Ah Super Bowl! My husband is an avid football fan, and most Sunday's will find him in his recliner in the living room at some point of the day. We have a DVR, so he is not not tied to the broadcast times, which is a blessing for me since I do not have to plan the day around football. Any football fans reading this may think of that as blasphemy, but we have rules at our house; one of them is not planning the day around football. Except for Super Bowl when that rule goes right out the window.

Super Bowl is the Holy Grail of football, not only because it determines the playoff winners, but because it has turned into one of the great party days of the year and for football fans it is "the" party day of the year. Quite a few fans will be planning next years Bowl Party before this one is even over. Not to take anything away from the female football fans, but Super Bowl is also the great male bonding day of the year. It is a time to sit around, BBQ, drink beer, drop popcorn on the floor and yell a lot.

I am not a football fan, but I do still attend Super Bowl parties. Someone has to drive my husband home and this is his time. Normally I don't watch the game but, if we are at a friends house, I will visit with other non-fans so I don't interrupt the game, or if we are close to town I will go shopping. But if we are spending Super Bowl at a sports bar it is impossible to not "get in the game".

If you are the one hosting the Super Bowl party you have picked the easiest party to host all year. Nothing fancy is needed for this party. Throw some chips in a bowl, some beers and pop in the cooler, and make sure you have a screen large enough for everyone to see. The latter may be the hardest requirement needed for lots of company to attend your party. If you have a 19" screen you will probably be watching the game by yourself, but if you have a 50" flat screen you may attract some followers to your living room.

What about tailgate parties? We live in Oregon, so during Super Bowl we definitely are not going to be holding an outside party, but in Miami this year it should be a perfect atmosphere for a tailgate party. Even if it rains a simple canopy will easily take care of that problem. A tailgate party can be pretty elaborate with canopies, recliners and large screen tvs, or as simple as a camp chair next to your car. But the thing about a tailgate party is you can be assured of lots of company and lots of food, with everyone trying to outdo each other with the BBQ specialties.

If you can afford it and if you are a big enough fan, you may be one of the people that will travel for that tailgate party. You can hop on a plane and be there in a few hours, or load up your truck with all your game paraphernalia and drive on down for a really great weekend. Make sure you have a place carved out to sleep in if beer is on your agenda.