Nitty gritty on game day grub —
More than 100 million people will hunker down to watch the Seattle Seahawks battle the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XVIII on Sunday -- most with a snack in hand. Here are some fun stats, facts and history about the foods we football fans will be stuffing in our faces.
Nitty gritty on game day grub —
The game's venue, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, will have kosher hot dogs, knishes and pretzels available at vendor carts and stands around the stadium -- plus a lot more. According to The Jewish Daily Forward, there also will be "stuffed cabbage, egg rolls, franks in jackets, and potato latkes" available for the observant at what food operations general manager Bill Lohr calls "the greenest and most kosher Super Bowl stadium in the country."
Nitty gritty on game day grub —
With open flames, charcoal grills, propane or gas tanks disallowed for tailgaters on Super Bowl Sunday, MetLife Stadium executive chef Eric Borgia has his work cut out for him. It takes a staff of 200 cooks to prepare food for the 80,000 hungry fans, and menus went into the planning stages over a year ago. To represent the flavors of the New York / New Jersey region, he's offering foods such as hot corned beef and pastrami hoagies and a chicken-sausage and Tuscan kale sandwich (Manhattan), pork and chicken steamed buns with pickled slaw and spicy sriracha aioli (Queens), and his own Nana Fusco's rice balls (Brooklyn).
Nitty gritty on game day grub —
According to the National Chicken Council's 2014 Wing Report, 1.25 billion wings will be devoured during Super Bowl XLVIII. That is about 20 million more wings than were consumed last year during Super Bowl XLVII at the time of the dreaded wing shortage and price spike that resulted from 2012's devastating drought.
Nitty gritty on game day grub —
Anheuser-Busch spent $149 million on advertising for the Super Bowl between 2009 and 2013, the most of any company, according to a Nielsen report. PepsiCo was the next biggest spender at $97 million, and the Coca-Cola Co. at $62 million. According to Advertising Age, a 30-second spot runs around $4 million, and Anheuser-Busch will run five of them during the game.
Nitty gritty on game day grub —
Pizza is big business on Super Bowl Sunday. Not only does MetLife Stadium expect to sell 7,500 individual pizzas through their concessions stands, according to the National Restaurant Association, Super Bowl Sunday is the most competitive day of the year for pizza restaurants. As an official sponsor of the NFL and Super Bowl XLVIII, Papa John's is the only chain allowed to use the game's trademarks in advertising, but rivals Pizza Hut and Domino's (which expects to deliver more than 11 million pizza slices on Sunday, 80% over a typical Sunday). both launched major "game day" promotions this week to capitalize on the massive audience.
Nitty gritty on game day grub —
Soda and other carbonated beverages may step in line behind beer in terms of Super Bowl beverage sales, according to Nielsen, but it still tops third-place bottled and sparkling water. At MetLife Stadium, fans are allowed to bring in factory-sealed, plastic bottles of water or soft drinks that are 20 ounces or less, but caps will be removed by stadium personnel. Glass bottles, cans, hard-sided coolers, Thermoses, ice chests and alcohol of any kind from off the premises are strictly forbidden, and beer drinkers must chug or toss what's left in the cups, because it's not allowed out, either.
Nitty gritty on game day grub —
Chef Borgia expects to sell 21,500 hot dogs at Sunday's game -- all sourced from New Jersey vendors. The bread comes from Calandra's Bakery in Newark, and Thumann's of Carlstadt, New Jersey, produces the meat.
Nitty gritty on game day grub —
The Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos both boast a robust outdoor-food culture. Utah Avenue, several blocks from CenturyLink Field, is transformed into "Hawk Alley" on game day, and the legendary Hawk One tailgating team parks a 40-foot RV that anchors it all. In addition to top-notch parking lot tailgating, Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver introduced the Mile High Mountain Village in 2012. It's free to ticket-holders and boasts flat-screen TVs, food and beer specials, appearances by cheerleaders, DJs, face painters, caricaturists and other special guests.
Nitty gritty on game day grub —
At the end of Sunday's game, it's almost a sure bet that either Seattle's Pete Carroll or Denver's John Fox will end up drenched in a Gatorade shower. The drink is provided to the teams by the company, and each side will consume around 40 gallons during the course of the game.
