"super bowl" news and stories

Whatever you think of PETA, there's no denying that the group knows how to create buzz. Last year, they stirred up controversy by trying to buy ad time during the Super Bowl for a commercial that had a woman trying to get hot and heavy with...vegetables. Even for $3M, the network wasn't willing to air the "Veggie Love" spot, but (as planned, no doubt) the ad went viral and PETA got the press it was after.

This year, they're trying to milk some additional mileage out of the "Veggie Love" ad by offering up outtakes from the commercial's casting.

Papa John's has announced what may be the biggest free giveaway ever: free pizzas to everyone in America if this year's Super Bowl goes into overtime.

Sounds impressive and sort of mind-boggling, right? We had visions of frenzied Papa John's employees across the country trying to juggle a deluge of calls the second the extra quarter began, the smell of singed mozzarella in the air, and the urgent, tragic cry: "We're out of pepperoni, man!"

Well, not quite. This being an offer from a nationwide chain, the battle plan is a little more orderly than that. True, everyone in America (age 13 and up) is eligible for the offer, but you have to register online at www.papajohns.com and become part of the chain's Papa Points program by 11:59 p.m. on February 5, the day before the game. Then, on February 7, enrollees will receive 25 Papa Points, which is the amount needed to order a free large, three-topping pizza, if Super Bowl XLV goes into overtime.

And that's a big "if" since, as loyal fans know, no Super Bowl in history has ever gone into OT.

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Super Bowl Sunday marks one of the greasiest days of the year -- between pigs-in-a-blanket, buffalo wings and chili-cheese nachos -- everyone indulges in party food. Whether you're hosting a party yourself or you've offered to bring snacks along, you want to make sure you're serving the best. Over the past couple of years, we've given you the Best Frozen Buffalo Wings, the Best Chips and Salsa and, more recently, we've taste-tested the Best Potato Chips.

After the jump, we've simplified your search. In one gallery, we showcase the best chips, salsa, tortilla chips, margarita mix, boxed wine and buffalo wings to help you score a touchdown during the big game.

While no one knows who will be duking it out in Super Bowl XLV next February in Dallas, the Taste of the NFL celebrity food fest held before the big game is on track to be the largest in history, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Event organizers say they expect to sell more than 3,000 tickets for meals made by at least 45 celebrity chefs, making it a record-breaker over 6 months before the first course is served on Feb. 5, 2011, the paper reported.

"This will likely be our biggest event from a ticket sales standpoint," spokeswoman Linda Bendt told the paper. "Anything over 3,000 would exceed previous events."

It is the twentieth Taste of the NFL event to be held on Super Bowl Eve to raise money to fight hunger.

Organizers say they're trying to limit ticket sales to make sure the chefs aren't biting off more than they can chew.

Animals. Babies. Animals acting like people. People acting like animals and babies. And light beer. Lots and lots of light beer.

It's the simple things that get us buying again -- and few things come simpler than Super Bowl ads. Sure, all the usual themes were there: Men feeling dominated by work/women/the family pet? Drink some Bud Light! Drive a Dodge! Kids/arrested-adolescent men looking for some escapism? Jake Gyllenhaal/Russell Crowe/EA Games can help.

Women ... okay, there was really very little in the spots aired last night for women, unless they wanted to buy some Dove male body wash for their stinky, unkempt mates, or, in an ad that just missed our list, buy a rejuvenating Snickers for their anemic, Betty White-esque boyfriends.

If there was a new, recession-friendly theme last night, it was bargain meals from two big chains: One being Taco Bell, whose $5 meal pack was touted by an intentionally flat Charles Barkley -- at least, we hope it was intentional. The other, well, was by far the most irrationally funny moment of the evening -- we'll save that for a little later.

Drumroll, please, for our top 5 food-related Super Bowl ads, after the jump...