Have you heard that Super Bowl Sunday ranks as the second highest day for overeating in America, second only to Thanksgiving? Maybe I’m really out of it, but this is something that I hadn’t thought about much before, which I’m sure is mainly because I’m not a huge fan of football. However, even the football games that I’ve attended and watched on TV don’t inspire gluttony in me; I simply don’t have the mental/emotional association that football or the Super Bowl = food.

I think this is quite interesting because it’s a good example of the associations that we make with events and food, this one being a hook-up or association between Super Bowl Sunday and a free-for-all day of overeating. The day simply doesn’t mean “food” to me, unlike the associations I have with the holidays, in general and especially Christmas, Thanksgiving, and birthdays. So I’m not suffering any anxieties today in anticipation of Super Bowl Sunday, anxieties over getting through the day without succumbing to the temptation of processed foods or overindulging, and I do plan to watch some of the game (after I get my fill of skiing that day! ).

What about you - what is your association with Super Bowl Sunday? Are you dreading it because you don’t want to give in to gluttony, or are you looking forward to it?

If you’re looking forward to it is that because of the game, the commercials, half-time, or because of the food? Do you associate Super Bowl Sunday with eating whatever you want while watching the game with family and friends, or do you not care about the game day at all and therefore have no concern that you’ll be overeating? Or maybe you’ve planned out healthy snack alternatives (PDF) for the day as a compromise?

I’d love to hear what the Super Bowl means to you in a comment, just because it doesn’t trigger anything for me and I’m interested to know how many of you have a heavy food association with the day.