Super Bowl Scramble Live

February 5^th 2017

Location: My home in Woodbury, New Jersey   

This past weekend I went home to watch the super bowl with my family and friends at the yearly super bowl party at my friend’s house. As usual, I was expecting a pretty rowdy night as there were a significant number of Patriots fans there mixed with the “non-patriots” fans who were rooting for the Falcons. Naturally, right off the bat, things took a turn for the unexpected.

5:34 pm: I walk into the house and am instantly immersed to a very lively and spirited environment. The smell of chili, dips, like 30 different types of chips, and meatball sandwiches warm the air. Looking to my left I see my friend’s dad taking down a few other of my friends in beer pong. After taking a quick octuple-take I proceeded to hunt down a paper plate to support my very soon to be feast of a lifetime.

5:42 pm: After coming to the realization that there were no longer any clean paper plates left and the game hadn’t even started yet, it was time to take action. A hero was needed and I made the executive decision that I was going to be that hero. I had approximately 48 minutes to go out and buy about 100 more paper plates before the game started. Without hesitation, I ran out the house and hopped in the driver’s seat of my trusty vehicle. IT WAS TIME TO RIDE…. There was just one problem. THE CAR DIDN’T START.

5:54 pm: By this point my brother and I are trying to figure out just what exactly to do. No car, time’s a-ticking, and still no plates. I look down at my phone and google the nearest convenience store and notice that there’s a Wawa about 1 mile away. The time had come. I was making a run for it. Down the street I went, sprinting my new PR for my mile time.

6:08 pm: Clearly, I wasn’t nearly as fast or in as good of shape as I was several years earlier. BUT, more importantly, I reached the Wawa and was now desperately scouring the isles for paper plates.

6:10 pm: To my very disbelief, there weren’t any paper plates left. Wawa apparently was the place to go for your Super Bowl party necessities!! I was on the verge of surrender WHEN a streak of hope plunged itself into my heart. Revealing itself to me in the form of a Walgreens sign on the other side of the very busy intersection I found myself peering out over.

6:15 pm: TIME IS SCARCE, I’m frantically trekking my way to the Walgreens now shimmering in golden light. All that lays in front of me is the EXCRUTIATINGLY busy intersection I’ve now been standing at for the past 4 minutes. THAT WAS IT. I had to act. Channeling my inner Frogger abilities, I took a bold first step out into the whizzing traffic. CHAOS EVERYWHERE. The sound of overly distracted and determined people on their wheels of death whiz by me. I, however, am unfazed. The only thing on my mind is that sweet delicious taste of victory in the form of several fully loaded meatball sandwiches with a side of chips on a hefty paper plate. Masterfully but narrowly, I avoid these speeding machines of transport and make my victory leap through the sliding glass doors of Walgreens. I hear Angels singing as I enter the building and truly believe I’m walking on clouds.

                                                                      

6:23 pm: THAT’S IT GLORIOUS VICTORY. I now am holding several large stacks of quality paper plates designed to hold enough food to feed numerous large farm animals. Sprinting to the checkout like I notice the ridiculous line and rather sluggishly moving cashier. 7 MINUTES T GAME TIME. I begin to panic. WHAT DO I DO. Frantically looking around I notice the pharmacy section in the back with the pharmacist standing at what…. A CASH REGISTER. After several moments of pleading my case he agrees to very quietly ring me up and give out a “Go Pats” cheer (which I promptly disregarded). Sprinting out the door and trying to figure out how I was about to make a 7 minute mile possible under my current circumstances, I notice a familiar looking car stopped at the red light 50 feet in front of me. It was my brother, he somehow got the car started. MY KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR. Running up to the car in a very celebratory fashion my brother rolled down the window to let me know my father had brought several packages of paper plates to the party about 10 minutes after I had left. I WENT THROUGH ALL OF THIS FOR NOTHING.

6:28 pm: After all that I had gone through, all the running, trauma, and dangerous endeavors, I was finally sitting in front of the TV with a very generous serving of food. Everything was good. I had made it back in time, was with the people I loved most, and most importantly was about to watch the team I was rooting for blow the largest lead in Super Bowl history. STILL, it will always be a day I will cherish and remember for a long time.