Did you know that in Vegas you can place bets on more than just the game itself?

Here are some of my favorites:

  1. The coin flip.
  2. The first song of halftime.
  3. What will Justin Timberlake wear?
  4. What will the first commercial be after the National Anthem?
  5. Will there be a “wardrobe malfunction?”

And that’s just five of them.

Years ago I had a group of guys from our neighborhood over to watch the game. None of us had a team we cared about, but it’s football, and since this was the end of the season, we watched.

And just to spice things up a bit, I got a ziplock bag full of poker chips for each guy. The instructions were simple–these chips are worth no money, but just for fun, anyone can bet on anything during the game. Suddenly everyone was engaged–we were betting on run vs. pass, Pepsi commercial vs. Coke, timeouts used vs. unused, who would get injured next and the list went on and on.

Sound crazy? This is what Kansas City Chiefs fans like myself have to do every Super Bowl—BECAUSE WE ARE NEVER IN THE GAME!

That being said, I learned something during that game, mixing things up a bit can truly make a game you may not be interested in–better together.

At Real Life Church, we typically have a Sunday 5:00 p.m. service–it’s the last of our five services at our Valencia Campus. But on Super Bowl weekend, we cancel it. Why? Because this is one of the few times of the year that you can easily be invited into your neighbor’s home or invite them into yours. Super Bowl Sunday has become a national holiday with parties and trips and all kinds of crazy dips.

Jesus told us to build community and love one another as He did. So we cancel the service not just because we think no one will come, or because we want to watch the game, we cancel church so we can go and BE the church.

So with that in mind, here are a few suggestions for making your Super Bowl Sunday Better Together!

1. Invite the neighbors for a come and go meal.

No need for anything formal, just put on a pot of soup or nacho fixings and tell your neighbors to come by and stay as long as you want or just eat and run.

2. Have a progressive meal.

Decide on four houses of willing participants and switch homes for each quarter for a different thing to eat.

3. Have a chili cook-off.

Everyone brings their best version of chili and the kids judge. You can also do this with dessert.

4. Take the game to a senior center.

Find a local senior center or nursing home and take snacks and kids to see those who live there. Most of these facilities have a gathering room with a T.V. Ask the employees first but bring the family and food over there to watch the game with many who would love to have visitors.

5. Have your own game.

It may be wagering on silly things, it could be trivia, it could be football outside, it could be mud football at the church (like our young adult ministry will do!)

However you choose to watch the game–consider watching it together–it is BETTER!

Living, playing and working together is always better, not just while watching football, and because of that I would encourage you to look at other ways to live Better Together which you can find in my new book:

Better Together: Surprising truth for introverts, extroverts, control freaks, free spirits, people pleasers, curmudgeons, and especially you.

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