NW Georgia Living Jan/Feb 2025 | Page 28

TOUCHDOWN !

Your guide to planning the ultimate Super Bowl party .

BY RACHEL TURNER

Each year , around 100 million people tune in to one of the biggest sporting events of the year , the Super Bowl . This year ’ s event takes place on February 9 , when the winners of the AFC and the NFC battle it out for football supremacy at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans . The day promises some great gridiron action , gold-standard commercials , and a high-energy halftime show performed by Kendrick Lamar . Many of you will be getting together with friends and family to watch all the action and cheer on your favorite team , and if you ’ re the one hosting the Super Bowl party this year , it needs to be great , because , well , the Super Bowl is sacred . Here are some tips to help ensure your guests go home talking about your hosting skills as much as the outcome of the big game .

26 | NW GEORGIA LIVING JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2025
PLAN
The first thing you should do is plan for the space you have . How many guests can you comfortably accommodate ? Remember , the focal point of the party is the game , so seating around a TV is critical . You can choose to gather around a big screen in your main living area or have the game playing throughout your party space on extra TVs placed everywhere from the porch to the kitchen . The latter allows guests to space out and means you can add more people to the invite list . Speaking of the guest list , a great way to manage it is to use an online platform like Evite or Paperless Post , which makes it easy to email or text your invite and offers recipients a quick and easy way to respond . It also saves you time by allowing you to send out reminders to the whole group instead of individually . Be sure to include a firm RSVP date so you ’ re not scrambling at the last minute to accommodate fluctuating numbers .
PLAY
Though there ’ ll be some enthusiastic fans with their eyes glued to the game , you ’ ll probably have others who aren ’ t as interested in watching every single second of it , so it ’ s a good idea to have some fun things planned for the I ’ m-only-here-for-the-commercials folks or kids with short attention spans . For instance , you could have a contest for the most diehard fan outfit or create Super Bowl bingo cards that have the squares filled in with things you ’ ll likely

Super Bowl Fun Facts

• A ticket to the first-ever Super Bowl cost $ 12 , while the average cost of a ticket to the past five Super Bowls was $ 6,680 .
• Carol Channing was the first singer to perform at a Super Bowl halftime show , in 1970 .
• In 2021 , Sarah Thomas became the first female to referee a Super Bowl .
• 50 million cases of beer are sold on Super Bowl Sunday .
• The Cleveland Browns , Detroit Lions , Houston Texans , and Jacksonville Jaguars have never appeared in a single Super Bowl .
• The first wildcard team to win the Super Bowl was the Oakland Raiders .
• The Lombardi Trophy weighs seven pounds .
• The coldest Super Bowl on record took place in New Orleans in 1970 , and the temperature was a brisk 39 °.
• Franco Harris holds the record for the most career rushing yards by a running back in Super Bowl games , with a combined 354 yards .
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