Maybe you just go to the Super Bowl party because, well, you never miss a party, even a football themed one! Maybe you just watch the Super Bowl for the commercials. Maybe you are just watching the game so you get something awesome next week for Valentine’s Day.

It doesn’t matter why you are watching the big game or going to the Super Bowl party, but it does matter what you know about the big game!

LemonDrop.com had a hilarious quote about people that show up to a football party without a clue:”You may not know your Butkus from your Ditka, but you don’t want to interrupt someone’s SuperBowl haze to ask who’s playing. That’s like asking how the people got on the island during the season finale of ‘Lost.’”

This was actually the first year I was really into the NFL all season long. Normally I would tune out for 17 weeks and then check out the post season. But I always made sure to know a little about the Big Game because I know there is nothing worse than being at a party with someone that doesn’t have a clue about anything…. unless you are the one at the party that doesn’t have a clue!

You don’t have to sit down and read the advanced NFL Rulebook or anything! But you should definitely know some of the basics like what teams are playing and who to watch on the field! You don’t want to suddenly ask who Peyton Manning is or why people are yelling “Dat!” at a dog who’s bark sounds suspicously like “Who?”

To help you, we went through and picked out 44 key things to know about Super Bowl XLIV, aka Super Bowl Number 44. Obviously there are probably 200 more things that could be on this list but, well, we want to save some time for the Party! We broke them down into sections for easy reading!

The Big Game
The Teams
The Big Game of  Football
Game Day Recipes & The Super Party!
TV Guide
Fascinating Facts

The Big Game

I.  The Super Bowl is in Miami (Go ahead, sing it. You know you want to. “Party in the city where the heat is on, all night on the beach till the break of dawn. Welcome to Miami, Bienvenido a Miami”)

II. The Big Game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. EST on February 7, 2010 on CBS.

III. The official pre-game starts 4 hours before the Big Game. But analysis will be on from the crack of dawn…. Super Bowl Parties usually start around 1:00 p.m.

IV. Chris Daughtry (@Chris_Daughtry) performs at 3:45 p.m. And it will be on CBS!!!!

V. The Who is performing at Halftime. The Who, featuring Roger Daltry, not to be confused with Chris Daughtry….. The NFL continues on their spree of having old school legendary artists (aka old people) in the halftime show to make sure there is no chance of boobs popping out…

The Teams in the Big Game

VI. The Indianapolis Colts vs. The New Orleans Saints One of the most anticipated matchups for a Super Bowl because both teams were outstanding all season and it pits two of the leagues best QBs against each other. The New Orleans Saints Battle cry from the fans is “Who Dat!” and you will definitely be hearing it, over and over and over……

VII. The Quarterbacks: Peyton Manning (Indianapolis) & Drew Brees (New Orleans).

• Peyton was born and raised in New Orleans and his dad actually used to play for the Saints
• Drew went to school at Purdue, in Indiana.
• From NFL Fan House “Purdue is less than an hour from Indianapolis and there are thousands and thousands of avid Colts fans who also happen to love their Boilers. It will be a bittersweet feeling for them to root against their once-beloved No. 15.”  and on the other hand….”The Manning family is revered in the New Orleans area. Peyton and his brothers were an integral part in Hurricane Katrina relief back in 2005.”

VIII. The Colts Name Dropping: Joseph Addai, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Pierre Garcon, Hank Baskett……because his wife is Kendra from Girls Next Door.

IX. The Saints Name Dropping: Reggie Bush, Jeremy Shockey, Kim Kardashian. Yes, you read that right. You will probably hear her name a whole lot of times. She is Reggie Bush’s girlfriend.

X.  And the Kicker is.…. High pressure games like this often come down to last second end zone catches or last minute field goal attempts. It’s good to know the kickers for each team because they are absolutely critical to success.

• Matt Stover  (Colts) 19 year veteran. He turned 42 last week.  He has a Super Bowl ring.
• Garrett Hartley (Saints) He has only been an active kicker in the NFL for 13 regular-season games and two playoff games. He is only 23. But he is definitely the hotter of the two…. just saying.

The Game of Football

XI. Players & Positions You won’t make it through the game without hearing things like “Wide Receiver” “Defensive Linemen” “Receiving Team” “Running Back” and my personal favorite “Tight End.” So Brush up on some players & positions basics before you tune in!

XII. Football Basics: How many men are allowed on the field? How long is a quarter because they feel like they are an hour each! What’s offense and defense? Get some Football 101 before the big game!

XIII. Key Football Terms: Everything from what a pigskin is to football’s version of the “bend and snap” so you can translate all the football speak into real people speak. I’m giving you 8 key ones for this game but here are the rest of the football terms to know!

• XIV. Audibles: You are definitely going to hear the word “audible” or “calling the audible” throughout Super Bowl XLIV because Peyton Manning is legendary for them. Usually before the players line up for the play, they huddle up and discuss their play options. But, Peyton doesn’t. Instead, he gets up to the line of scrimmage and announces the play then by calling it out out loud (or, audibly) to his teammates. But if he says it, doesn’t the other team know what they are going to do? No. It’s all in code!

