Families, friends all aglow

Andrew Glazer

NEWPORT-MESA -- There’s something about the Super Bowl that compels

people to come together.

Whether at home with family or crunched into a packed sports bar with

strangers, thousands of Newport--Mesa residents communally watched the

St. Louis Rams -- or more appropriately, the erstwhile Los Angeles Rams

-- narrowly squeeze by the Tennessee Titans.

Maybe there’s something about sharing nachos and pitchers of beer. Or

perhaps it’s the magic of wincing, groaning and cheering in

synchronicity. It could be that football fans need someone to talk to

during the consistently repulsive halftime “spectacle.”

But whatever the venue -- whether seated at home, leaning at a sports bar

or grabbing a glance of the game at an airport bar -- Super Bowl Sunday

is about togetherness.

AT HOME

Super Bowl Sunday is like a second Thanksgiving for many families.

Through nearly every picture glass window of every home on Seashore Drive

in Newport Beach, clusters of football fans could be seen basking in the

blue glow of their television sets.

Some watched sleepily. Others guzzled beer and slapped backs.

The owner of one home carried his television outside, lit a small fire in

his front yard and invited nearly thirty neighbors to drink beer there

and watch the game.

The home was just a block away from the beach. The briny air, black sky

and cool breeze created a beach party atmosphere.

“I like the commercials very much, but I don’t really get into the game”

said Christina Demoss, 21. “When everybody cheers, so do I.”

Demoss, a Costa Mesa resident, needed to consult her friend, Steve

Palessrio, 30, to see which team to root for.

“The Rams, right?” she asked.

But Palessrio, a Newport Beach native who sipped beer from a plastic red

cup, couldn’t come up with an easy answer.

“I don’t know what to think,” said Palessrio, 30. “As a kid, I always

rooted for the Rams. But now that they’re in St. Louis, well I just don’t

know.”

THE SPORTS BAR

D.P.’s sports bar on Balboa Peninsula was packed Sunday night with

festive football fans and their friends.

The room was eardrum-rattling loud, especially during the game’s many

climactic plays.

Rams fans, covered in yellow and blue, occupied one end of the room while

a sparse collection of Titans fans gathered on the opposite end.

“One guy from over there keeps giving me a good ribbing,” said Rams fan

Paul Hadad. “But I guess it’s all in good fun.”

But perhaps Hadad was asking for it. He wore a white cap signed by

several Los Angeles Rams players during training camp in 1995 and a

fraying blue Rams sweatshirt he’s worn every Sunday since 1984.

Cowboys fan Todd Carson, 30, made himself at home at D.P.’s, literally,

even though his team was nowhere to be seen. He and 20 friends carried

four couches and a large glass coffee table from his living room into the

front of the bar.

“It’s like a dream,” he said between frequent butt-shaking dance numbers.

“I can lie on my couch, eat good food, drink beer and watch the game with

my friends. I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

THE DESPERATENot everyone had it as good as Carson on Super Bowl Sunday.

An unfortunate few football fans forced to travel on the sacred day were

huddled around two 12-inch televisions at John Wayne Airport’s Pavilion

Pub.

They soaked up as many plays as they could, praying for no injuries or

timeouts, knowing that at any minute they would need to hop aboard their

flights.

“I’m really hoping they show it on the plane,” said a hopeful Rex

Gardiner. He and his wife, Rita, were flying home to San Jose after

spending the weekend visiting their son Steve in Yorba Linda.

“Usually, we have people over our house to watch the game, but not this

time,” he said.

Why, then, did the couple choose to travel on Super Bowl Sunday?

“Bad planning!” Gardiner snapped. “My wife made the reservations.”