YACK on: Super Bowl
Grant Sanders
You know, folks, I could not be happier now that the New England Patriots are going back to the Super Bowl for the fifth time in the seven years since Bill Belichick and a second year, sixth-round-draft-pick, nobody, backup QB named Tom Brady stunned the entire NFLand beat the Greatest Show on Turf, the St. Louis Rams, in Super

Bowl XXXVI. Not

only did I predict that Super Bowl XXXVI would result in a win for the Pats back then (and they were, I recall a two touchdown underdog), I also predicted an end to the inexplicable use of Roman numerals to designate Super Bowls because it's impossible to remember which numeral goes with which year.

"Hey Joey, remember Super Bowl XXIV? Wasn't that awesome?"

"Naw, Lenny, that Super Bowl stunk. I think you mean Super Bowl XXXIII."

"Yeah. Good times…"

Well I was right about Tom Brady winning his first Super Bowl back then at least. I've written to the NFLabout the Roman numeral thing but they have not gotten back to me yet.

That 2001 Super Bowl was exciting. And eerily familiar to today's fans. It featured a young wildcard team (who everyone wrote off) against an exciting, explosive veteran offense led by a former MVP quarterback and that had broken a lot of records. Most passing yards. Most offensive yards. Ugliest uniforms. Widest wristbands used by a QB. That game was also played on Feb. 3 just like this year's Super Bowl. It appears that 2001 and 2008 are mirror images of each other. Let's just hope Super Bowl XLII (pronounced "Super Bowl EX-lee" and soon to be spelled Xlii when the Madden NFLversion game is released on the Nintendo game system) does not end up being the same thing as Super Bowl XXXVI (pronounced "Super Bowl zzzvee"). Namely, the greatest upset in Super Bowl history.

Knock wood, throw salt over your shoulder and spit on the floor.

One reason I'm pretty confident that the Pats will win Ex-lee, is that they are, according to people who follow football more closely than I, the smartest team in the business. In fact, to them, it is a business. They look at a lot of film. They do a ton of prep work. They study the other team and try to neutralize that team's greatest weapons. And they don't put up with any BS. Back in 2001, the Pats had a young wide receiver named Terry Glenn who was easily the fastest runner and best pair of hands on the team. But he was also a loudmouth, a distraction and a PR nightmare due to some less-than- Patriots-like, off-the-field antics. So Belichick benched him. For the season.

Yes, the Patriots are all business. They do their homework. And they've beaten the New York Giants once already this season. So they should be ready to get the job done. (Interestingly, sometimes I wish our local elected boards could take a hint from the Patriots and their ability to move the ball down the field and score. Do some homework. Create a game plan. See the goal in sight and move toward it. And put aside the silly political BS and work as a team. Actually, that's not true. I like the silly political BS. What else would I write about otherwise? I can't write about football every week.)

Of course, I have left my most important Super Bowl comments until the end of my column this week. The single most vital thing everyone should remember about the Super Bowl is this: plan your pre-game, during the game and post-game snacks well a head of time.

For the AFC championship against the Patriots, I and a number of YACKers watched at the Brotherhood of Thieves, upstairs on their comfy leather couches. We had a fire. We had beer. We had a delicious platter of fried calamari. It was great. But the real food came during the NFC Championship between the Giants and the Packers. I had used the day before to make a giant crock of kalua pulled pork (similar to pulled koala, but not illegal outside of aboriginal Australia) with my special pineapple jalapeno barbecue sauce and tangy wasabi-lime broccoli slaw, a couple of pans of tasty chicken enchiladas, and, because Green Bay was playing, a pile of bratwurst, first simmered in a bath of Pabst Blue Ribbon and sweet onions and then grilled. There's nothing better than having a great game to watch, and enough good food to feed an army.

It's important when planning your Super Bowl menu to choose foods that you can make and then serve buffet style with no fuss. Nothing's worse than missing a great Brady-to-Moss pass because you were worried about your béchamel sauce burning. So think casserole. Think grab and eat. Think finger food. And nothing too messy in case someone scores a touchdown and the food ends up on the rug or the couch. Trust me. I know.

I just can't wait for Feb. 3. Only problem is, after the season is over, like many men in America, a deep depression will overcome me because there will no longer be football to watch each weekend.

Hey... How about those Celts, huh?

YACK on. I

Grant Sanders is the Host of YACK, The Nantucket Online Community at yackon.com and he was not allowed to play football as a teen even though he was the biggest kid in school by about 30 pounds and two inches. His views are his own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of The Nantucket Independent. Or his wife, who can't wait for the football season to be over so we can finally clean out that shed.