Super Bowl XLV Special: American Football for Dummies PART 2

So you’re back for more, are ya? If you missed it, yesterday I took some time to go over the basics and the rules of the game of American football. If you missed it, make sure and check it out before you read this. If you’re already familiar with the game, read on.

Sunday’s game will be the 45^th Super Bowl played.  Depending on where you are in the world, it will either be played Sunday or Monday. A breakdown of the times for major worldwide cities is below.

Watching the game

If you’re in the US, finding a place to watch the game is easy. Go to any bar, in any city, to any person who has a television, and the game will be on. If you are not in the US, it can get tricky. Sports bars will generally show the game if the time allows. I.E. if you’re an American traveling in Australia, you may be able to ask any local sports bar if they are playing the game and show up and watch. However, it can be tricky in places like Europe where laws in bars may require the establishment to close before the game starts or ends.  Sometimes you can get around these requirements by staying at hotels which have bars who are willing to stay open, or by getting invited to a home watch party or a lock-in. These can be difficult to come by. As a backup, you can watch the game online several places. Some subscription providers require you pay, but I successfully have watched the game from my laptop abroad for free.  Just google search for “live stream Super Bowl” and you should get tons of options. Some of them work better than others, some work outside the country, some don’t, some have commercials, most don’t. You’ll just have to try them out.

Super Bowl XLV

The Super Bowl is the National Football League’s championship game between the winners of the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). It is played every year as the final game in the playoffs.  Super bowl XLV will be held in Arlington, TX (suburb of Dallas/Fort Worth) at the Dallas Cowboy’s home stadium. The matchup is between the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFC Champion Green Bay Packers.  The Packers are (as of today) favored to win, though only by slightly.

Key players:

Green Bay – In Green, Gold and White Uniforms

Coach: Mike McCarthy
Quarterback: Aaron Rodgers (who I really like) who has taken over for Brett Favre since his infamous first retirement 3 years ago. 
Receivers: Greg Jennings, James Jones and Donald Driver.
Rushers: Brandon Jackson and James Starks.
Defense: Second ranked in the nation in points allowed, led by Cullen Jenkins and B.J. Raji.

Pittsburgh – In Black, Gold and White Uniforms

Coach: Mike Tomlin
Quarterback: Ben Roethlisberger
Receivers: Mike Wallace, Hines Ward and Heath Miller
Rushers: Rashard Mendenhall
Defense: First ranked in the nation in points allowed, led by Brett Keisel, Troy Polamalu, LeMarr Woodley and James Harrison.


  

American Traditions for the Super Bowl

Super Bowl Sunday is a big deal, even for the non-football fan. Parties are held at houses and bars all across the country to watch the game as well as the commercials. Commercials during the Super Bowl are some of the most expensive advertising spots on television and as such, produce some of the most entertaining and creative advertising of the year. Many people watch the Super Bowl for the commercials just as much as for the football. Beer in large quantities is the norm and many stores will sell out on the Saturday and Sunday before the game. In addition, most parties will have snack foods or dips for people to munch on while they’re watching. My personal favorite and staple at any Super Bowl party I would ever attend is Velveeta and Ro-Tel – AKA the best and easiest home-made salsa con queso out there. Guacamole, Ranch Dip, Pizza, Hot Wings, Burgers and Hot Dogs are other traditional Super Bowl party food.

For me, Super Bowl Sunday always means a whole day of football, drinking, being with friends and lots of bad-for-you food. I love it and look forward to it every year. I’ve been out of the country for the past three years and am ECSTATIC to be in the US for this year’s matchup. I, personally, hate the Steelers and hope they die. Since I am not from a city which has its own professional team, when I became the age where you begin to choose your sports team alliances, I happened to be really freaking young. I decided I wanted to be an Indianapolis Colts fan because, well, they had a pony as their mascot. However, I noticed after this choice that my team kind of, well… sucked. So as a 11 year old, I decided that I would have a second alliance. That year, the Packers played the Patriots in the Super Bowl and I chose to cheer for the Packers. They won the game that day, as well as a new fan, and I decided from then on out that I am allowed to cheer for a team from each conference. As such, the Packers are my NFC team and the Colts my AFC team.

So in summary, even if I didn’t HATE the Steelers so much, I would still be rooting for the Packers.