GOOD OLD DAYS:

As Tampa gears up for today’s kickoff, Newport-Mesa has plenty of ties to the NFL, from superstar sports agent Leigh Steinberg to Paul Salata, who bestows the “Mister Irrelevant” title on the last draft pick every year.

But back at home, the real action on Super Sunday is at the numerous parties that spring up every year to celebrate the big game.

Of them all, the largest is put on by Costa Mesa resident Chuck Cassity, whose local bashes feature chili, hot dogs, sushi, pool betting and more than 300 people. It’s quite a lot, after 15 years.

“I didn’t plan my Super Bowl party to be anything like it’s turned out to be,” he said. “It’s like the worlds’ fair. It keeps getting bigger and better every year.”

The whole thing sprung out of a very different issue — finding a place for his then-teenage daughters to hang out with friends in a safe environment.

“I had the specter of them not having any place to go as young teenagers in Costa Mesa,” he said. “There was no Arnold’s like in ‘Happy Days,’ so we decided to build our own.”

But as the contractors were expanding the Cassity residence with a giant recreation room, they had a suggestion: “Why don’t you throw a Super Bowl party?”

“Maybe about 25 or 30 people showed up that first year,” Cassity said. “The next year it was 45 or 50, then 60 or 70, then 80 or 90.

“Last year, because of the rain, it was down to 275. The year before, it was 350,” he said. “If I tried to turn them away, they’d just storm the battlements.”

Costa Mesa City Councilman Gary Monahan, owner of pub Skosh Monahan’s, has his own party tradition.

For roughly a decade, he has been hosting the game at his restaurant.

His crowd on that night regularly fills the place to capacity, but not every year has put him in the mood to celebrate.

“The year the Raiders lost, and I was a lifelong Raider fan,” he said. “I said, ‘I got to go or I’m going to kill somebody.’”

For lifelong football fans like Cassity, the game is a great experience, but the day after is a thing to dread:

“I love football, and I’m freako for this stuff,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do after Sunday. It’s going to be a black hole filled with golf and tennis.

“Thank God for drag racing and the food channel,” Cassity said.

MICHAEL ALEXANDER may be reached at (714) 966-4618 or at michael.alexander@latimes. com.