Super Bowl 2015: Box-Score Game, Recipes and More Party Entertainment

There's a dirty secret about the Super Bowl that no one tells you about, though it's obvious when you think about it. No one really pays attention to the game, unless your favorite team is playing. It's an unofficial holiday when you get together with friends for a different kind of entertainment than football. 

Since the NFL is insanely popular, there are always going to be people paying attention to what happens. If the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks happen to put on a good show, the fourth quarter will be must-see television. Yet Super Bowl Sunday is about camaraderie, food and entertainment. 

It's also one of the biggest gambling days of the year. While there are thousands of things you can bet on for this Patriots-Seahawks showdown, one of the simplest games that every fan will take part in is the box-score game, also known as Super Bowl squares. 

To better prepare you for Sunday's event, here is a closer look at how the Super Bowl squares game works, some great recipes to try and some underrated entertainment options to help occupy your time if the outcome of Super Bowl XLIX isn't your first priority. 

Super Bowl Squares, AKA Box-Score Game

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If you work in an office, odds are good someone around you has been putting together a pool for the Super Bowl. He is trying to sell you on squares for the game, though the concept sounds ridiculous. 

Here's where my sports betting expertise comes into play, even though I have yet to become a millionaire. Just try to build a board with 100 squares on it, which is simple. All you must do is take a normal piece of poster board and create a big tic-tac-toe board with an 11x11 setup. This gives you 100 squares with one row and column to allow for potential scores.

From there, whoever has been designated as the leader of the game is tasked with randomly assigning scores to the people participating. The leader has to be someone trustworthy, or else he will give all the good boxes to himself and his friends, and you'll end up with a first-quarter number that ends in a one or two.

You can set up a price per square, with the higher price leading to more money being won. Of course, this assumes you have enough people willing to cover 100 squares.

If that's too many boxes for your office, or not enough people are interested, you can always make the grid smaller. This gives you an outline to follow when setting up your game, but more details on how to make a bigger or smaller board can be found at PrintYourBrackets.com. 

Super Bowl Recipes

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Every Super Bowl party has its checklist of food items that must be served. If you are going to a house that isn't serving wings, nachos, sliders, guacamole and assorted dips, then you should calmly walk back to your car and go to a place that knows what it is doing. 

In addition to the standard food fare, the Super Bowl is also a time to do some experimentation. Finger foods are great and a necessity, but that doesn't mean you can't get creative with the kinds of finger items to serve. 

For instance, how many things can you name that sound better than buffalo chicken meatballs?  There are two reasons this is the kind of unique Super Bowl food that should be on your list. First, it just sounds like the best thing ever. 

Second, it won't get in the way of everything that needs the stove, because it can be cooked in a slow cooker. The fine people at DamnDelicious.net provide the entire recipe, which can also be found below:

Item	Amount
Ground Chicken	1 pound
Panko	3/4 cup
Egg	One
Garlic Powder	1/2 teaspoon
Onion Powder	1/2 teaspoon
Green Onions	Two
Salt and Pepper	To Taste
Buffalo Sauce	3/4 cup
Blue Cheese Dressing	1/4 cup

As you would expect for something in a slow cooker, the meatballs will take time to cook. They need at least two hours and five minutes to be right. It does require an early start to have them ready for your game, but they look and sound worth it. 

If you are also debating some items to use, you can take the word of everyone's favorite chef Emeril Lagasse. The world-famous culinary star told Mike Freedman of CBSSports.com what he can't do without this Sunday night:

"

I love to have everyone over for the game and chili is always a hit with my family and friends. Some of my favorite toppings are tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream and of course, jalapenos to kick it up a notch. One-pot meals are ideal because you can leave it on the stove for guests to serve themselves throughout the night.

"

As Lagasse also mentions, one of the best parts of serving chili at the Super Bowl is it makes less work for you since guests can serve themselves and, if they happen to have them, their kids. You don't need to waste time putting plates together for those guests when it could be spent in front of the television. 

Random Super Bowl Games To Play

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Having covered betting and eating, the final piece of the Super Bowl puzzle is creating random entertainment to make your viewing experience more enjoyable. 

For instance, one game that is fun to play is guessing which company will have the first Super Bowl commercial. With most of the ads being made available online prior to game day, the only drama left is seeing which company snagged the coveted opening slot. 

There doesn't necessarily have to be money put down on this particular bet, since it's just a group of your friends, but that does tend to make things more interesting. 

One actual prop bet that you can turn into a simple guessing game between friends is which team will score the first points or which player will score the first touchdown. It's more dramatic to think about which team/player will score the final touchdown. 

Imagine if this Super Bowl turns into a repeat of Super Bowl XLIII between Arizona and Pittsburgh with that last bet when Santonio Holmes caught the game-winning score with 35 seconds left. Your casual bet will become an actual competition between friends, possibly giving you bragging rights for years. 

Since one downside to the Super Bowl is there are 30 NFL fanbases without a dog in the race, it becomes essential to create your own entertainment while the game is going on. Drama is what keeps us coming back to these games, so manufacturing some can make all the difference between a good viewing experience and a great one.