Well the Super Bowl is over for another year, but this isn't about the game or who won or who threw the farthest pass or even the half-time show by Madonna.
No, this is about what people eat while watching the Super Bowl.Now, we've all heard about what goes into a healthy diet so I'm not going to bore you with the details but suffice it to say it isn't what people eat at a Super Bowl party. Leading up to this year's Super Bowl, I must have heard 40 commercials for restaurants and takeout places extolling the virtues of everything huge.We know there will be alcohol at these parties, but not once did I hear that fish would be served along with some celery, carrots, a small salad and some rice so that you get enough carbs.I know the game is billed as the biggest sporting event on the planet, but I don't understand why we have to throw all the rules for food out the window for this one event.I realize it's only one evening a year and you won't die by eating 30 chicken wings, but I'm still amazed at why we match the Super Bowl with foods that will make you super-sized if eaten enough.Now the party on Lee Avenue I went to had all the makings of a Super Bowl belt-buster. A huge bowl of potato chips, another one with Cheezies and a third bowl had some non-descript chip thingy that nobody ate because no one could pronounce its name and it just looked weird. There were 40 different kinds of dips and enough pizza to start a business.Like I said, one night, one feast isn't going to kill you, but why is Super Bowl sold as an over-the-top put-your-hand-in-the-bowl don't-stop-eating-'til-the-last-pass-is-thrown type event? Now if you're playing in the Super Bowl, you need to eat a lot of food but I can assure you it isn't the food you'll find at my friend's party. I worked in bars back in the '60s and '70s and the game and the parties have always been hyped beyond belief. Back then no one knew what cholesterol or triglycerides were, but now we do and we know they cause heart attacks and other illnesses that lead to long ugly deaths.Look, the Super Bowl is just a game and it's a good excuse to meet up with people you haven't seen in a while but maybe we should choose a different tact. Instead of selling the game as a time to munch our face off, maybe we should advertise it as the one time of year when "Super refers to the time you're having with friends, not the size of the bowl you're eating from."