18 Feb Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Father-Daughter Weekend at Super Bowl 57 in Phoenix, Arizona

Last fall, I attended the charity event for Minds Matter. With a Monte Carlo theme, I played Blackjack and, at the end of the night, I had a $500 chip. We could then turn our chips in for raffle tickets. Raffle items ranged from $250 to $500, with the $500 ticket item being two tickets to the Super Bowl 57 in Phoenix, Arizona. I had nothing to lose, so I turned my $500 chip in for one single raffle ticket. And, shockingly, my ticket was the one picked! I won two tickets to the Super Bowl. No one would call me a football fan but I know enough to know what a big deal the Super Bowl is and I decided that the person I wanted to share it with was my dad. So, this last weekend, we traveled to Phoenix and went to Super Bowl 57. Clearly, this once-in-a-lifetime experience and sharing it with my dad is the Please The Palate pick of the week. I had not taken a trip with just my dad since I was a little girl and we went on father-daughter ski trips and camping weekends with other friends. Of course, I was lucky to take multiple trips with my family every year until my late twenties. And just a few months ago, we took a family trip to San Francisco. But a weekend in Phoenix for Super Bowl Sunday was just for my dad, the football fan, and me. We flew to Phoenix on Saturday. Arriving in Phoenix, the energy in the air was alive. We visited the NFL Experience on Saturday. People were walking around in their team shirts. There were the Kansas City and Philly fans, but other teams were represented. This was the football fan mecca; but to be honest, most of it was lost on me. But I got into the spirit, especially on Sunday. Sunday morning we woke up and made our way to State Farm Stadium. Tailgating is not allowed at State Farm Stadium but there were three official “tailgate parties” happening. We had tickets to the NFL Tik Tok Tailgate party, located across from the stadium There were multiple tents. Each tent was serving different bites of food and had open bars. And screens were playing video of what was happened on the main Tik Tok stage. And on the main Tik Tok Stage were The Black Keys and Jason Derulo. And then it was time for the game. We had already gone through security to go to the tailgate party so we just had to scan our tickets to enter the stadium. The crowds! Once inside the doors, it was packed. We made our way to our seats. We were section 110! Yes, in the bottom section near the field! Our seats were at the 35-yard line in the 37th row! Yes, we were just 37 rows from the field. It was amazing! Everything was vibrant and colorful! The energy was high. We were sitting on the Philly side, but my dad and I were not rooting for one specific team. We were just there to enjoy the game. And what a game it was. And the half-time show with Rhianna was quite a visual! I have read a lot of criticism about the performance, but it was pretty extraordinary being there and seeing it live! There were even fireworks that lit up the night sky. While attending the Super Bowl is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, what made it the best weekend was spending it with my dad. It is a weekend that neither of us will ever forget!