Taking the party on the road

Yep. I’m one of those people. I really just want to watch the game. If there are a few football friends with me to watch the game, then that’s cool. But I’m just not into the big bash for the big game anymore.

This year, however, will be a little different. I’ve had my schedule at the Daily Journal re-arranged and now am responsible for Sunday production, so I’ll be working Super Bowl Sunday.

But the show will go on. Thanks to Daily Journal sports writer Terry Bernal, the office has a pair of flat-screen televisions and a little, actual “sports lounge” sitting area, with a pair of nice swivel chairs and a coffee table. With the microwave in the kitchen area, I have everything I need to take my house party on the road. I’ll start work early and my wife will join me in the office before kickoff, with snacks in tow.

The last party I attended was Super Bowl 48 in 2014 — the Seattle Seahawks’ annihilation of Denver. Before that, it was the Colts-Bears in Super Bowl 41 in 2007, the year Prince brought the house down during his halftime show.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy the energy of watching the big game with a large-ish group of people. But I had my “a ha” moment during Super Bowl 38 in 2004, which will forever be remembered as introducing a new phrase into the modern lexicon with the Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake “wardrobe malfunction.”

My wife I and were at a house party when it happened. We looked at each other, jaws dropped, and then I looked around — there was not one other person at the party watching. That’s when I realized that you can miss a lot even when you’re supposedly at a watch party.

Other than the occasional get-together, most of my Super Bowl Sundays are spent at home. My wife will make the atmosphere as party-like as possible — she’ll lay out quite the food spread. While she won’t pay as close attention to the game as I will, she will sit and watch and at least check in to see what’s going on. All in all, I enjoy it.

There is a work element to my Super Bowl viewing as well, as it gives me built-in material for a column the next day. In addition to a few adult beverages and Super Bowl snacks, I’ll have a pad of paper and a pen (yeah, I’m still old school) and will jot down notes throughout the telecast — all of it. Not just the action on the field, but notes about the commercials, the announcers and anything else happening in the stadium. Heck, I may even check on “Puppy Bowl XVII” (that’s 17 for the Roman numerally impaired) on Animal Planet and take some notes on the happenings there. It’s all fair game when it’s Super Bowl Sunday.

When the game’s over, I’ll finish up the sports section and be ready to write my column for Tuesday’s paper.

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As for my Super Bowl prediction? I don’t really have one. I’m not really a fan of either team and while I respect the two starting quarterbacks, I don’t necessarily “like” them, in the sports sense.

Also, I just don’t like making predictions.

Instead, how about I tell you what I want to see happen? I know — this is just a long-winded way of saying “I just want it to be a good game.”

But is there anything wrong with that? Can’t I hope for a good game to watch? What I want to see is two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL making big play after big play. I want to see explosive action on both sides of the ball; just a back-and-forth battle that isn’t decided until the final drives of the game.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com; or by phone: 650-344-5200 ext. 117.