Last-Minute Super Bowl Food

Need to make something really, really fast for a Super Bowl party?

I gotcha covered.

All you need:

-bread
-peanut butter
-jelly
-Christmas cookie cutters

How to:
1. Make a few PBJs.
2. Use cookie cutters to cut the sandwiches into shapes. Angel cookie cutters are good for Saints fans, and stocking cookie cutters look sort of like cowboy boots for the Colts. Also, I used two candy canes end-to-end to make a horseshoe of sorts.

Because my cookie cutters are really small, I had to make shapes out of bread and stick them to the top of the sandwiches. But still cute, and vaguely team-themed.

How Dat?

Anyone else watching the Super Bowl pre-show? I have to say that I’m completely flabbergasted at how many experts are saying the Colts will win.

Like, everyone!

Granted, after the Saints played the Vikings sort of flat a couple of weeks ago, I thought the game was the Colts’ for the taking. But this underdog thing is getting completely out of hand. I mean, did anyone watch the Saints play the Patriots this year?

Just saying.

Enjoy the Big Game: Super Bowl Bingo!

When I was in high school (and still didn’t like football), my English teacher Mr. Fenlon told us that if we guessed the combined Super Bowl score for that weekend’s game we would receive a 100% on our weekly vocab quiz. Which, in hindsight, was not a very big deal. But I thought it was so completely awesome.

Sadly, I had no clue what a reasonable football score might be, so I just guessed at random. That Sunday, I paid more attention to the Super Bowl than I ever had before. I’d chosen a pretty high number–something in the 70s I think–so every time the score went up I was genuinely excited.

In the end, I didn’t get that 100%. But the point is that because I had a reason to be interested in the goings on of the game, I was interested.

And that, dear FifGers, is why I have created an exciting game that YOU can play at home this Sunday! Ta da!!

Super Bowl Bingo

2-4 Players
Materials: Game Cards (1 per player); M&Ms, pennies, or just a pen/highlighter

Directions:
1. Download the Super Bowl Bingo pdf. (Created by me.) (Seems to work better on Explorer than Mozilla.)
2. Print and cut out a game card for each player.
3. Fill in the Bonus square with something you think you will see during the game.
4. Watch the Super Bowl. Each time an item on your card appears on the screen, cover the square with an M&M, a penny, or just draw an X on the square.
5. The first player who marks 5 squares in a row wins! Or, if you want to go all out, the first player who marks the entire board wins.

Game Card Key:
white squares = things you see
dark gray squares = things announcers/reporters say
(doesn’t have to be word-for-word)
light gray squares = things that happen in the game

Need more coaching for the Super Bowl?

Make these cupcakes, or these.
Root for your favorite Gossip Girl.
Or just take this quiz to pick your team.

Super Bowl Cupcakes: Colts

It’s that time of year again. Super Bowl Sunday is a week away, so now’s the time to shore up game plans and figure out the menu for the big day.

As a cupcake lover, I’d argue that there is no better dessert to serve your fellow SB-watchers. And you will be even more popular with the gang if you bring festively-decorated cupcakes. Which is why I do some prep work each year to help you come up with some easy decorating ideas for your own Super Bowl parties.

Without further ado, here are some Colts cupcakes (with Saints cupcakes coming tomorrow):

And there you go. The official most-successful Colts cupcakes. Very easy to make, too. I used a box mix of white cake, and store-bought vanilla icing. Just bake the cupcakes, and cool until non-mushy. Then put a gob of white icing in a bowl and add a bunch of blue food coloring (the neon blue kind works best for Colt blue). Ice half with white, half with blue, and then pipe the opposite color in a horseshoe shape on top of each. (I use a Ziploc bag with one corner cut off for piping–fancy, I know.)

Then just put these fancy new-fangled York Peppermint Pieces around the outside of each cupcake. Et voila!

For another, simpler idea, you can just frost the cupcakes with white frosting, and use a little tube of blue icing to make the horseshoe. (Note: I didn’t look at a picture of the Colts logo until after making these, which is why they look kind of off. Trying to do it from memory…)

I actually dyed some of the cupcakes themselves blue. It was only sort of cute. But it makes your mouth much less blue that dyed-blue icing–which will make your mouth blue for many moons. Just as a warning.

