Locals Talk Superbowl; Eagles, KC kick off in 3 hours

By Tom Peterson 

With just three hours until the pigskin flies on arguably the biggest U.S. sporting spectacle of the year, locals are calling it both ways and rubbing their hands together for Rihanna and funny commercials. 

But it is the camaraderie of Super Bowl 57 with Kansas City facing Philadelphia in this year’s championship, that is pulling locals together.

Gametime is 3:30 p.m. on Fox.

Sarah and Nathan Don are bitter about the Bengals losing to Kansas City last year. They’re all Eagles this Super Bowl Sunday. Full Disclosure - Sarah is my niece and she and Nathan chose me to be their officiant at their wedding in October.

“We’re rooting for The Eagles because we’re bitter about the Bengals losing to the Chiefs in the playoffs, said Sarah and Nathan Don.  “We’ll be spending time with family and making delicious nachos while drinking some fruited beer (Great Notion).”

Elizabeth Ward

Elizabeth Ward 

“My boyfriend is super into sports,” said Elizabeth Ward at Spencer, Libby and Powell on Friday. She was taking Philadelphia in the matchup. “In high school, he was an all-league offensive left tackle in Bakersfield. So, our house is big into football. We’ll probably host and have some friends and family over.  And, of course, there is the food and the camaraderie.”

PRICE IS RIGHT

Hosting your own shindig is the good call.

While going to the Rihanna-infused pageantry would be cool, it might take a small loan. 

“The top-priced seats to attend the actual Superbowl were going for $24,855 each,” according to The Sporting News last week. 

“StubHub said that the average price customers are paying for a ticket Thursday was $6,800, CNN reported. “The cheapest seats to Sunday’s match-up between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs are selling at about $3,200 apiece.”

That’s some major butter.

Ward said she is opting maybe for a butter board instead - the trend in charceuterie has resurfaced this football season which involves some great spreads ranging from Chili Lime to Lemon Dijon.

She said they would likely grill and throw some jalapeno poppers at the action.  

Kaitlyn Geary

Kaitlyn Geary

Her good friend Kaitlyn Geary added she was not down for viewing the Bowl as The Seahawks are not in it. It’s not an uncommon theme for some Oregonians who have no NFL team to root for, so they send their loyalty to the Hawks of the north. 

But when Seattle made in 2013 and 2014, she said she and her mom could outscream the bars, especially when they trampled the Broncos 43-8 in 2013.

When her dad walked in on them, he said, “‘This is better than the bar, you guys are nuts.’”

I Wanna Rihanna 

“I am looking forward to Rihanna,” added Ward.

In her Apple Music interview Thursday, the singer said she will perform on a stage that will be built and then broken down by “three to four hundred people” in a matter of eight minutes.

She will be cramming her 17-year career into 13 minutes. Odds are her hits “Umbrella,” “We Found Love,” “Only Girl (in the World) and “S&M” will make the cut.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Fox has set the cost of a 30-second ad at $7 million. The price of the commercials marks the most expensive Super Bowl ad spots of all time, according to The Sporting News.

Jimmy Pacheco, Javier Salgado, Nick Berthold and Brayan Chamonica of Pacheco Construction working in Downtown The Dalles. Pacheco- Eagles all the way.

MAKING IT COMPETITIVE
Jimmy Pacheco of Hood River is also pulling for the Eagles. Pacheco and his construction team were putting a new facade and making upgrades to the commercial building at 300 E. 4th Street in The Dalles, across from TDAC on Friday, Feb. 10. 
“I’m not a big fan of that Kermit the Frog guy,” he said, making fun of Patrick Mahomes, KC quarterback.
Pacheco, 43, said he was going to Dirty Fingers bike shop in Hood River for Today’s game, where he and a group of riders have a chili cookoff and watch the game. 
“Yeah, I mountain bike,” he said, noting he had done a stretch from Mount Hood to Sawtooth Restaurant on Highway 30.

BEER RUN
Estimates put American consumption of about 325.5 million gallons of beer on Super Bowl Sunday, according to a story in Men’s Journal .
Sandip Patel, 52, of The Dalles was working Center Market on East 12th Street in TD this morning, Feb. 13 and was bracing for a run on beer this afternoon.
“At 3 o’clock it gets busy,” he said, noting Modelo, Budweiser and Corona are top sellers. “We sell a lot of chips and deli food.”
He suspects a second run at halftime, about 5 p.m.

GETTING THE KIDS INVOLVED

Marten Boyden

“I’m definitely rooting for KC,” said Marten Boyden of Kainos in downtown TD. “We’ll eat some wings, chips and dip and pretty much the classic football food.”

“I’ll have two kids,” he said, noting his wife Mary was taking their third to a birthday party. 

FOR THE LOVE OF SPORT

Thirty-six-year-old Eric Pelky of TD said he was not concerned about who won or lost the game necessarily. “I hate it when they get across the field too quickly,” he said. “I don’t like high-scoring games.”

“I look good plays, like not intricate per say, but well thought out plays you don’t normally see. That’s what makes the game interesting.”