If you want to impress your friends, make life easier, and enjoy America’s sport to the fullest, you need to have a Championship Sunday party, not a Superbowl Party. For those of you who are confused, Championship Sunday is two weeks before the Superbowl when the AFC and NFC Championship games are played. The winner of these games face off against each other in the Superbowl. These games are historically awesome. Past years have seen great matchups between the Colts and the Patriots, The Steelers and The Ravens and The Giants and The Packers.

But why a Championship Sunday party and not a Superbowl party? Great question. Allow me to break it down for you. First and foremost, there is more football. Let me say this again, MORE FOOTBALL. Two games are better than one if you ask me. And honestly, I think that teams can be hungrier to get to the Superbowl than actually winning it (see the 2006 Chicago Bears.) However, this will take a decent amount of prep work on your part, but I will get into that later.

With a Championship Sunday party you get more real football fans. I have been to plenty of Superbowl parties where it tends to be a social gathering more than a sporting function. Ladies you are more than welcome at any football function I may organize, and you are also more than welcome to ask any questions you might have (not saying woman don’t get football, but it can be confusing for any novice, regardless of sex) but you have to want to watch the goddamn game. Don’t create unnecessary chitter chatter when we are waiting to see if the receiver was down by contact or if it was a fumble. It is like the equivalent of New Year’s Eve, people feel that they have to go out for the Superbowl and go to a Party, so you get a lot of people who don’t have any business at a football related event in attendance (i.e. the underage kids puking in the bathroom at your favorite bar on December 31st.) Most don’t make an event for Championship Sunday, which if you are a true football fan should be something you capitalize on.

The number one key to any party is PREP PREP PREP. Throwing a Championship Sunday party is no easy task; you have to entertain fat obnoxious football fans for twice as long as you would two weeks later, however if you bang most of the stuff out Saturday you will be in great shape come Sunday afternoon. Saturday evening you should: assemble your Buffalo Chicken Dip (Do not bake till game time,) prep your Slow Cooker Chili (place crockpot in fridge, turn on at noon Sunday) and marinate chicken wings (bake or fry at half time of the first game.) Have shelled peanuts and at least two varieties of chips on hand (I prefer kettle cooked potato chips and corn chips.) In terms of beer, buy one (yes, ONE) high quality 18 pack (bottles are always best, I like Sam Adams or Goose Island.) Tell your friends to bring beer. You should only be inviting good friends in the first place, and any “real man” would gladly trade beer for food and football. Keep in mind that you don’t throw this event for the status, you throw it so you and your friends can enjoy something together. Any friend worth inviting would (and should) be more than willing to bring a least a sixer.

Other than that, there’s not much to it. Make sure you have a big ass TV that is HD enabled, a working toilet, and some plastic cups and silverware. Other than that, eat some dip, pound a cold one, and enjoy some quality time with the some real football fans.

By:

Jeff Maimon