and pretend you are in the game!
Fun & Games
The best way to keep children interested and involved is by playing games or having some sort of craft or contest during the game. If the weather is nice before the game begins, set up a little tailgate party in your yard or driveway. Put on some tunes and play fun games like cornhole or toss around a football.
Coloring and activity sheets are easy enough to print off. Set up an art station for your kids to choose if they will pull for the Chiefs or Eagles in the Big Game.
Another fun and easy thing to do is to set up a tray of LEGOs for the kids to create while watching the game. Tailor the colors to coordinate with the Big Game, making sure to have plenty of large green pieces for turf.
If a little family betting is on the table, take the traditional work favorite, “Football Squares” and get your family members to all put their names on a square before the game starts. Bet with quarters or something of nominal value. At the end of each quarter, make a big deal of announcing who won by “predicting” the score correctly.
Halftime Show
Oh, the halftime show usually brings the drama in SPADES. People will be divided over the performance, no doubt. This year, Rihanna is the halftime headliner. It is typical to have additional guest performers as well.
Commercials
We’re all typically annoyed by commercials, but during this one football game, everyone is suddenly very into them. Companies pay millions of dollars for a few seconds of advertising time because there are so many people glued to their television screens watching this game. This year, a 30-second spot will cost advertisers a cool $5.5 million.
If you are not an advertising or marketing professional but still want to enjoy this bit of the game, I suggest playing advertising bingo or having each family member rate the commercials as they air on television. Before each commercial break, you could also shout out what type of commercial will be the first to air {i.e, beer, food, automotive, webhosting, etc}.
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