Super Bowl Chowdown

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None of my favorite teams are in this year's Super Bowl. Though I do not care for the Patriots, I think Brady and Bellichik are the best in the business. So, I guess I will root for the Rams (and fellow Cal grad, Jared Goff), my Niners hated rival, though Seattle usually gets the title of most hated. So, let's move on to the best part of Super Bowl, the food!!!



Keep in mind that you will consume an average of 2400 calories DURING game time alone!!!! Super Bowl Sunday is exceeded only by Thanksgiving for food consumption.



I never realized that chicken wings are the most consumed food item on Super Bowl Sunday. That means 1.3 billion wings will be consumed. That means 650 million chickens are running around with no wings!!!! That is four wings per person! And enough to circle the earth THREE times! And several swimming pools full of Ranch dressing.



Pizza seems like a better bet, with 12.5 million pizzas sold at an average of $26.50 each. Dominos alone will sell over 12 million slices! But the most remarkable number for me is the chips and dip category. Start with 120 million pounds of avocados. Add $224 million in corn chips, 11.2 million pounds of chips, and 50 million cases of beer. Add 4 million pounds of pretzels, and 2.5 million pounds of nuts. Beer is the largest dollar item at $1.3 billion or it would fill 160 Olympic sized swimming pools.



Speaking of beer, this from Tag the Flag: It’s safe to say that Americans love beer. According to USA today we drink 7 billion gallons of the carbonated, hoppy, beverage every single year. On Super Bowl Sunday alone, 325 million gallons of beer are consumed by Americans cheering on their favorite teams, or just watching the commercials if their cities didn’t make it to the final game. With that said, there are some states that love beer more than the others, and data from Vinepair sheds some light on which state loves brew the most.



After combing through massive amounts of data from 24/7 Wall Street, Vinepair figured out that the tiny New England state of New Hampshire consumes the most beer per capita. According to them, “the Granite State doesn’t tax alcohol, making it a magnet for thirsty residents of Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, and other neighboring states.” Also, nothing’s better than a cold beer on Lake Winnipesaukee. (I would have never guessed. My choice would be California, Florida or New York!)



Somewhat healthier will be the 3.8 million pounds of popcorn, but only if you skip the butter. Or how about a veggie tray (only $13 million), one of my personal favorites?



Then again, 14 billion hamburgers will be consumed. Super Bowl Sunday is the second busiest grilling day after the 4th of July. Pitty the poor guy outside cooking the burgers.



So, where was my best Super Bowl party? Other than Super Bowl 47 in Nawlins (when my Niners lost their only Super Bowl), the best would be at my Aunt's place in southern California. She made all of the traditional Japanese foods that I like: tempura, teriyaki beef, sushi, sashimi, and many, many other things.



Most parties I have been to lack one thing. That would be a theme. If I ever host a Super Bowl party, I would try to focus on one ethnic family of foods, such as Mexican, Japanese, or Trader Joe's.



What are some of the worst Super Bowl foods: White Castle dip, Bologna cake, hot chipped beef ( aka sh*t on a shingle), cheese curds (I like cheese curds), any breakfast item, and the mother of all bad Super Bowl snacks, the snack food stadium (pictured above). Needless to say, beer solves all food issues or problems!



My worst Super Bowl party attended? My friends decided to barbecue a turkey, but ran out of propane. So, we tried charcoal. Not surprisingly, we ended up eating well after the game was over!!



And if you are going to the game: Food and concessions at this year's Super Bowl will be ridiculously cheap compared to other recent games
The Patriots and Rams will meet at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta to play in Super Bowl LIII on February 3. Fans attending the game will be treated to the stadium's "Fan First Menu Pricing" which includes $2 hot dogs, $3 nachos, and $5 beer. In comparison: at Super Bowl LII between the Patriots and Eagles, U.S. Bank Stadium was charging $7 for bottles of soda, $13 for domestic beer cans, and $35 for specialty cocktails.




If you are watching the game at home, I found out that Super Bowl ads will cost between $5.1 to $5.3 million for 30 seconds!!! Do you wonder why things cost so much??




A few football notes: What a shame the local Hispanic kid form Sanger, Tom Flores, did not get elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Perhaps a combination of some racism, and that he played and coached a generation ago?




What are we having today: Starting with waffles and sausage for breakfast, then munching on some brie, crackers, guacamole and chips with my champagne. Dinner will be lamb chops, rice, spinach, and salad. Dessert is still TBD.



How nice!!!

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