Big game, small affair: Houstonians keep Super Bowl celebrations low-key
Traditionally, the Super Bowl is one of the biggest pop culture moments of the year, from sea to shining sea. But this year, Houstonians had a sleepy response to the big game.
Still, Sundays are Sundays. And outdoor patios call to Houstonians like a boozy beacon.
Early in the afternoon, as brunch wound down, people in jerseys began popping in to bars and beer gardens throughout the city.
At Belle Station in Midtown, 24-year-old Jessie Mejia played Jenga on a picnic table with a group of friends. She wore a Rob Gronkowski jersey but described herself as a “low-key” Patriots fan, who got sucked into it thanks to a friend. Being loyal to a particular team didn’t seem to matter — instead, she enjoys talking to everyone else about their favorite teams.
While the Patriots have won five rings in franchise history, all under the leadership of Tom Brady, the city wasn’t exactly hopping with Pats pride.
“I’m anti-Patriot,” said Michele Stamos, 46, as she and her extended family sat beneath a
television at West Alabama Ice House during the mid-afternoon. “I’m not gonna lie.”
Across the bar, Anna Hess, 27, and Taylor Madden, 28, were enjoying some early-season crawfish and sporting the colors of their teams. Hess, originally from the Midwest, supports the Vikings, and Madden, who’s from Waco, wore a Dallas Cowboys hat. They were surrounded by jerseys for the Texans and Green Bay Packers, both teams whose fortunes soured after losing their starting quarterbacks this year.
Football viewership has been on a downswing for the past couple of years. And last month, Nielsen reported that viewership was down 9.7 percent this season, when compared to last.
Still, Stephen Salazar, the food and beverage director at Heights Bier Garten on Shepherd, had big hopes for turnout at the bar’s first-ever Super Bowl Sunday.
“It’s fun night out. Tonight’s about football. I anticipate for it to be a full house, based on the reservations, which is several hundred people,” said Salazar, who called in his full staff for the evening.
“The Super Bowl — it’s one of the most widely seen sports events in the world. It’s a massive deal. There’s so much money behind it. There’s so much marketing behind it,” he said shortly before 5 p.m. “Did you know you can’t even advertise that it’s the ‘Super Bowl’ party? You have to call it the big game. That’s how big this is. That’s how much control they have over this.”
And yet, as the afternoon slipped into evening, only a slow trickle of people slid into the wood seats. That’s the typical Sunday scene in Houston: lazy and boozy, people keep their own, slow pace on the day of rest and outdoor beer-sipping.
The temperatures dipped, and the big crowds never fully materialized. And even the fans who did come turned up mostly calm. At the moment of kickoff, there were just as many eyes on friends and cocktails as there were on the 17 television screens hung up around the beer garden.
“I’m here so I don’t miss anything,” said Tessa Margaritiz, 26, a few minutes before kick-off as she sat a wood table, wearing a Patriots T-shirt. She’s kind of – maybe? — a Patriots fan, but a new one, just learning the ropes. Mostly, she’s at the beer garden to counteract Fear Of Missing Out.
In 2004, she missed the Super Bowl for one reason or another. And the next day, when everyone was talking about the “wardrobe malfunction” that occurred with Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson during the halftime show, she was left in the dark.
“That was the one year I didn’t watch it,” she said. “And ever since then, I’m like ‘I’m never missing this.’ Never again.” She’s not alone. Across the bar, three women sat at a wrought-iron table, sipping fruity-colored cocktails. Meredith Ghivizzani wore an Eagles Michael Vick jersey to support the city where she used to live. Next to her, Stephanie Kim wore a light green shirt. But she was just there for moral support.
“I’m not a sports fan. I’m here as a friend,” said Kim, 29. “I feel like this is something we have to do.”
For Ghivizzani, the fandom runs a little deeper. But still, watching the Eagles chase their first-ever Super Bowl ring from a bar in Houston paled in comparison to what her friends were experiencing back in Philadelphia.
“I went to dental school there, so a lot of my friends are there,” she said. “Everyone I know lives there, and I want to see them have a good time.”
When asked whether she thought the Eagles could beat the Patriots, she mumbled and refused to give a straight answer that would betray the jersey on her back.
“I haven’t kept up with the season,” she finally said. “But seriously, I’m over New England.”