Superbowl Sunday

Today is Superbowl Sunday. It’s not like last year’s buzz here on the East Coast when the Baltimore Raven’s were playing, but I guess in Seattle and Denver they are whooping it up!

I’ll be watching the commercials because that’s a huge part of it, but otherwise, nope, I’m not really going to be partaking in this bit of American culture unless things get critical and then I’ll watch some so I know what everyone is talking about on Monday.

Game on

Superbowl is a lot about numbers. Stats and figures and wotnot. Here are six facts.

1. 169 million people are expected to watch the Super Bowl.
2. The game will be broadcast in 180 countries and in more than 30 languages. One 30-second ad this year will cost more than $4 million.
3. In case you were wondering, one of the biggest purchasers of Super Bowl ads is Anheuser-Busch and they have spent $145.9 million on Super Bowl ads since 2009. Never head of them.
4. The average price of a ticket to Super Bowl 48 is $3,019. For that you’ll be able to sit outside with a temperature near or below freezing with a chance of gusty winds all at your seat.
5. 1.25 billion chicken wings will be consumed and that the average fan will take in roughly 1,200 calories during the game. Dominos and Pizza Hut are also expected to sell 29 million slices of pizza. No word on how much Tums and Pepto Bismol will be consumed immediately after the game.
6. Finally, when it comes to throwing down money on the big game, it’s estimated that fans will wager $98.9 million on the game and Las Vegas will reportedly pull in $8.03 million in profits from sports books from the Super Bowl.

The thing that really bothered me when I was watching the news yesterday was something called Skittle Sausages that some dude in Seattle is making for the game. Let me repeat that: SKITTLE SAUSAGES.

I want to be open-minded about this, because I will eat pretty much anything. But the idea of adding a giant bag of Skittles to hot sausage seems totally gruesome.

It’s the brainchild of a butcher in Puyallup, Washington and it’s called ( of course) “Beast Mode,” after Marshawn Lynch’s (he is a Seattle football player) legendary love of Skittles. The meat is ground, the candy added at the same time as the spices, and it’s shaped into links that thankfully are not rainbow-coloured. BARF!!

Beast Mode

But the store’s patrons seem to like it, and mixing sweet and spicy in sausage can make some for tasty meat, so maybe I have no idea what I’m talking about here, because I am British after all! Maybe it’s totally and utterly delicious and we’re all missing out. If anyone out there wants to take one for the team, let me know how it goes.

London, England

Lovely, lovely London. Sometimes I miss it. The hustle and the bustle and smells and the very, very Britishness of it all.

London, innit

So I wrote a piece about it for Smitten by Britain and asked folks from all over the place what they love about London too. Here’s that final piece for you to enjoy.