Puppy Bowl on 1 TV here and Super Bowl on another.

I'm just here to (cook) eat and watch the commercials.

What he said. I don't like football all that much, but I've been going to my sister-in-law's party every year for about 10 years now and it's a lovely annual social occasion. We get to catch up with all of their cool circle, have a drink and some catered food, and generally have a good time. It's nice.

Like SL said, when all you nancy boys are drooling over the Oscars, just remember that it's now someone else's turn to be close-minded and roll their eyes at your personal moment to gather around the TV.

Speaking of which - who's hosting the Oscar party?

Indeed. Much better than the halftime show anywhere else.

You guys are missing my point. It's not about the getting together and breaking bread; I didn't say there was anything wrong with that. It's about the fact that the Super bowl has become an obsession in American society somewhere on the par with Christmas and the second coming. It's about the strange looks you get when you tell people you don't watch it; the kind of looks you would get if you stated that you didn't "do" Thanksgiving or the 4th of July.

And I'm sorry, but the Oscars do not compare. While there is the same (or greater) level of obsession on the part of some people, it is really a very small percentage of society. None of my friends, gay or straight, are as obsessed by the Oscars as most of the people in my life are over Super Bowl Sunday. Are the grocery stores as packed the day before the Oscars? No. Do complete strangers ask you if you're ready for Oscar night, and wish you "Happy Oscars!"? No.

(And just for the record, the cashier at the grocery store really did ask me if I was ready for Super Bowl Sunday, and the bagger really did wish me a Happy Super Bowl. You can't make this sh*t up!)

I've never had anybody inquire about my Super Bowl watching status or view it as odd that (most years) I'm not doing anything in particular. I was probably 25 years old the first time I actually watched one. But if there is any segment of the population that would come to see the Super Bowl and a truly universal event I imagine it would be grocery store employees; Lani and I specifically called of a trip to Costco today once we remembered tomorrow was the game.

But one thing I suspect has changed in recent years is the prevalence of very large TVs that are much more suitable for making the centerpiece of a big party than the old giant Sony 32". Yes, there was always the stray bird that had a 48" rear-projection TV setup.

I've been saying for a while now that whereas porn was the killer app for VCRs, sports is the killer app for widescreen HD. When I go to a Super Bowl party it is only 40% about the game and 60% about the party but even if we're only paying attention with one eye, it is a nice improvement that the one eye is seeing something so dramatically better than SD TV presentations were.

As long a people want to eat Krispy cheese in front of their teevees, I'll "Happy Super Bowl" them all day long!

/not watching

Tom Brady is hot.
:)

Personally I think it's partly such a big deal because it's a de facto holiday created by the public themselves and not some archaic "recognized" holiday whose meanings and reason for importance are so vague, murky or false that nobody really even knows why it's celebrated anyway. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fourth of July, etc are all great but really, who of us was around or had anything to do with their creation and so to who of us are they really real? Super Bowl, on the other hand, is very real. Whether it means watching the big game, the big gathering, the food, the goofy commercials or whatever, Super Bowl's meaning and importance are real and tangible and therefore, in my humble opinion, more exciting in some ways. Banks aren't closed, Macy's isn't having a sale, nobody is marching around harping about any "reason for the season." It's just a good old annual excuse to eat, drink and be merry with the added bonus of there actually being an event to have it all around. I think that's why it's spread so much and become so popular. It's common ground and it's fun, which makes it accessible to anyone and so everyone gravitates to it.

Now, if the Giants can knock off the Patriots then I'd say it's worthy of National Holiday status, but we'll see.

Always.

Boy wants me to tape it so that we can watch the commercials together.

Give it time....