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“The Greatest Team Ever…” Memory Game

Materials Needed

  • A good memory
  • If you have a sharp and focused group of players this game can last a surprisingly long time. Try to keep the pace of play rapid, sometimes guests will take forever trying to get it right.

    The Set Up: Have your guests sit in a circle in a large open area and select a random player to start.

    The Rules: The first player will say, “ The best football team ever would include __________” filling in the blank with whatever person they choose. It can be realistic like “Joe Montana” or a bit silly like “Miley Cyrus”. For purposes of example the first person said “Joe Montana”. The person to the left of the starter(clockwise) goes next. They will say, ” The best football team ever would include Joe Montana and __________” filling in the blank with whoever they choose. The third person would say the entire phrase including both of the previous answers(in order) and add a third.

    This continues moving left around the circle with each person repeating what the previous person said and adding an additional football player until someone forgets a previous player, messes up the order or in some way makes a mistake. That person is out and leaves the circle. The person to the left of the person that is now out starts the game over again from scratch. Continue playing and eliminating players until only one person remains. That person is a very deserving winner.

    If the Game is Taking Too Long: Sometimes this game can bog down with guests taking long turns. If your game starts to slow down or even from the very beginning you can add a five second rule. So if any player on their turn goes for more than 5 seconds without adding to the list they are eliminated.

    Passing Skills Challenge

    Materials Needed

  • A football
  • Targets spread around the yard
  • In your backyard or any open area mark a spot where participant will stand and then set up targets at a variety of different distances from the spot. The targets can be a solid object where the points are awarded by hitting the target or have an opening so that points are only awarded if the football goes into the opening. Assign a points value to each target with a low number of points for the easiest targets to hit increasing to a high point value for the most difficult.

    You can do a quick and easy set up using common items like a trash can, lawn chair and garden gnome or get creative by hanging a tire from a tree, cutting a hole in a cardboard box with a wide receiver drawn on it with his hands around the hole or even having someone push a wheel barrel which serves as the target(the wheel barrel, not the person). The more time and creativity you invest in the set up, the better the odds of the game being a success at your Super Bowl party.

    Break your party guests up into groups of a similar age/skill level. If you have more than 7 targets, each contestant gets one chance to throw the football at the target, if less than 7 targets allow two throws per target. If they successfully hit the target they are awarded the point value assigned to that target. Keep score and award a prize to the high point total from each group.

    Football Super Bowl Maze

    ($$$) This is a FREE printable game

    Kids love mazes and it keeps them busy when the games in overtime, too. Have plenty of these printable mazes for your younger party guests and they will feel part of the game, too! Directions Print out a game sheet for each player and have pencils or crayons on hand. For younger guests you can […]

    Don’t Say “Football”!

    Materials Needed

  • 1-3 Token items per player
  • Select a word that is taboo to say at the party, we use “football” as an example but it can be anything that is likely to be said frequently like “touchdown”, “Super Bowl”, “commercial”, or even “beer”.

    As the quests arrive tell them the taboo word and give them some sort of token that can be easily passed around, like plastic whistles on strings like the referees use or team colored Mardi Gras beads. You could also use something as simple as a clothes pin or safety pin since the guests can simply clip it to something they are wearing.  For small parties you can give more than one token each, for larger parties 1 token per person is fine.

    As the party goes on anyone who says the taboo word must give up their token to the first person to call them out. At the end of the party whoever has accumulated the most tokens wins a prize. You can also choose to play just during pre-game, or until half-time if you prefer.

    Guess How Many Footballs in the Jar

    Materials Needed

  • A clear jar
  • Enough foil covered chocolate footballs to fill it
  • 3 x 5 cards
  • Pens or pencils
  • A box with an opening to put the cards
  • Fill a clear jar or container with foil wrapped chocolate footballs making sure to keep track of exactly how many are included. Decorate the jar to taste, using ribbons matching the colors of the teams in the Super Bowl works well or color coordinated permanent makers. Just make sure that the contents are clearly visible. Place the jar on a table with a stack of 3 x 5 cards, pens or pencils, and a box with an opening cut in the top. Each guest gets one chance to guess how many chocolate footballs are in the jar by writing down their name and estimate on a card and dropping it in the box. The closest to actual amount wins the jar and all it contents.

    – Halftime is a great time to announce the winner since all guest should have had a chance to make an entry by that point and with another half of football remaining it give the guests that did not win plenty of time convince the winner to share some of the prize.

    – If you do not want to use the chocolate footballs, using hard candies matching the team colors of the Super Bowl teams(or even a local team) is a good option. Nuts are a good choice for those wanting to provide a more healthy prize alternative. Pistachio nuts in shells are easy to count and that eliminates any confusion as to if you count both halves of a separated nut. You can even mix candies with nuts and small novelty toys, stickers, packs of football trading cards, whatever you like. Use your own judgement and trust your instincts, you know your Super Bowl party guests better than anyone else.

    Wear the Kids Out Before the Game

    Materials Needed

  • a football
  • assorted outdoor sports equipment
  • Set up a series of activities just for the kids before the Super Bowl.

    Obstacle course race: Set up a course and then have each kid run through it and time them. For example have them run through a zig-zag pattern you set up on the ground, then do ten jumping jacks, then climb up and down a ladder, do five sit ups and finally run around around the house to the finish line. It really does not matter what course you set up just use whatever is available. Award prizes and high praise to all the kids.

    Football Hot Potato: Have the kids stand in a circle and toss around a football. Meanwhile, an adult with his back to the activities plays music with his or her cellphone. At some point the adult stops the music and whichever kid was the last to touch the football is out.

    Lombardi Says: You play it just like Simon Says but instead it is Vince Lombardi the legendary NFL coach for whom the Super Bowl trophy is named. Make sure that Lombardi says to run in place, jump up and down and other draining activities.

    Pass, Pass, Run: The classic Duck, Duck, Goose party game with a football theme.

    You can improvise and adapt based on the kids at your party. The important part is for the kids to have fun and use up some energy before the the game so when they go to the Kidzone you hopefully set up for them during the game they are more likely to relax and stay occupied.

    Cheering Competition

    Materials Needed

  • Fun-loving guests not afraid to to look foolish
  • Divide your guests into groups that support each of the teams in the Super Bowl. You can even have groups that support other teams that did not make the big game. Challenge each group to create an original cheer to show their support for their team and get the party excited. You can provide pom poms, megaphones, poster board and markers, streamers, backing music, anything you like to help make the cheer a glorious spectacle. Assign a panel of judges or just vote by group consensus for a winner based on originality and fun. Right before kick off have your cheer off with the winners getting a prize.

    Dumb Football Charades

    Materials Needed

  • A victim with a good sense of humor
  • Set the party up to play a real game of charades but at the last minute have an ally convince the victim to leave the room for a minute. While they are gone let the rest of the guests in on the prank. Tell them all the word the victim is going to get as the first player, cheerleader works perfectly. Then when your victim returns start the game normally with him getting the first word.

    The prank is that all of the other guests have been told to guess anything under the sun other than cheerleader. Let the victim mime cheers and jumps and dance moves until he is worn out while other guest shout out an endless string of incorrect guesses. Eventually you can let him off the hook, but not before some great party laughs.

    Optionally you can of course play a real game of charades afterwards. If so here are some suggested football themed secret words:

    Quarterback
    Touchdown
    Referee
    Foam Finger
    50 yard line
    Goal Post
    Cheerleader
    Football
    Football Hall of Fame
    1st quarter
    Bench
    Linebacker
    MVP
    Penalty
    Replay official
    Mascot