Up in New York with my buddy Phil. Staying with his mother in White Plains. All of a twenty-five-minute train ride to the city. It’s super bowl weekend and Phil says, let’s head to Tribeca. There’s a bar there that has the best super bowl party known to man. I’m game I say, get it Game, so off to the train station and into the Big Apple.

Now my pal Phil always has an angle, and this day is no different. What he doesn’t tell we is that you have to have a game square to get in. All of the squares are sold right after the previous game, and they cost $100.00. You can’t get into the bar without a square and all of the squares are already sld. Are you getting the picture? Well, I did.

While standing there wondering where we could go to find a bar stool to watch the big game a drunken fool stumbles out of the bar yelling at the doorman. He almost falls down the stairs, and I catch him just before he hits the ground. I pull him back up to his feet and he says to me, you wanna buy my square? How much–$100.00 bucks. I look at Phil, pull out my money clip, and pull out a crisp new hundred-dollar bill. Voila! We have our ticket in.

Once inside I can see why it was THE BEST SUPER BOWL PARTY EVER11 A huge free luncheon buffet lined one whole wall. Roast beef, smoked ham, turkey, with all the fixin’. Bar drinks, bottle beers, and all of the drafts were $1.00. All of the other drinks were discounted and the place was packed. 150-175 people all rooting for either Dallas or Pittsburg (most of us were for Pittsburg) with a few cowboy fans tossed in here and there. We find a small little high-top table with a great view of two of six or seven TVs they had and get our drinks… I let Phil know what a great idea this was. Drink all day and then catch the train home. No driving. Great plan.

The game starts and they trade touchdown in the first Quarter. My square has Pitt 21 cowboy’s 14. now each quarter pays $2500.00 On to the second quarter where they trade touchdowns again until the last second when Pittsburg scores another touchdown as the clock ran out on the first half. Pittsburgh 21 Dallas 14. I stare at my square in disbelief 21-14 21-14 21-14 it syill says 21-14–$2500.00. I start jumping up and down and screaming like a banshee, that’s ME!!

The rest of the game was a blur. Pittsburg went on to win 35 to 31. Phil and I bought lots of drinks. Most of them costing a dollar. Being $2400.00 ahead it really didn’t matter how much they cost. When the game is over, they set up another square grid, and everyone buys their square for the next year’s game. I of course buy my square, pay our tab of $178.00. Tip our server $100.00 and I’m still up $2020.00. As we head out to catch a cab back to Union Station a guy outside the bar is trying to buy a square. He asks several people and they all turn him down. I ask Phil if he thinks we’ll make it back next year and he says he doubts it. I call the guy over and tell him I’ll sell my square for $500.00, and he jumps at the chance. His 500 for my square, what a good deal. He told us he’d been coming every year for three years just to buy a square. Thanks, a lot he said and faded into the night. Cab and train rides later we were back safe and warm at Phil’s mother’s house. Next day back to D.C. with me being much better off for the experience of the SUPE SUPER BOWL January 21, 1979