Super Bowl Trip – Day 4: Taste of NFL Party
Prior to our trip, Joe and I had debated about attending one of the NFL parties over Super Bowl weekend. I’m glad we left our evening open because the night before we flew to Atlanta, Pepsi sent me the final itinerary for our weekend. It caught me by surprise to find “Taste of NFL Party” listed for Saturday evening. Even though my original prize details did not mention this. I spoke with my Pepsi prize liaison and sure enough, it wasn’t a mistake. Joe and I had free tickets to this event. And what an event it is!
A red carpet welcome at the Taste of NFL Party by the Rams cheerleaders
This is a $700 ticket per person if you are attending off the street – or $10,000 for a VIP table. This high dollar fundraising event is designed to help people in America struggling with hunger by donating food to food banks in each of the 32 NFL cities as well as other select hunger relief organizations.
I’m very glad we got the itinerary details even if it was only the night before our departure as it suggested we wear business casual. That was not something we would have planned for. Joe packed a suit and I threw in some slacks and a nice blouse. This was indeed appropriate. Most people at tonight’s event were dressed up.
An example of one of the food stations where celebrity chefs served their signature dish. This was the Jacksonville Jaguar station. At the end of the table was the retired/Hall of Fame football player from Jacksonville signing autographs
We took the free hotel shuttle over to the party with several other winners. As I said, the Marriott is the “Hotel for Winners”. Most of the people on tonight’s shuttle were Pepsi employees and had won trips to the Super Bowl for selling the most Pepsi (as marketers I suppose). But while all of the people on tonight’s shuttle had tickets to the game and free airfare/hotel, none of them had passes to go on the field for the Half Time Show. So as I said, the winners at our hotel are of varying degrees depending on who they are and how they won.
Franco Harris who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and known for one of the most famous plays in sports history as the “Immaculate Reception”
There are 32 signature chefs from across the nation here – each chef is providing a dish that represents each team. That means 32 stations featuring some very gourmet food. Check out the menu! https://www.tasteofthenfl.com/event-menu
Believe me, the food is every bit as good as it sounds.
This may have been my favorite food of the night: Teriyaki, Macadamia Nut, Smoked Verlasso Salmon
Joe was most interested in all the Hall of Fame/retired football players that were here signing autographs. They include: https://www.tasteofthenfl.com/players
Each NFL team had a station with a celebrity chef putting out their food samples. And at the end of the table was the Hall of Fame/retired football player for that specific team signing autographs or taking pictures. These NFL team stations were spread throughout the entire banquet hall which was enormous. Open bar stations were also sprinkled between the team stations so there were plenty of places to grab a drink while browsing the silent auction items up for sale.
Left: Citris Cured Kurobuta Pork, Kimchi Brussel Sprouts, BBQ Chicharrones
Right: Lacquered Nueske’s Bacon Panini, Charred Onions & Cabbage, Persimmon Jam & Smoked Beurre de Baratte
The food was outstanding. The stations were spread out and well marked. And the scrumptious food samples were quite filling. There was no way we could sample all 32 options although I wished we could have. It was very easy to walk up and get food or drinks – no long lines. The event was well staffed and managed very well. I doubt I would have paid $700 for a ticket like this but we certainly enjoyed plenty of amazing gourmet food and drinks! And it was free, so who could argue with that?
Left: Lamb Mortadella Sandwich with Truffled Egg
Right: Smoked Gulf Fish Dip, Root Vegetable Slaw, on Saltines
Left: Zuke Tuna Tataki, Jalapeno Dressing
Right: BBQ Celeriac, Umeboshi, Chestnut, Apple, Horseradish, Peanut
In the middle of the large banquet hall, they had silent auction items such as signed jerseys, autographed pictures, luxury trips, etc. At the end of the night, they gave away free Super Bowl tickets for anyone that submitted a bid in the auction, even if your bid didn’t win. To conclude the evening, they had a concert with Martina McBride.
Tonight’s party was held in a giant banquet hall
Silent auction items raised a lot of money for the food banks
The starting bid for an autographed Chiefs Patrick Mahomes jersey was only $1,000. Seems like a steal for the 2018 NFL MVP
I can’t say I rubbed elbows with any celebrities or current football players. But all the retired/Hall of Fame players that were advertised were there at each of their respective food stations signing autographs and taking photos as promised. I’m quite familiar with current football stars but not so much with past players.
Joe got a picture taken with Jay Novacek, a tight end who played under St Louis, Arizona and the Dallas Cowboys from 1985 to 1995. He was the nicest guy!
This is the VIP section where a table costs $10,000. They had high table-tops for the rest of us scattered throughout the floor to set our food/drinks on
Martina McBride ended tonight’s party with a concert
Jay Novacek, a tight end who played with the Dallas Cowboys was the nicest guy and a giant!
We had a wonderful time at tonight’s party and got to enjoy something we likely would not have paid for ourselves thanks to Pepsi’s generosity. It was a unique experience.
Looking forward to tomorrow’s big game!
