Super Something Sunday

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I have a confession to make. I'm not watching the Super Bowl today. I can hear what you're saying: "Julia! You're a New Englander! And the Pats are playing!" First off, I've never been big on pro football. College ball, yes - I've spent many a happy Saturday enjoying SEC teams whomp the heck out of each other, (I'm a Bama fan.)

But here's the real reason: I live alone now. and despite generally enjoying the heck out of the experience, there's one area that falls flat when you're solo: watching football. Football particularly. I don't know why it more than other sports, but it's true, and I've barely seen any college games at all this fall. I've missed the NFL season entirely. 

So what if you're like me, and for whatever reason, you're not doing Super Bowl Sunday? You're in luck, dear readers, because I have a few alternatives for you.

1. Start your book. You missed NaNoWriMo in November. You've been thinking about writing it and just haven't gotten up the nerve to sit down and tackle the opening paragraph.  What better time than a long Sunday when everyone else is glued to the tube. Yo can't distract yourself on social media - Twitter, FB and Instagram will be all football, all the time. You could have the first chapter written by dinnertime. 

2. Take a nap. If there's anything better than a lazy Sunday afternoon nap, I don't know what it is. The fact it's cold out makes snuggling beneath the quilts even more pleasurable. Plus, the news has been full of new scientific discoveries letting us know that not getting enough sleep is basically going to kill us, so it's good for your health as well.

3. Go to the gym. Another thing that's good for your health. You know that cool high-tech elliptical machine you never manage to get on unless you stand there beside the current occupier, looking like a jerk? Go right ahead, it's all yours today. Tired of having to cut in to swimming lanes and match your pace to the former high-school champion coming up behind you? You've probably got the whole pool to yourself this afternoon.

4. Clean out the closets. Go ahead, Marie Kondo the $#*% out of that room. I'm not going to gender sports watching, but if your spouse is deep into the game - or better still, over at your neighbor's Super Bowl party - he or she isn't going to notice how many of their holey pants, 30-year-old concert Tees and ugly acrylic sweaters are going into the Goodwill bag.

5. Go out to dinner. Especially if you live in New England or Los Angeles! Sure, your service might be a tad slow as the wait staff takes breaks to watch the TV in the kitchen, but that's a small price to pay for getting into that hot restaurant that was featured in Condé Nast Traveler  and now has a four month wait list for reservations.

6. Bow-chicka-bow-bow. This is for you folks living with teens and twenty-somethings. Give your kids a few bucks and point them to the nearest sports restaurant. Or offer to drive them to a friends Super Bowl party. Either way, the house is clear for once. Bonus points if you murmur football lingo in a sexy tone of voice to each other. "Let's scrimmage, baby." "I like your tight end."

7. Do those internet chores you never have time for. Update your passwords and clean out your inbox. Use Friend or Follow to tidy up your Twitter list. Figure out how to reset your privacy settings on Facebook. Actually unsubscribe from all those corporate/ nonprofit/advertising emails you hate, rather than just deleting them and moving on. Yes, they're boring tasks, so feel free to fix yourself a nice drink and enjoy it while muting your third cousin from Des Moines who sells Amway.

8. Get some culture! In Boston, you can see the Carol King Musical, Blue Man Group or a dozen live musical acts ranging from hip-hop to folk. The Huntington Theatre, which hosted the Jungle Reds, is performing A Doll's House, Part II. The MFA, the Children's Museum and the Boston Aquarium are all open Sunday. And for something really different, the Omen Psychic Parlour and Witchcraft Emporium is hosting a free Candlemas event with the Traditionalist Covens of New England. The point being: if you can find a full calendar of events happening in Boston on Super Bowl Sunday, you can find then anywhere.

9. Do your taxes. Boring and frustrating, but think how good you'll feel when you've finished.

and finally,

10. Watch the best Super Bowl ads online. Because everyone loves the Budweiser Clydesdales. 

How about you, dear readers? What are your plans for today?