With the Super Bowl fast approaching, Viking fans everywhere are going to be preparing themselves to attend parties to cheer against this year's NFC representative in the big game. Some of you folks might even be hosting parties for you and your friends to watch the inevitable (insert AFC champion here) blowout of the (insert NFC champion here). Whichever side of the spectrum you fall on, we have a couple pieces of advice for you.
If you're hosting a Super Bowl party, I say unto you. . .make sure you fire up your DVR. If you don't have a DVR, then get one. There will be moments during the game where you're going to want to see certain things again. . .not necessarily spectacular plays, but things like when a penalty flag was thrown and folks want to go back and see if they can see what happened or not. The network won't always show these things, but if your DVR is on, you can go back and have a look on your own. Heck, if there's a particular commercial that everyone liked, you can go back and re-watch that, too.
Speaking of commercials, if you have a person there that's complaining about only being interested in the commercials. . .feel free to ask them to leave. The Super Bowl is about football, not commercials.
Also, if you're hosting, please have a plan in mind for those folks that will, inevitably, drink too much and need a different means of getting home. It's not just a moral thing. . .it could end up to be a legal thing. If someone leaving your party causes an accident and they tell the police, "Well, I was at Jim Bob's Super Bowl party and had a few too many before I drove off," you're going to get wrangled into anything that comes from it. As a host, the party doesn't end until your guests are all safely in their own homes. . .even if that means they pass out on your floor/couch/wherever and leave the next morning.
If you're a guest, please don't complain about what the host is providing. If there's a particular beverage. . .alcoholic or non-alcoholic. . .that you'd like to consume during the game and you're not sure if the host is going to have it, there's generally nothing wrong with bringing your own. Everyone has their own idea of what makes a great party, and your ideas might not be the same as theirs, but you're still a guest in their home and should be happy to be there.
Also, if you don't have a dog in the fight, as the phrase goes, don't wear your team's jersey to the party. Yes, we know you're a Viking fan and that Viking fans are the best fans in the NFL and you want to show that. Unless you're surrounded by a ton of fellow Vikings fans, you're going to look like a dork. I would also advise against buying any jerseys or memorabilia of one of the teams in the game just for the party. Seriously, what's the point? When are you going to use it again? You could use them for rags to wash your car, I suppose, but you can get bundles of those for a lot less than what you'd drop on official team merchandise.
What about you folks? What tips do you have for Super Bowl partying? How many of you are hosting parties this year? Feel free to discuss all of that stuff below.