let the game begin

it’s one day before the super bowl. i’m going to my cousin’s house in san francisco to watch it. it’s a 35-mile drive to my place, but it’s worth it. the super bowl is a time to party. if you don’t get an invite to a party, you have to invite yourself.

my cousin’s husband is a football fanatic. one of the rooms in their house is a memorial to his favorite team, the san francisco 49ers. he has collected a lot of memorabilia through the years. he’s got autographed jerseys, footballs, and photos of players like joe montana, steve young, and jerry rice. i remember accompanying him to card shows to take pictures as his stuff were being signed. in the event that he elects to sell them later, the ticket stubs and the pictures would prove the signatures are authentic. some signatures had cost him over $100 a piece, but what the heck! it’s only money.

every year my cousin and her husband play super bowl party host to about 40 of their friends and relatives. it’s potluck or bring your own plate as the aussies would say. you bring whatever you want to share. in my case, i usually bring chips and drinks. it’s always appreciated by the mostly-male guests.

what would the super bowl party be without a football pool? it makes the game more interesting. in fact, without it, it won’t be as popular as it’s now. personally, i got into the game only after i joined my first football pool.

at my cousin’s party, the preferred choice is football squares. this pool uses a 10 x 10 grid drawn on a blank piece of paper. for tomorrow’s game, the indianapolis colts team is written on the top row and the new orleans saints team is written on the side row. each participant buys one or more squares on the grid by placing his name on them. once all the 100 squares are filled up, the numbers 0 thru 9 are randomly put across the top and left side of the grid.

if one square sells for $5.00, the total amount of the pool is $500. the host determines how the payoffs are paid. for example:

end of 1st quarter = $100
end of 2nd quarter = $100
end of 3rd quarter = $100
end of 4th quarter = $200

winning is determined by using the last digit of the scores achieved by each team. if the scores at the end of the first quarter is colts (10) and saints (3), then the name in the square corresponding to colts (0) and saints (3) wins. last year, i won one of the quarters. i’m hoping my luck holds out for tomorrow’s game.

the super bowl can be compared to a rare event such as the planets appearing in alignment. it’s a time when you experience the convergence of beer, food, and tv for the love of the game and camaderie.