Road to the Big Game: Preparing your Party

In just a few weeks, the biggest television event on the planet will take place, and we all have our own traditions. Getting together with family or friends. Being too nervous, and sitting by yourself in a dark room. Making sure your seat is the exact level of warm. Certain headgear, certain clothing, your magic pair of underwear.

I'm going to tell you a bit about some of the traditions my friends and I have. We've been doing it consistently for a decade now, and unless we all grow to hate each other, we'll keep doing it for the foreseeable future. Then tell us all about yours, as we try to take off some of our edge before the mini-Super Bowl this Sunday.

We like to do a few things for certain every year. First things first, we all get together. (In case that part wasn't blatantly obvious.) Here are the things that definitely have to happen every year:

1. Madden Simulation. It's not right without the Madden Simulation.
2. Beer. We all like different types, but we're also not picky. Kegs will usually do the trick, but so will a lot of bottles.
3. Roughly 15-20 minutes before kickoff, we go around the room, and everyone predicts winners and scores. We tend to have a small prize for that individual. This gift is usually something nobody wants.
4. Erik makes chili. Erik's chili recipe is totally dope. If you ever find yourself hanging out with us, make sure you eat some of Erik's chili.
5. Other Food - Also very tasty. I make a mean taco cheese dip.
6. Trash talk. Lots of it, even if nobody's favorite team is in the game. Also, everybody seems to have that one friend who screams profanity the whole time. When he's not around, it feels weird.

I don't know that a Super Bowl would even feel right without these people, these things, and this situation in my life. Do any of you feel the same way?

Super Bowl Fun Facts
-The Super Bowl yields the most avocado sales for the entire year in the U.S.

- Mike Ditka, Tom Flores, and Tony Dungy have all won a Super Bowl as both a player and a coach.

-More drivers are involved in alcohol-related accidents on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day of the year (except St. Patrick's Day), according to the Insurance Information Institute.

-Over 700,000 footballs are produced annually for official NFL use and 72 of them are used for the Super Bowl.