And I added candy hearts for people who love the Colts. Or who just want to take advantage of all the Valentine’s candy.

Super Bowl XLIV is already awesome.

I happen to edit stuff for a living, and the more I write this blog, the more I realize that I’ve not put any style rules in place at all. How did that happen? Like the title. Title caps? Sentence-style caps? I just do what I feel. Which I guess is freeing. Or maybe sloppy. One of those.

Annnnnnyway…

Who else is totally psyched about the four teams remaining in the playoffs?

I know Mr. Nielsen is, for one. After all, you’ve got a huge-market Jets team, two of the NFL’s most popular players (Manning and Favre), and a league underdog with a national storyline (Saints rebuilding after Katrina). People are going to watch this game fo’ sho’.

Here are the possible match-ups:
Colts vs. Vikings–Manning vs. Favre (or Battle of silent coaches: Caldwell vs. Childress)
Colts vs. Saints–Good guys of AFC vs. Good guys of NFC (or Manning and his unsung team vs. Brees and his unsung team)
Jets vs. Vikings–Favre’s old team vs. Favre’s new team (or Rookie QB vs. Anti-Rookie QB)
Jets vs. Saints–Big-market team experiencing Super Bowl drought vs. Smaller-marker team who’s never won before (or Big-time D vs. Big-time O… er, Offense)

I'll take one of these, please.

Me, I’m all about the battle of the good guys, as I’ve said for many weeks. But I would genuinely be excited to watch any one of these games.

What about you? Any favorite match-ups? Or are you just too excited about this weekend’s games to think that far in advance?

I love him, too, but…

A slight overstatement by the announcers, perhaps?

“For those of you that love this game and have any sense of history at all, appreciate what you’re watching every time you get the opportunity to watch Peyton Manning play the position of quarterback.”

So, there you go. I hope all of you historians are appreciating this opportunity.

"Hey Brett, how do YOU deal with the kiss-ass announcers?"

Playoffs: Saints vs. Cardinals

New Orleans Saints vs. Arizona Cardinals (4:30 P.M.)

About the game:

This one pits the NFC’s #1 seed against last year’s Super Bowl loser. It’s big news for the Saints, who have not ever reached a Super Bowl. The fan support in New Orleans is huge, especially after the city went through so much devastation in Hurricane Katrina. Arizona was the top team in the lowly NFC West. They are definitely the underdog here, but then they were the underdog last year, too. And came very close to a Super Bowl victory. So don’t count them out.

Want to make Cardinals cupcakes? Get some ideas here.

Players you should mention in discussion:

Kurt Warner, QB, Cardinals
Sample question: Do you think Warner will retire at the end of the year? After all, he is 38 years old.
Fact you should know: Kurt Warner took the St. Louis Rams to the Super Bowl after the 1999 season. They won the game and Kurt was MVP.
Also: Kurt Warner’s wife is like 10 years older than he is. And before he went to that first Super Bowl, he worked as a grocery store stocker.

Vintage Kurt Warner

Darren Sharper, Safety, Saints
Sample question: How much of a difference did Sharper and the improved defense make for the Saints this year?! Right? OR: Do you think the last three losses suffered by the Saints are signs that the team is not going to do well in the playoffs, or was that just fatigue and injuries?
Fact you should know: This is Sharper’s first year on the Saints. He most recently played for the NFC #2 seed Minnesota Vikings.
Also: Sharper had 9 interceptions this year. He returned the interceptions for a league-record 376 yards this season. (Meaning, he caught the ball that the other team threw, and he ran it back in the other direction for a total of 376 yards this year. Which is a lot.)

Darren Sharper. How often are these player pictures adorable?

Who should I root for?

Typically I’d say you should root for the Cardinals as the underdog, but there’s a bigger picture here. Which is that the Saints are the underdog of the NFL, if not the season. So, if you want the underdog, go Saints.

Also, if you root for the Saints, you can say “WHO DAT!” a lot. (That’s the fan slogan. It’s fun!)

As for the Cardinals, they’re the team you want to root for if you want to support an aging QB (maybe) on his way out of the league.

Or if you really like birds.

