The Civil War

It’s the North versus the South. Except this time, the battlefield is in Texas.

Naturally, I’m talking about Sunday’s Super Bowl. It’s my favorite day of the year. This is the day that I get to turn on the television, and watch it for hours on end, without any responsibilities. That means I can eat greasy foods on the couch, drink a little too much beer, and start screaming at the TV set.

Displaying anger and frustration at glowing screens has become far too common in our house. Lately there has been a lot of screaming and cursing at Twitter and Facebook. But while Twitter and Facebook may be part of the problem, the real issue is the message. The internet might ve the thing that save us all. I became hopeful with possibility when I saw the size and scope of the Google walkout and protest yesterday.

It was also a hopeful moment to read John McCain’s stand against the executive order on immigration. Of course, the Boss is with us. But every day the resistance grows.

That’s enough about politics. Let’s talk football. Or rather, the celebration of American sport.

One of the teams competing in the big game is called the Patriots. In this day and age, how do you not root for the Patriots. Because I think regardless of how you feel the current presidency is unfolding, we are all Americans and we want what is best for our country.

Although I hear the football team might not have the best record of integrity.

Then of course there are the Falcons, and they are the underdogs from the south. America is all about the underdog. Technically, we shouldn’t have won the American Revolution. We were outgunned and outnumbered; a ragtag bunch colonies facing off against the greatest army in the world. The story of America is the story of the underdog.

Atlanta is a great city, but I’m not sure I can cheer on a southern victory. I feel like the northeast could use a win right about now.

So honestly, I’m not sure which team I’ll get behind this year. I’m leaning the Patriots, but I’m also kind of hating myself for it.

In the past, I’ve let the food decide. But this year, thanks to getting one of those bottles of Special Sauce from McDonald’s, the centerpiece of the Super Bowl is going to be Big Mac Tater Tot “Nachos”. Because what’s more American than that?

For the curious, that’s a tray full of tots topped with ground beef, Special Sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, and sesame seeds. I’m not 100% sure why that sounds like it should be called “nachos” but it just feels right. And of course there will be buffalo tots to chase that down in the second half. Because it’s not a Super Bowl without buffalo flavored something.

The regional elements of the game will most likely play out in the form of my beer choices. I’ll get something from Massachusetts and something from Georgia. Thankfully, we have some great beer stores, and while I may not know of any Georgia breweries off the top of my head, I’m pretty certain I can buy some locally.

Massachusetts beers are easy to find. The hardest part will be choosing just one.

As it turns out, I’m not the only one who takes the big game as an excuse to come up with creative things to eat. The good folks at Cider Belly have created six new doughnut flavors inspired by Sunday’s showdown.

I’m going to get those in my mouth soon and will report back. If you recall, I twice sampled buffalo chicken cupcakes, and twice felt like they failed to deliver on the promise of buffalo flavored treats. But we’ll see.

Also, a run to Chester’s is going to be in order, because these days I can’t make buffalo anything without the shop’s smoked blue cheese. I also hear reports about smoked butter. Thankfully, the new diet doesn’t start until March.

Hopefully, I won’t have to actually get into fighting shape, because that would suck on so many levels.