Today marks the return of the greatest unofficial holiday in the history of unofficial holidays. It’s Super Bowl Sunday, an American tradition.
Time to grab the remote, find a comfy seat and hunker down for an afternoon of chips, dip, pizza, beer and commercials, with a little football in between.
Today’s gridiron festivities are a family affair. Coach John Harbaugh will guide the Baltimore Ravens against his brother, San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh.
Star Ravens linebacker and defensive leader Ray Lewis announced before the playoffs his decision to retire at the end of the season, and his team has been riding the resulting emotional wave to the season’s final game and a shot at the Lombardi Trophy. The Baltimore offense is led by quarterback Joe Flacco and running back Ray Rice, a New Rochelle native drafted out of Rutgers in 2008.
The 49ers send out Colin Kaepernick under center. The second-year quarterback made his first start in week 11, after starter Alex Smith suffered a concussion, and held onto the job even after Smith was cleared to play. Kaepernick set a single-game QB rushing record with 181 yards in a divisional round win over the Green Bay Packers.
The CBS pregame show gets rolling at 2 p.m. (but really, Super Bowl preview coverage has been on virtually every channel almost nonstop for the past two weeks). Just before the game’s scheduled 6:30 p.m. kickoff, you get Alicia Keys’ national anthem and player introductions.
Then, finally, at long last, it’s football time. But between the big-bucks ads and the Beyoncé halftime show with her Destiny’s Child pals, you might want to strap on some Depends, because you won’t get any bathroom breaks.
Now you’re living the American dream — chips, pizza, beer, football and adult diapers. Happy Unofficial Holiday!
The vast majority of networks schedule reruns opposite The Super Bowl, but a few brave souls will be willing to watch something else, like the programs listed below.