Sun. Feb. 3

 Don't you have something important to do late this afternoon? Shop? Shovel? Walk the dog? Wait, it's watch the Patriots. That's it! Our beloved Pats - the boys of winter - have one more step in their journey to perfection and that's the biggest step of all. The Super Bowl. The 42nd Super Bowl. They're in it again. You can watch all the fun - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will be playing at half-time and no nipple-gate is expected from TP - on Fox, starting around, hell, daybreak? No, the real game will happen around 5 and you should be settled on your couch or at your favorite sports bar for this one. Since the Super Bowl tends to be social no matter who's in it, we'd recommend a gathering of like-minded folks: friends, if you have 'em, or total strangers you can gond with at, say, Game On! or the Sports Depot or the Sevens (we love this small Charles street spot - get a good seat and be happier with a less loutish crowd, perhaps?). At any rate, time stops tonight as we gather by the glow of the LCD Hi-Def TV and ... if we win ... or, heck, if we lose ... don't forget to celebrate by taking to the streets and setting cars on fire. Um, we hope you know we're kidding. (In photo, team leader - one of many - Tedy Bruschi.)

Now, the little problem for those of us folks - yes I'm one of 'em - who grew up in New England in the '60s is the Boston, yes Boston, Patriots and the AFL in general did not mean that much ... and the New York Giants were the "local" team pumped into New England by the TV folks. They were our home team. Now, of course, things change. I live in Boston and have been a Pats fan for years. And, yet, there's a bit of Giants fan lingering somewhere in my bones. So, when they eked out the overtime victory over Green Bay, I was happy - old school. And, yet, I realized: Great, now it's my No. 1 of today vs. my No. 1 team of yesterday (and No. 2 team of today) in the Big One. I'm not saying my loyalties will be tested. I'll be rooting for the Pats. I'll try and develop that fake enmity we create against the opposition. But this is gonna be an odd one, at least in my world, and maybe in yours. It's not quite Yankees-Red Sox, y'know.

We're watching this with friends at a party. We do recommend, from past experience, the rather raucous environment of Dick's Last Resort, now recolated to Faneuil Hall Marketplace, if you like a lotta noize 'n' food 'n' booze 'n' fun. Oh, if you pick the final score you win $500, too.