Survey: What Do You Love About The Super Bowl?

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

Part of the obnoxious Super Bowl hype every year is when football fans across the globe hustle over here to OGS on the Tuesday before the big game to read what our friends say they love about the NFL's colossal championship finale.

You're welcome:

David Balutanski, Stand-Up Comic — If my team isn't playing, I just want to be a fan and eat. I love the crappy food. It's like redneck Thanksgiving. It's a day where you can just say, "Screw it, I'm going to eat 12,000 calories." Buffalo wings, bowls of Velveeta and ground beef, the obligatory taco dip, shrimp cocktail, more cheese, little sloppy joes, oh, and three dozen Bud Lights.

Len Berman, Sports Broadcasting Legend — The kickoff. Finally all the talking stops. The most exciting single moment in sports (other than the start of a major heavyweight championship fight, which we haven't had for years).

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Jacqueline Conrad, St. Louis Cardinals Blogger — The Super Bowl is great because it's a perfect combination of friends, food, drink, sports and national spectacle. It's uniquely American and is the closest we come in America to a nationwide shared experience.

Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati Enquirer Columnist — Really, the best things about the game have little to do with the game. The hype often overwhelms it. As athletic contests, the conference title games are far more compelling. So, the spectacle ... the commercials, the halftime bands — (though not this year. I mean, The Black Eyed Peas? Please.)— the parties, the weather (usually), the scene. I've been to 20 Super Bowls. Not even half of the games came close to rivaling the buildup.

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MORE SUPER BOWL COVERAGE

+ GUEST COLUMN: 7 Things We Hate About The Super Bowl
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+ LIST: Super Bowl Winners

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John Fay, Cincinnati Reds Beat Writer — I like that the Super Bowl is almost like a holiday. It's the one sporting event everyone pays attention to.

Jeff Garcia, San Antonio Spurs Blogger — People may say the commercials, or the actual game (which is fun to watch), but I'm going to go with hanging with my friends, partying and enjoying the camaraderie. Super Bowl viewing parties really bring friends together.

Jeff Gluck, Sports Blogger — What I love about the Super Bowl: Pitchers and catchers are that much closer to reporting.

Lisa Horne, FOXSports.com College Football Writer — My favorite thing about the Super Bowl is getting together with friends at a party and just eating incredibly bad-for-you food. I make a killer guacamole, by the way.

Ben Jackey, Former Television Reporter — My favorite part of the Super Bowl is when it's over. I'm a Cleveland Browns fan. Enough said.

Bill Livingston, Cleveland Plain Dealer Columnist &mdash I like in recent years how it has shown that even the most bedraggled franchise (Tampa Bay, Seattle, Arizona, New Orleans) can have its day. The victory by New Orleans after the almost criminal neglect by all levels of government, including the abject absence of leadership from George W. Bush, was followed by the lawlessness in the Superdome and the terrible inundation of the streets of a uniquely American city. That was one of only two sports events in my life that left me emotionally spent, with tears in my eyes.

Troy Machir, College Basketball Blogger — It's gotta be the commercials. The games are so-so. For every Giants-Patriots or Cardinals-Steelers game, there's a Raiders-Bucs or Chargers-Niners game. The halftime shows suck, and the games usually take forever. Not to mention I haven't had a dog in the fight since 1992. Wait, maybe my favorite part of the Super Bowl is being able to sit around the TV with my family once a year and watch a sporting event. We are a sports family, but being Redskins fans, we don't get to do that very often. So for the Super Bowl, my mom cooks some mean chili and we hang out for 4-6 hours.

Andy McNamara, Assistant Media Relations Director, University of Oregon — Meatballs served with toothpicks, chili, chips, dips and a fresh keg of northwest microbrew.

Chad Potier, LSU Sports Blogger — I always hope for a good, well-played game, but the ads are by far my favorite part.

Andy Resnik, Sports Blogger — My grandmother's funeral was the day of Scott Norwood's infamous wide-right miss. So I always think of my grandmother and my late grandfather, who loved sports, during the Super Bowl. I also enjoy watching the game with my wife. It's basically the only game she watches with me. And she always makes a good dinner.

Barrett Sallee, SEC Football Writer — I enjoy the game and the buildup to the game. Generally speaking, the NFL doesn't hold a candle to the pageantry of college football, but the buildup and hype surrounding the Super Bowl make it feel exactly like what it is - a big game. You don't get that often in the NFL and you certainly don't get it during the regular season. Once the game kicks off, even if it's a snoozefest, it's still for the championship. I can tolerate any sport if it's for all the marbles. Well, except for soccer.

Tim Sullivan, San Diego Union-Tribune Columnist &mdash What I love about the Super Bowl is that there's a football game underneath all of the extraneous decoration, provided you search hard enough.

Jimmy Traina, Sports Illustrated's "Extra Mustard" Editor — The thing I love about the Super Bowl is when they kick off and all the hype and nonsense are put to bed.

Matt Zemek, College Football Writer — I love the immediate details of the Super Bowl game itself, as opposed to the event. The commercials, the long halftime show, and the orgy of materialism are all ugly, but the reality of one game for a championship, on a perfectly manicured field with fully decorated end zones and yard lines, creates an irresistible spectacle, a sprawling three-and-a-half-hour canvas of drama and name-making, reputation-breaking significance. No other sport can claim the same distinction.