Saturday, January 31, 2009

Super Bowl chic

Each year, as Americans congregate at households or sports bars or wherever there's a large screen, the Super Bowl is a big deal. Here's a smattering of what's at stake: Rooting interests of entire metropolitan areas; Creative ads that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to air; and who's going to Disney World as the game's MVP.

If you're lucky enough to be going to Tampa for the game, you're obviously not going to the stadium dressed the same as the average Joe (the fill-in-the-blank) who's watching on TV.

So let's break down the sartorial options. First, the common goals:
  • Dress comfortably. It's going to be warmer in Tampa than, say, Pittsburgh, so a cotton windbreaker in Tampa Stadium should get the same result as a wool sweater in the Steel City. For the latter, just remove the sweater should it get too warm indoors.
  • Go casual all the way. It's jeans, T shirts, Under Armour gear, whatever does it for you.
  • Colors are important. You can ward off the potentially annoying question of whom you're rooting for by wearing red and white if you're pulling for the Cardinals or black and gold for the Steelers.

And now, things to avoid:

  • Put non-contending team gear away. If you don't have as much of a rooting interest in this year's Super Bowl, do not wear the colors of your favorite team. The reason is quite simple: The season is over for teams that are not the Cardinals or Steelers. Wait until after the game to resume wearing your favorite team's gear and/or colors in anticipation of next season. If you go neutral, wear khakis or jeans and a solid shirt (white or gray).
  • Take off ties after church. Come game time (6:18pm EST on NBC) on Sunday, no ties. It'll be your fault for exposing your tie to beer that may get spilled on you by accident.
  • It's not a fashion show. No need to buy new clothes for the Super Bowl. Really. People won't go out of their way to notice what your wearing, just whether you're interested in football, if you're hungry, and what you'd like to drink.

But, if you must have stuff to get in the gridiron spirit, I recommend the following "old school" items:

Enjoy the game.

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