As those of you in the US know, yesterday was the Super Bowl, the biggest football game of the year. This year the game was held in Giants stadium in New Jersey, and to celebrate, NYC turned Times Square into a kind of NFL Superbowl playground. I know…what? It’s true. I decided to go check it out for myself. Coming out of the subway, I was greeted by the mounted police, above. The tourists were out in droves, taking pictures, and the New Yorkers were trying their best to avoid the scene. I heard a few of them grumbling as they got caught up in all the activity, or trapped behind a slow moving group of football fans.  Most New Yorkers tried to circumvent the area, and I heard more than on let out an expletive when they walked around the corner and realized they had forgotten about the NFL take-over of the plaza.

The highlight of the festivities seemed to be a huge toboggan ride that was set up on Broadway and 41st St. Can you believe? It was such a strange sight, like a waterfall of screaming tourists right in the middle of the ‘great white way’ (as Broadway has been called.) There are a lot of old-time New Yorkers (like myself) who like to talk  about the ‘Disneyfication’ of Times Square – well now I guess it’s complete! And with a football theme! Although I don’t really know what a huge icy toboggan ride has to do with football. There was a big goal post at the end of the ride, maybe the theory was that the riders symbolized the football? I don’t know,  judging by the amount of screaming and laughing going on, it was quite a hit.

I think the only thing more surreal than sliding screaming tourists on Broadway would be the score of yesterday’s game. Wow, who knew? That there would be more excitement at this theme park of football than at the game itself. ;)