Half the room is grunting and shouting at the big screen, and screaming at the refs for bad calls that will invariably affect their daily fantasy football performance. A quarter of the room is just trying to understand what the heck they are watching. The final quarter is wondering if their nails would look cute in the team colors.
Ah, The Superbowl. I am not really into sports myself, so I don’t look into the team’s odds to win super bowl 2019 like, so people do, but I do always get excited this time of year because I love the community and holiday-feel of the event. I also love the commercials, but who doesn’t?
If you are hosting (or just going to) a Superbowl party this year, take the opportunity to add the extra “umph” that will get all the types of people listed above to get to know each other and have a blast.
Start with the food.
It’s no party without the chips and dip, and most likely, the wings. This year, try kicking it up a notch! Most people get really engaged when food enters the conversation. The bored and the die-hards alike will have no choice but to bond over the football shaped cookies, or a buffalo chicken dip bread bowl. (These recipes and more can be found here!)
Better yet, take a lesson from holiday cookie parties and challenge your guests to bring their most creative Superbowl themed foods. Pick a winner at the end!
Speaking of contests…
Make the day a little more interesting for everyone and have guests pick the team they think will win as they walk in. (You can put up a big board where they write their name on their chosen side.) When the game is over, the winning guessers get a prize, or maybe the losers have to do something they don’t want to. (Clean the winners’ rooms for a week?) Even someone who doesn’t understand football might want to join in the bet for the chance to win something. If you’re thinking this could be a good idea, you could get a helping hand from tip sites such as betting.com.
Encourage learning!
Anyone like me knows that watching sports is a lot like listening to a language you don’t understand. One of my favorite Superbowl memories was at my best friend’s house, because her mom sat down and explained the rules of the game to me. By the end of the game, I was yelling at the screen like the best of them. Find the people at your event who are confused or uninterested, and ask them (without being condescending) if they would like to learn what to look for to understand the game. This is a great way for people with different interests to get to know each other better.
If YOU are the person who is confused, ask someone for help!
For the marketing nerds, enjoy the commercials!
Well, you don’t have to be a marketing major to have fun with this one. One year I live-blogged the commercials, but you don’t have to go that far. Give everyone interested in the game a piece of paper to rate the commercials they see. After the game, take a vote to see which was the most loved ad of the group.
Whether you try these ideas or create new ones, find ways to connect people through common interests, as well as using the unique strengths to help everyone try something new. As long as you’re bringing people together, your event will be Bowl-tastic. (Ugh, that was an awful pun, sorry.)
