Molly and Rick Speer have been gearing up for their annual Super Bowl party for weeks, sending out Evite invitations, polishing their new HD projection television and buying meat to put in the smoker while the teams warm up.
The Kremmling couple used to plan group trips for 30-plus people to Las Vegas. But when they and their friends began having children more than six years ago, the couple brought the Super Bowl party to their home in Grand County.
“It’s such an American thing, it’s like Christmas,” said Molly Speer, 35. “We just do it — it’s football.”
The Speers are joined by millions of Americans who buy food, beer, televisions and recliners in anticipation of the big day.
The National Retail Federation projects that consumers will spend $9.5 billion this year in Super Bowl-related food, furniture and merchandise. The survey found that consumers planned to buy 3.9 million televisions and 1.8 million pieces of furniture and will spend on average $59.90 on game merchandise.
“It’s a big deal for advertisers because it’s the single largest audience at one time that you get,” said Mike Gatti, executive director of the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, a division of the National Retail Federation. “It’s the big sporting event of the year. It kicks off the year for both advertisers and for consumers. It’s an excuse to throw a party.”
The Super Bowl ranks at the top of four big snack-food days in the U.S., said Chris Clark of the Snack Food Association. The others are the Fourth of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Those four days contributed heavily to the $25.6 billion in sales for 2006 for the snack-food industry, Clark said.
“These are fun foods and indulgent foods; they are finger foods that are convenient, taste good and are easy party foods,” Clark said. “You associate snacks with something enjoyable.”
About 30.4 million pounds of snack food is consumed by Americans on Super Bowl Sunday, according to the Snack Food Association. Of that total, potato chips account for 11 million pounds; tortilla chips, 8.2 million pounds; and popcorn, 2.8 million pounds. And two-thirds of all avocados sold are bought within three weeks of the Super Bowl, according to the Hass Avocado Board. And the Beer Institute notes that 3.5 percent of annual beer sales come from Super Bowl weekend.
Nearly one in every seven Americans order takeout or delivery from a restaurant for a Super Bowl gathering, and young adults do this 22 percent of the time, according to the National Restaurant Association. Of those who order takeout, 58 percent order pizza, 50 percent order chicken wings and 20 percent go for subs or sandwiches.
“It’s also the first big gathering after the holidays,” Gatti said. “You’ve had a month off, and now this is the one for you and all your friends.”
The Speers will spend about $300 on party food and drinks, not counting the money they spent refinishing their basement, the new projection television and the 15-foot bar they installed last fall — all of it intended primarily for football viewing.
Last year, the Speers party had a Hawaiian theme, and they provided a grass skirt for every guest to wear with their favorite team jersey.
“This year, we are going to smoke a bunch of meat,” Molly Speer said.
Elizabeth Aguilera: 303-954-1372 or eaguilera@denverpost.com