Playoffs: Colts vs. Ravens

Indianapolis Colts vs. Baltimore Ravens (8:15 P.M.)

About the game:

The Colts are the #1 seed in the AFC, but they decided to rest their starters over the past few weeks (because they had already clinched the #1 spot in the AFC weeks ago). Which means that the main guys on the team haven’t played a real game in a long time. As for the Baltimore Ravens, they just completely obliterated the New England Patriots last week, so they are on a roll. Will the Colts win because they’ve gotten so darn much rest? Or will the Ravens win because they are on a roll?

Any Pop-Culture Connections for this Game?

So glad that you asked! Did you watch Roseanne? Great, then check out how the Colts and Ravens are just like Old Beck and New Becky here. Oh, and while you’re at it, why don’t you check out the Colts’ exceptionally cute rookies.

You know you're good looking when... THIS is a flattering angle. Colts Rookie WR Austin Collie

Who should I root for?

If you are an underdog kind of a gal, this one is all about the Ravens. They weren’t even a guaranteed a playoff spot until the last week of the season, yet they played amazingly well last week.

Then again, it’s easy to be a (Colts QB) Peyton Manning fan nowadays. The dude is sort of ubiquitous, but has a great sense of humor and knows how to not take himself so seriously. I think he’s one of the few athletes for which a Tiger Woods-like scandal would completely shake my confidence in humanity.

Also, if you are a Kendrank/Kankle fan (aka Kendra and Hank Baskett from E!), let’s remember that Hank is currently a Colt.

But if you hate Tom Brady (which many do), you might want the Ravens to win, just because the Ravens knocked the Pats out of the playoffs so humiliatingly early.

Playoffs: Divisional Week Schedule

More to come on these match-ups later, but I just thought I’d pass along the schedule for this weekend’s games.

If you’re going to be watching one of these games in the company of others, let me know, and I’ll try to dredge up some fun facts that will be sure to impress your friends!

(All times EST)

Saturday:
Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints, 4:30 PM, FOX
Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Cols, 8:15 PM, CBS

The Colts' Pierre Garcon (and fans).

Sunday:
Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings, 1:00 PM, FOX
NY Jets at San Diego Chargers, 4:40 PM, CBS

 

The Chargers' Antonio Gates.

Aaaaaand we’re back.

Ok, so clearly it has been a very, very long time since I’ve posted regularly, but times, they are a changin’.

Here’s why:

1) The Bucs’ season is over, meaning fewer posting duties at Chicks in the Huddle. However, if you are excited to read all about the Bucs season that was (and of course you are excited to read about a team of losers), please see my zillion, trillion posts–each one more informative than the next–here. And if you happen to be a fan of a team that’s still in the playoffs, there’s lots of great stuff on the site to check out.

2) I am feeling slightly better. Or, I will be feeling better in approximately 4 months, and the idea that I will feel better makes me feel better. Turns out, asthma bestowed itself upon me a few months ago. I didn’t even know a person could get asthma as a grown-up. Also? When people talk about how they have asthma and can’t breathe, they mean like all the time they can’t breathe and not just when standing in a smoky room or when climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro (like Jessica Biel) (whom I don’t think has asthma). So, basically, don’t get asthma. Or if you do, sign up for allergy shots, because those will make you feel better in about 4 months probably, I hope.

3) American Idol is starting again soon. Yay! But I’m totally not starting to write about it until after auditions. Auditions are dumb. (Very quickly, though, why is Kute Kris Allen’s music so dull? I totally thought I would buy his CD, but man, the couple of songs I’ve heard are yawn-cubed.)

4) It’s playoff time, so everyone gets to care about teams that they don’t care about. For instance, I care about the Saints now. And also the Colts. That is my dream Super Bowl. The one I dread most, as I think I’ve mentioned, is Chargers vs. Eagles. So expect to see that happen.

Super Bowl Preview in FifG's Anti-Perfect World.

End Note: I haven’t posted regularly this season, and yet I’ve had 20,000 views since September–mostly people looking to find out who Jay Cutler’s girlfriend is. (Joke’s on them, since I don’t know…) I’m guessing my views will nosedive once I start writing more (karma for pretending to know about Jay’s social life?), but thanks to anyone who’s checked out the site this season!