Super Bowl 51: Box Score Game, Recipes and More Party Entertainment

The largest sports Sunday of the year is upon us, as Super Bowl LI between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons from NRG Stadium in Houston is fast approaching.  

While the mere presence of football will draw millions of fans around the world to their living rooms and televisions, the festivities surrounding Super Bowl Sunday will bring out the spirit in even the most casual of sports supporters. 

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and New England Patriots legend Tom Brady won't be the only ones providing the entertainment, as party hosts across the world will try to be the real MVPs for their friends and family. 

The Super Bowl Box Score Game

It's become as much of a tradition on Super Sunday as chicken wings and beer. The Super Bowl box score game allows viewers who don't live and die with the Falcons or Patriots to take a vested interest in the outcome.

The person who runs the game draws a 10-by-10 grid, which creates 100 boxes that will be up for grabs. 

An 11th row and column can be added in the future for the numbers that the game centers on; you can see a full grid below thanks to Ron Futrell of 8 News Now:

Once friends, co-workers and family members fill up the grid by paying for each box, numbers zero to nine are chosen at random for the top-most row and far-left column, which represents both Super Bowl participants.

At the end of each quarter or half, the last number of each team's score is taken, and if a participant's box lines up with the row and column of the numbers, they win a cash prize.

For example, if the Patriots are leading the Falcons 14-10 at halftime, the person's box that meets where the four in the Patriots row and zero in the Falcons column connect is the winner.

Usually, the payouts for halftime and the end of the game are larger than the first and third quarters.  

Super Sunday Recipes

For party hosts everywhere, keeping their guests nourished is just as important as the game itself, and Super Sunday brings about some of the most creative and delicious dishes around.

When it comes to a raucous atmosphere like a group of football fans watching the biggest game of the year, it's imperative to limit your dishes to the handheld variety, as flying silverware is a real and dangerous possibility. 

Sure, you might run into a superstitious fan who refuses to eat or drink while their team is playing, but that doesn't mean everyone else has to suffer.

AllRecipes.com has come up with a number of classic Super Bowl culinary mainstays, but here is one of my favorites:

Item	Quantity
Shredded Rotisserie Chicken	1 lb.
Buffalo Wing Sauce	1/4 cup
Tortilla Chips	16 oz.
Black Beans	15 oz.
Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese	8 oz.
Sour Cream	1/2 cup
Crumbled Blue Cheese	1/4 cup
Chopped Jalapeno Peppers	1 tablespoon
Chopped Green Onion	1 tablespoon

What makes this dish even better is how easy it is to put together, as AllRecipes.com described: 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Combine chicken and Buffalo wing sauce in a bowl.
3. Place 1 layer tortilla chips in the bottom of a baking dish; top with a layer of Buffalo chicken mixture, black beans and cheddar cheese. Continue layering with remaining tortilla chips, Buffalo chicken mixture, black beans and cheddar cheese.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted, 10 to 15 minutes. Cover the nachos with aluminum foil if the top is getting too dark.
5. Top nachos with sour cream, blue cheese, jalapeno peppers and green onion.

But if you're like me and have trouble finding the oven, let alone making things in it, chicken wings, along with chips and dip, are always a safe choice to start with. 

Other Games Besides the Big One

If you're not into Super Bowl squares but are still looking to have some interactive fun while watching the game, there are still plenty of other things to bet on. 

The commercials bring plenty of people to the television set, and they have become prime real estate during the Super Bowl. 

Viewers can lay down some wagers on which company or brand's advertisement will air first after the game kicks off.

They can also make the national anthem a competition as well and try to figure out just how long Luke Bryan will sing.

But for those who actually care about the football on hand, fans could pick one player before the start of the game as their Super Bowl MVP. Whoever guesses correctly is deemed the winner.