The Battle of The Only 2 Reasons People Watch the Super Bowl

The Commercials

VS

The Food

Considering that nearly 100 million people in the US watch the Super Bowl, and about 15 people actually care about football, there’s obviously something to this “Super Bowl” party phenomenon. Sure, it’s the penultimate meet-up of the football season and is the last game we’ll get to see until the Pro Bowl…one week later, but none of that matters. What we really love about the Super Bowl is that it happens once a year, making it a holiday / time to stuff our faces with delicious joy. And that companies pay millions of dollars to make us laugh.

I considered looking at this from a “best of each” standpoint, but that’s entirely subjective. And since Kyle and I hosted our Super Bowl get together this year, the quality of the food is not representative of most SB parties’ potential. Sure, he made Ghirardelli brownies and I made dough dogs (I hear some of you non-Kentuckians call them “pigs in a blanket”), but our cooking abilities basically fall in the “piece of pizza we found under the couch with a Hotwheel on it” range.

Of course, even taking into account the sort of party we would force upon our dearest friends and worst enemies, the commercials aren’t much to write home about these days. Yes, the Cash4Gold one with MC Hammer and Ed McMahon was pretty decent, if only for the shock of seeing these two celebrities that have been traded in themselves. CareerBuilder’s made me laugh out loud, especially the koala-punching and the guy who does not need CareerBuilder, “It’s gold.” But then there were ads like GoDaddy’s (were they even trying?) and the E*Trade baby, who was unexpectedly hilarious last year, but stale this time around.

Of course, massive quantities of food, and no guilt associated with consuming it, are hard-pressed to disappoint. While you’re sitting through crappy GoDaddy commercials waiting for the next CareerBuilder-quality ad, you can snarf down only your favorite snack items. No one’s going to say “You have to finish this 30 second stack of carrot sticks to get to the Doritos.” Your group may also crave endless entertainment, but enough Corona will make the game itself as hilarious as the unnecessary commercials. And yes, liquids are on Team Food.

For some reason, we’ve let commercials become something more than bathroom break approval. But it’s been a number of years since the commercials were entertaining enough to alone warrant watching the Super Bowl. Food, on the other hand, can connive people into coming over and hanging out until the trough is depleted. It will guarantee friendly spirits even during the worst of ads or plays. And it will be there the next day, as leftovers, even if the companies who went into debt for their commercials may not be.

The Food, for the win.