The Boss does not throw a Super Bowl dinner party every year but when she does it’s always a memorable occasion. This year she really outdid herself. Last Sunday was a wonderful evening and was a magnificent party! To be very honest, the Boss has about as much interest in professional football as she has in the mating habits of a dung beetle — less as a matter of fact. The Super Bowl is different, however. The Super Bowl has become the Great American celebration and a celebration calls for, no, demands a party! This is where the Boss’ principle interest in the championship game lies. The Boss is to party planning what Peyton Manning is to throwing touchdown passes. Generally she treats her parties the way Tony Dungy treated a playoff game when he was the head coach of the Colts. She doesn’t plan and create a party so much as she attacks and conquers it. She makes her parties experiences that one will remember and cherish the memory of for the rest of one’s life. If there was a Hall of Fame for party giving she would be enshrined in it, but I digress.
Last Sunday night was a a chance for a bit of much-needed merriment for our family and friends. I don’t have to tell you what the atmosphere in Indianapolis has been since the holidays passed. SNOW, bitter cold, SNOW, a closed down city, SNOW, everybody feeling sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, and SNOW! I think the whole Super Bowl celebration phenomenon has evolved because it takes place exactly between January and February which is, let’s face it, during the most drab and depressing time of the year. When I got the word that a Super Bowl party at Chateau La Nicewanger was in the works I greeted the news with great enthusiasm. When I learned that the Boss’ world famous, award-winning lasagna was on the menu I was ecstatic.
I must confess, I grew rather tired of all the pregame hype. The pseudo-controversies, the talking heads making every minor occurrence take on the seriousness of life or death as though the history of civilization would forever be changed by the game’s outcome. I knew that if I heard any more about Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman’s emergence as a world figure and new expert on the human condition or what a loss would do to Peyton Manning’s “legacy” I would soon commit analyst-cide! It was the prospect of a delightful evening food, friends, and fun that gave me hope. Sunday evening couldn’t come soon enough.
Sunday evening’s festivities started at 5 p.m. The party was an intimate gathering with my mother “Ms. Betty” as the guest of honor, sister Robin, son Chris, and brother-in-law Mark were all in the starting lineup. Our Special Guest Star was View columnist and dear old friend C.J. Woods. Before the game actually started and dinner was served there were some really tasty munchies to feast upon. Nacho cheese dip with pita and taco chips and veggies, summer sausage and crackers and artichoke dip. Great stuff to munch while we watched a fur coated Joe Namath nearly muff the coin toss. Bad karma said my son Chris. We decided to have a little Super Bowl pool and everyone present kicked in a buck and makes a prediction as to what the final score will be. Doesn’t matter who wins, just what the score will be. I predicted a 42-31 final score.
Okay it’s kickoff time and dinner is served. Everyone loaded their plates with lasagna and added a tossed salad with garlic bread when I noticed the football sailing over Number 18’s head to back of the end zone. We then had to explain to Mom what a safety is, why it is scored 2 points, and why the Broncos have to kick the ball. The lasagna was heavenly, melt in your mouth delicious! Just a few minutes later the Boss came in the living room and wanted to know why the Seahawks have 5 points. How does a team get five points? By the time we finished explaining the situation to her, the Seahawks had 15 points. Every time I looked at the television screen the Seahawks are either in Peyton’s face or are scoring touchdowns or both. Anyway Seattle was really hammering Denver. It wasn’t not a good game, unless of course you’re a Seahawks fan.
We talked about past Super Bowls. I have to admit that I have seen them all, beginning with first one in 1967 when the Packers beat the Chiefs 35-10 in the old Los Angeles Coliseum. C.J. had some high school classmates who went on to play pro football. Somehow the conversation got around to movies as it inevitably does in any of our family gatherings and the tragic death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman came up. Everybody expressed their admiration for his work and their sadness at his passing. This lead to a discussion of his film career and each of us had an opinion on the quality of each of his films. We saw Malcolm Smith intercept Peyton for a pick-six. The Broncos seemed to be trying just to get the first half over before any more disasters occur. Our conversation returns to the movies. The Boss pointed out that it was halftime and the big show would be starting. That is her favorite part of the game. We watched Bruno Mars channel James Brown and nail the whole halftime show. He was by far the highlight of the evening. Bruno should have been the one who goes to Disney World.
The second half got underway. We were all figuring that the Broncos had some adjustments and will definitely get back in the ballgame. Brother-in-law Mark asked if any team has ever been had scoreless in any Super Bowl. In Super Bowl VI, the Miami Dolphins were held to just 3 points (the least amount ever scored), but no goose eggs have ever been inflicted. Then it was time for dessert. The Boss has baked a Key Lime pie which looked beautiful and tasted delicious. What more could we ask for? Seattle’s Percy Harvin opened the second half with an 87 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Denver players just seemed to let him glide though them. Well that’s it, the ball game is over, I thought. The camera caught Peyton on the sideline and he looked like he just got caught eating a Domino’s pizza. There were still 28 minutes to play but the Broncos are beaten. Now there was a very real possibility that Seattle would hold Denver scoreless. The Seahawk defense was brutalizing the Bronco offense, and the Seattle receivers were ripping the Denver secondary wide open. Manning finally found Demaryius Thomas for a 14 yard “mercy” touchdown and then he hit Wes Welker for the two point conversion. No zero for the Broncos after all. By now Denver was just going through the motions to get the game over with. In Super Bowl XXIV back in 1990, the 49ers laid a 55-10 tail whipping on the Broncos so it’s deja vu all over again for the Mile High Club.
The game was finally over. The Seattle Seahawks are the new first time NFL champions and deservedly so! They were generally the best team in the league for most of the year. Oh, by the way, I guess now is as good a time as any to remind you that the Colts beat both Seattle and Denver during the regular season. Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson has become at age 25 the youngest at his position to win a Super Bowl game. Wilson is going to be one of the really great ones. Malcolm Smith got the keys to the Chevy Truck. Richard Sherman injured his foot late in game and was on the sidelines for the post game celebration — and was quite subdued under the circumstances. Peyton Manning looked like he had just underwent a colostomy. Not angry, not hangdog, just relived that the nightmare was finally over. Oh, Peyton is definitely NOT retiring. He’ll be back under center next year. The media is already speculating about a possible Seattle dynasty. They have a very strong team and anything is possible, but remember that they where saying the same thing about the Baltimore Raves last year at this time.
Well the game was over, and so was our Super Bowl party. It went amazingly well and was loads of fun — our party, not the game. As I said before, the Super Bowl is as good a reason as any to throw a bash in the gloom of winter and the Boss has made our house the Super Bowl Party Hall of Fame.
snicewanger@yahoo.com