• XV:  Hurry Up Offense: The Colts are known for their hurry-up offense. This means the offense does not huddle up to discuss the options. Instead, they go right back to the line of scrimmage and call the play from the line. This forces the defense to hurry up to the line too and leaves little time to substitute players and communicate effectively between coaches and players.
• XVI: Reading the Defense: This is something all quarterbacks and offensive players must do. They look into the opposing team and try to guess what they are thinking. Peyton is the master at this and you will hear this discussed ad nauseum. He’ll check the formation and spot the weaknesses and then change the play (calling the audible!) right then to prey on that weakness.
• XVII: The Blitz : Ah the blitz. This is something I finally understand. The definition I once read was that its “when the defense rushes against the offense to get the quarterback.” How that is different from any other play, was beyond me. But now I can break it down, thanks to my buddy Erik and his bucket of beer nuts that he dumped on the table to illustrate.  The defense shifts to have an open man that can sneak through the open hole to get the QB.
• XVIII: The Pocket: Watch the quarterback after the ball is snapped and he is getting ready to pass. You will notice the rest of this team creating a semi-circle around him as they try to block the defense that is coming for the ball.  That area behind the the circle to the QB is called “the pocket.”  You may hear them say “he is out of the pocket” which means the QB is out of the safe-protection of his guards.
• XIX  The Drive When the offensive team takes possession of the ball, it is called their “drive.” It is the series of plays that begins at the time the offensive team takes possession of the ball until they either score or turn the ball over to the other team.
• XX: The Play: Every time the ball is put into motion, it is considered a play.
  • Things you may hear the announcers say:
  • “The 10^th play of the drive”
  • “A seven minute drive” means the team has had possession for seven minutes in a row.

• XXI.  Downs: The offensive team gets 4 chances to move the ball 10 yards down the field. Each chance is a “down.”  If they don’t advance 10 yards in 4 tries, the ball goes back to the other team. Kinda like baseball: you have three outs per side before you give the ball back to the other team. Most of the time, teams only use three of their four tries. On the fourth try, they kick the ball as far away as possible. Why? Because if they try the fourth time and do not succeed, the other team gets to take over the ball right there. Meaning they would be closer to being able to score.
• XXII. The Two Minute Warning: This occurs at the end of each half, signaling that the half is winding down. The warning is actually a time-out for both teams, without charging either team for the pause of game.

XXIII: Common Rules & Stupid Football Penalties: Especially in a championship game, it seems like there are a million penalties and. Each foul, or rule breaking, has a penalty assigned to it. Penalties can be on the offense or the defense.

• XXIV: The Flags on the Play:  One fun game to play would be to count how many times they say “there is a flag on the play.” A Flag on the play is the way the referees signal that there has been a penalty or a broken rule occurred. Why a flag? I have no idea. But they will throw a bright yellow flag on the field before announcing the penalty.
  • A red flag on the field, however,  is a challenge. A coach can throw the red flag if they believe the referees were wrong with their call or if they thing the refs missed something important. However, they have to be very strategic in this because if the “ruling on the field stands” (meaning the refs were right afterall) then the team that called the challenge has one of their time-outs taken away (they usually say “charged a time-out” which sounds like the team has to go sit in the corner for undermining the refs but they don’t!)
• XXV:  The Penalty is Declined: Sometimes after a foul you hear the refs say “The Penalty is declined.” I never could understand that!  If the other team f’ed up, don’t you want them punished? This is kind of a long explanation that I’ve already written about once, so I’m going to send you here to fully understand. I highly recommend reading it because this is something you hear throughout the game and it’s really interesting on why team’s will decline a penalty.
• XXVI: Pass Interference: This is a huge penalty in a close game. This is when the defense touches, tackles or in any way impedes an offensive intended receiver from receiving a catchable pass before the ball has not yet been touched by any other player. Yes, the defender can hover close and stalk the receiver, but he can not make contact with him until the ball has been touched. If the ball has been touched—all players are fair game! This gives the offense an “automatic first down,” even if the pass was not completed.
• XXVII: False Start Once the players are in position on the line of scrimmage, the offensive line is not allowed to move  until the ball is snapped. If they do, they get a false start, which is a 5 yard penatly. If they were first and ten before the foul, they would now be first and 15. Why does this happen so often? Because it’s not as easy as it looks, at all. The snap requires precision timing and execution by all players and even a split second early throws it all off.
  • Defensive False Start: is called encroachment. It’s when the defense moves prior to the snap.

The Field

XXVIII. The Red Zone: The red zone begins 20 yards before the end zone. It’s when the offense becomes a real threat to score. Just to clarify, the field itself is not painted red. It’s just an expression! Sometimes the announcers will highlight the area digitally but it’s not really there.

