Watching Super Bowl LV this Sunday? The all-American tradition is back after a wild year, and this time around, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face off for the championship title. To prep you for the Big Game, we’ve gathered some NC football trivia you can share with your family and friends – whether you’ll be gathering virtually or safely in person – to keep everyone entertained between plays (or commercials). Plus, we’re sharing a few tips on where to get your Super Bowl spread locally.

Here are the details for Sunday’s game –

🏈 This year’s game is in Tampa. Kick-off is at 6:30 p.m. and The Weeknd (whose catchy “Blinding Lights” has so far been the anthem of the entire season) will perform at halftime. Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan will perform the national anthem.

And even though the Panthers didn’t make it this year, check out these fast facts about NC’s NFL team –

🏈 The Carolina Panthers have been to the Super Bowl twice, in 2003 and 2016 – but they have yet to win.

🏈 In 2020, they won only 5.5 games. Former Panthers Quarterback Cam Newton moved to the New England Patriots, and former Head Coach Ron Rivera was replaced by Matt Rhule. Five-time All-Pro Linebacker Luke Kuechley also retired.

🏈 Currently under construction: the Panthers’ new 240-acre Rock Hill, SC, development, which is scheduled to be up and running in 2023 and will be the team’s new HQ (they’ll still be NC-affiliated). The entire development won’t be fully completed until 2056 and will include an indoor practice facility, outdoor practice fields that can host multiple high school football games, an indoor facility for athletic and other events, an orthopedic sports medicine facility, corporate offices, residential space + retail.

If all that trivia made you hungry, keep reading to see a few of our picks for where to grab your local Super Bowl eats.👇

Get your grub on

According to Google, the most searched-for Super Bowl food in NC this year is pigs in a blanket.

Want to eat (but don’t want to cook)? Here are a few of the spots offering takeout. Tell us about any we missed in the comments.

Bear’s Smokehouse, 135 Coxe Ave. | Special offerings include sandwich or slider packages (rolls, your choice of meat, three pints of sides, and BBQ sauce), plus apps, meats + sides.

Hi-Wire Brewing Big Top, 2A Huntsman Pl. | The Super Bowl Fun Pack ($30) includes a growler of Hi-Wire beer, plus your choice of 24 chicken wings, eight hot dogs with buns, or eight burgers with buns from Foothills Local Meats. Pickup is this Sat., Feb. 6.

Pie.Zaa, 46 Millard St. | Pre-order two flagship whole pies for $55 (use promo code Superbowl55). Protip: A flagship pie is any pizza other than the monthly special. Choose Feb. 7 and your preferred time for pickup.

RosaBees, 27 Foundy St. # 20 | Grab Da Kine Wings (25-100) in Huli Huli (ginger Hawaiian BBQ with bleu cheese), Spicy Gochujang (Korean chili paste + brown sugar), or Teriyaki-Furikake (Japanese soy-mirin glaze with sesame-nori). Place orders by 8 p.m. today.

Twisted Laurel (Weaverville), 10A S. Main St., Weaverville | Grab family-sized portions of wings, Firecracker shrimp, and homemade chips + dip, plus add-ons from their regular menu. Orders should be placed by Sat. for Sun. kick-off.

Vinnie’s Neighborhood Italian, 671 Merrimon Ave. | Celebrate with a selection of Italian-American apps, salads, heroes (like meatball and chicken parmigiana), pizzas, pastas + desserts, or order a full catering tray. Order by 5 p.m. today.

White Labs Kitchen & Tap, 172 S. Charlotte St. | Get any pizza, plus an app, for $20.

Planning to go out to watch the game? Remember that we’re still under a Stay Home, Stay Smart order, restaurants are at 50% capacity for indoor dining, and there’s a 9 p.m. alcohol curfew in place.

Stay on the couch: TakeOut Central is offering free Game Day delivery with promo code “staylocal.” Local delivery service Kickback AVL is also listing restaurants’ Super Bowl offerings on their website (the last time we checked, these included Manicomio, The Bier Garden, and Creekside Taphouse with more TBA).

Poll

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