Randy Smith
This Sunday is the day that most Americans forget about diets, eating nutritionally or drinking in moderation. It's Super Bowl Sunday....the one game that is less relevant than what folks are eating. Some fans have been planning their Super Bowl menus for weeks, and that includes my family. The banter has been going back and forth for the last several days with menu requests and much more. During college football season, my daughter Christi prepares Rocky Top Potato Skins, a delicious treat with barbecue, bacon and cheese smothered in barbecue sauce.
She has no plans to have them this weekend, but my son, Davey, is insisting they be on the menu. Christi texted that, " This isn't Tennessee football." Davey texted back, "Several Vols playing." Christi replied, " It's not the same." Davey added, " I don't think you're catching my drift. I want RTPS. " Whether we have them or not is still up in the air.
On Super Bowl Sunday, folks consume 11.2 million pounds of potato chips, 8.2 million pounds of tortilla chips and 4 million pounds of pretzels. They also add eight million pounds of guacamole to dip all those chips in. It's estimated that 1.45 billion chicken wings will be eaten as well as 10 million pounds of ribs. And they'll be washed down by 325 million gallons of beer, which by the way is equivalent to filling 2,000 Olympic sized swimming pools.
Officially on the menu this Sunday at the Smith-Perry household will be......Pork shots, smoked bologna, Scotch eggs, blue cheese chips, sausage balls, Oaties, fried Oreos, fried Snickers and Valentine peanut M&Ms. We will also have cheese and pickles to go with the smoked bologna.
Among the items that have been suggested but not on the official menu yet are....fried mac and cheese balls, Gouda tator tots, fried cookie dough balls, Churros and fried pickles. Regardless of how many unhealthy items we have to eat on Sunday, I can guarantee it will all taste wonderful. One year, not so long ago, we decided we would eat only healthy foods on Super Bowl Sunday. We had celery, carrots, salad and multiple fruits on the menu, but when Sunday rolled around the menu changed drastically. At the last minute, we brought in wings, pizza and all sorts of fried delights. We weren't going to eat healthy foods when every other family in the world was eating fried Oreos....Heck no!
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Randy Smith can be reached at rsmithsports@epbfi.com.