XXIX. Field Goal Range (Kicking Distance) During the game you’ll hear the announcers saying “trying to get in field goal range.” That is usually around the 35 yard line. Most kickers can kick the ball at the right arch and height about 50ish yards away. But, keep in mind, the ball is kicked 7 yards away from the line of scrimmage. So if the ball is on the 35 yard line, the kicker is kicking from the 42 yard line. And, remember, the end zone is a full 10 yards and they still need the height to make it over the goal post. So if they are kicking from 35 yard line, the kicker is actually kicking from 52 yards away.

The TV Guide

XXX. The Handy Dandy Clock, Score, Downs TV ToolBar Sometime in the dawning of the tech era we are in, some brilliant person came up with the NFL score banner that runs on the top of the TV screen during games. The toolbar has the game clock, the play clock, the quarter you are in, the score of the game, what down it is and how many yards there are left to go.  Which is great if you know how to read it!

• Score: Tells you the score of the game. The visiting team is always listed first and the home team second. The teams are abbreviated to fit. (Remind me to tell you the story about how I thought I was watching the Arizona CARdinals play for about 10 minutes wondering where Kurt Warner was until I realized I was watching the CARolina Panthers….)
• Game Clock vs. Play Clock: The game clock ticks down the 15 minutes of each quarter. The play clock, on the other hand, ticks off the time that the offense has to put the ball in play. They have 40 seconds from the time the previous play was completed to start their new play. It is also called the “delay of game timer” because if they fail to get the ball in motion, they will be penalized with a delay of game call.
• Usually next to the Game Clock will be “1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th” That does not mean “down” it signals what quarter the game is in. Sometimes the playclock will also be on the top bar, not randomly on the screen!

XXXI. The Little Yellow and Blue and Red Lines on the Field: Don’t really exist. They are digitally added by the cable companies to illustrate to viewers where the line of scrimmage and 1st down lines are. How people watched football on TV before this technology is beyond me! See that arrow up there in that picture that says 2nd and 9? That’s one example of the digital lines on the field!

XXXII. The Super Bowl Commercials Just because you are actually paying attention to the game this year doesn’t mean you can’t still watch the awesome Super Bowl commercials! Although watching both the game and the commercials makes it really hard to schedule potty breaks! Super Bowl Ads are the most coveted TV advertising spots of the year so there are always some great stand outs! Check out last years doozies!

Game Day Recipes & The Super party

It ain’t the Super Bowl without the party! The following are about 200 Game Day Recipes that you definitely want to know for your Super Bowl party!

XXXIII: Colts & Saints Gameday recipes Custom menu for the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints based on their regional cuisines and staple foods! YUMMY!!!

XXXIV Cocktails Yes, the Super Bowl is the biggest beer holiday of the year but it doesn’t have to be liquor free! Check out our 32 NFL Team Inspired Cocktails!

XXXV: Burger Recipes & Slider Sandwiches Burgers are the perfect football tailgating food so we created  32 NFL Inspired Burgers that you have to check out! And sliders/mini-sandwiches make perfect party food too!

XXXVI: Wing Recipes If I was to play a word association game, anytime someone said football I would probably say “wings.” Football and chicken wings go hand in hand together like……well like the Super Bowl and the Super Bowl Party.

XXXVII. Dip Recipes My favorite thing about parties is the appetizers and dips that are usually out as a pregame to eating! These are some of my favorite football party dip recipes!

XXXVIII. Chili Recipes And it’s not a football party without Chili so we have 19 Mouthwatering Chili recipes!

XXXIX. Game Day Fashion You definitely need to know how to dress or what to wear to a football party! There are great outfit ideas to be football chic and even ways to make football jerseys look cute!

Fun & Fascinating Football Facts

The last 40 things on the list will help you get through the game. But these next few facts are for wow factor! These are great little trivia bits to throw out during the game to really impress everyone at the party that you know your football knowledge!

XL. Did you know….The winning team gets $83,000 per man and the losers get $42,000. That’s right. The players get over $42K to lose a football game.

XLI. Did you know….The Vince Lombardi Super Bowl Championship Trophy is made by Tiffany & Co?!  Each sterling silver trophy is 23 inches tall and shows a regulation size football in kicking position. It is valued at about $25K.

XLII. Do you know…. where the term “Super Bowl” came from because I do! Scroll to the end of A Girl’s Guide to the Bowls: Super, Rose, Orange…Cereal and you’ll find the answer too!

XLIV. Did you know…. The Super Bowl has been in the same stadium in Miami five times….. and the stadium has had a different name every time. It is currently the Sun Life Stadium. (This is the 10th time the Super Bowl has been in Florida too!)

About the author: Jennifer Taglione is the owner of this fabulous website Stiletto Sports. Despite writing well over 500 posts, she still maintains that she is not a sports writer! She is however a huge fan of Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Mark Sanchez, the Celtics, and totally kicks butt on March Madness brackets! Connect with her by following her on Twitter @StilettoSportsJ and subscribing to her weekly newsletter. For more info check out the About the Editor page!

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