Since I’ve been back living at home, I seem to have watched a lot more football than I might normally. Or should I say, I read magazines while football is on. But I get really excited about bowl games.
Perhaps you’re reading this and thinking, “I don’t like football. I didn’t even go to a school with football, so why should I care about the bowl games?” and I am here to tell you that I used to think things like that. But then I found out that bowl games are an excellent excuse to have a party and to eat and drink fun things.
You could just eat and drink standard football things (chips, beer, etc.) but bowl games can be oh so much more exciting. So I’m here to provide you with a guide of how to entertain for bowl games—everything from what to serve to what to say to your guests. Today we’ll do games that will be held in December, and tomorrow we’ll do the bowl games that are in January.
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl; Utah vs. Navy; held in San Diego on Dec. 20
What to serve: I am sorry that we have to start with this bowl, because I really don’t think you can serve anything exciting.
How to decorate: With poinsettias
Fun halftime activity: Hold a contest to see who has the worst credit history.
What to say: “Why are we watching this bowl?”
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl; Memphis vs. Florida Atlantic; held in New Orleans on Dec. 21
What to serve: Serve your favorite New Orleans dish. Ideas include beignets, po’ boys, crawfish.
What to drink: Serve hurricanes for a beverage, but if you run out, just drink whatever you can find.
What to say: “What does R+L Carriers even do?”
Fun party favor: Mardi Gras beads
Papajohns.com Bowl; Southern Miss vs. Cincinnati; held in New Orleans on Dec. 22
What to serve: Pizza
Fun halftime activity: Divide into two teams. Each team picks a driver. Make pizza deliveries all over town. Time who finishes first.
New Mexico Bowl; Nevada vs. New Mexico; held in Albuquerque on Dec. 22
What to serve: Something spicy
How to decorate: Consider renovating the room with the television with adobe bricks.
What to say: “Alphie, the costumed mascot of the Nevada Wolf Pack, is so hilarious! But so is Louie Lobo, the mascot for New Mexico! These wolves are so hilarious!”
Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl; UCLA vs. BYU; held in Las Vegas on Dec. 22
What to serve: Serve things that pioneers ate. To do this, meet before the game and go on a hunt. Hopefully you will shoot delicious items such as bear, squirrel, and venison. You can also serve dried fruit and cornmeal.
What to drink: Since BYU is playing, I’m tempted to say you can’t drink anything. But ultimately, since the bowl is in Vegas, I think you can serve cocktails in tiny glasses and request that people tip you a dollar for them.
What to say: “I didn’t know Mormons could play football!”
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl; Boise State vs. East Carolina; held in Honolulu on Dec. 23
Where to host this party: Try to rent the penthouse of a Sheraton
What to serve: Room service
What to say: “Arrrrrrr!” “I’ll make that team walk the plank!” and other piratey things, in honor of the East Carolina Pirates.
Motor City Bowl; Purdue vs. Central Michigan; held in Detroit on Dec. 26
What to drink: Boilermakers, which is a shot of liquor and a pint of beer. How is this relevant? The Purdue mascot is a train called the Boilermaker Special. Do you see yet how awesome these bowl parties can be? If you’re a Central Michigan fan, then their mascot is called the Flying C, which sounds like a great cocktail that you can just make up.
What to say: “I wish Michael Moore were here to capture how much fun this party is.”
Pacific Life Holiday Bowl; Arizona State vs. Texas; held in San Diego on Dec. 27
What to serve: Tex-Mex buffet
What to say: “Oh, snap, did Arizona State just mess with Texas?”
Fun party favor: Information on life insurance
Champs Sports Bowl; Boston College vs. Michigan State; held in Orlando on Dec. 28
I am sorry if you are watching this bowl. Nothing---not the corporate sponsor, the name of the bowl, the mascots of the schools playing, or the locale—lends itself to a clever bowl party. This bowl sucks.
Texas Bowl; Texas Christian vs. Houston; held in Houston on Dec. 28
Cook up a whole cow and just talk about how great Texas is and how much it sucks for people who don’t live in Texas (I’m kind of assuming that only Texans are going to watch this bowl.
Emerald Bowl; Maryland vs. Oregon State; held in San Francisco on Dec. 28
What to serve: crab cakes, rice-a-roni
What to drink: Beers from Ireland; cocktails made with Midori
Meineke Car Care Bowl; UConn vs. Wake Forest; held in Charlotte on Dec. 29
Fun halftime activity: Car care relays---see how fast people can change tires, check the oil, etc. Alternately, crash a car and call Meineke!
What to serve: A cake in the shape of a car.
Stripper to hire: Guy dressed as a mechanic.
AutoZone Liberty Bowl; UCF vs. Mississippi State; held in Memphis on Dec. 29
Do the same thing recommended for the Meineke Car Care Bowl, but instead of taking broken car to Meineke, take to AutoZone.
Valero Alamo Bowl; Penn State vs. Texas A&M; held in San Antonio on Dec. 29
What to say: “Did you know ‘alamo’ is Spanish for cottonwood tree?”
How to decorate: With portraits of heroes from the Battle of the Alamo
What to serve: Things made with oil
PetroSun Independence Bowl; Alabama vs. Colorado; held in Shreveport on Dec. 30
I don’t know. I’m getting kind of tired of football.
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl; California vs. Air Force; held in Fort Worth on Dec. 31
How to decorate: With bells and/or helicopters
Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl; Georgia Tech vs. Fresno State; held in Boise on Dec. 31
What to serve: various potato snacks
What to drink: Coca-Cola products
What to say: “Watching this bowl makes me feel like a good person!”
Brut Sun Bowl; South Florida vs. Oregon; held in El Paso on Dec. 31
What to serve: Duck marinated in Brut; Sun Chips with Brut dipping sauce
What to drink: Brut
What to say: “Did you know that this is the second-oldest consecutively played bowl game? Would you like a squirt of Brut?”
Fun party favor: Brut
Fun halftime activity: Take a bath in Brut.
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl; Kentucky vs. Florida State; held in Nashville on Dec. 31
How to decorate: With posters of country music stars
Fun halftime activity: Songwriting competition
What to serve: Rejection
Insight Bowl; Indiana vs. Oklahoma State; held in Tempe on Dec. 31
What to say: Try to say insightful things about football.
Chick-fil-a Bowl; Clemson vs. Auburn; held in Atlanta on Dec. 31
What to serve: Chick-fil-a nuggets
What to drink: Caffeine-free Diet Coke
What to say: “I really wish that more Chick-fil-a franchises would choose to serve caffeinated Diet Coke.”
Well, that concludes Part 1! Tune back in tomorrow for the guide to January bowl games!
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3 comments:
Wow, food, a theme, and party decor. You're just like Sandra Lee!
Ha, yeah Molly, I need more ideas on how to create ridiculous tablescapes for my partys with my semi-homemade food.
On a side note, do you ever think that Sandra Lee could just go for it and make a COMPLETLY homemade meal and stop selling herself short if she just didn't spend so much time decorating? That's got to be exhausting.
Who is Sandra Lee?
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