Marco Island gears up for Super Sunday

MARCO ISLAND — Marco Island residents and visitors have several important decisions to make before Super Bowl Sunday. Sports bar or house party? New England Patriots or New York Giants? And, of course, chicken wings or chili?

Winn-Dixie’s playbook calls for frying up additional wings for its Wings Bar. Publix is kicking off game day with cakes emblazoned with the logo of your favorite team. The food and beverages fly off supermarket shelves at the same pace before the big game as they do before Thanksgiving and Christmas, according to Publix staff.

While the supermarkets prepare for the house parties, Marco Island’s Sports bars draft fans who want a more public Championship Game Day.

Bartender Coleen Richter of the Sunset Grille on South Collier Boulevard at the Apollo Condominiums, likes leveling the playing field. If she has more Giants than Patriots fans in the house, she’ll don a Pats jersey and vice versa.

“You’ll have your Patriots fans at one end and the Giants fans at the other end”, Richter offered. “They’ll exchange words back and forth to rile each other across the bar.” Eventually, she says, they mingle and everyone keeps their sense of humor and the peace among this crowd of football regulars.

At the Marco Island Brewery at Marco Town Center, manager John LaCava says his patrons also bring their long-held loyalties with them to the bar.

“Being down here, everybody is from somewhere else and New York and New England are some of the biggest football followings we have just on a normal Sunday so it will definitely be a big, nice packed crowd.”

Ohio native John Goodall plans to warm his regular seat at the Sand Bar on Super Bowl Sunday. “Patriots, Giants,” he says, “It doesn’t matter too much to me. I’m guessing New England really. The New Jersey Giants, you know? They’ve been in New Jersey for 35 years and they still call themselves New York. I don’t really care. I just want a good game.”

Billy Vitolo, a West Haven Connecticut resident visiting his father, says he has no choice, his team preferences are geographically ordained. “If you come down to the New Haven county area, they usually go New York. You go a little farther up, they go New England. That’s how the state works.”

If you’re planning to catch the game at one of the Island’s sports bars, you might want to venture out early. These establishments start greeting football fans around 4 p.m., about two and a half hours prior to kick-off.

And if you’re hosting your own Super Bowl party, you may want to do what the pros do, keep those wings and nachos, and the beer, in moderation of course, coming.

Places like Rookies, Sandbar and Porky’s Last Stand are counting on partying crowds to ring in the 2012 Super Bowl victory.

People might come to the Sandbar for the big game, but they won’t leave without trying the grouper. Locals say there is “no better crunchy fried grouper sandwich in the world” which is on their regular menu. On Super Bowl Sunday the Sandbar offers domestic five bottle beer buckets for $7.50 before 6 p.m., and then after 6 p.m., five bottles for $9 and five imports for $15. The linebacker special includes 15 beers, 40 wings and a ‘wings, rings and things’ of mozzarella, onion rings, mushrooms, fish and wings for $49.99 all day Sunday through the end of the game. Until 6 p.m., oysters are $.60 each in increments of six, hot dogs, burgers, sloppy Joes and pulled pork $1 each, mini-tacos $.25 each and $5.50 for any domestic pitcher of beer. (826 E. Elkcam Circle behind Walker’s Marine, 239-642-3625, www.sandbarmarco.com)

Porky’s Last Stand has a big bar area and plenty of tables – it’s the largest bar on Marco Island. Porky’s will be adding several varieties of Porky’s original pizza on a massive buffet in addition to the regular menu. Wear your team jersey for some special prizes and giveaways. (701 Bald Eagle Drive, 239-394-8727, www.porkyslaststand.com)

Rookies on Marco Island is the working man’s answer to watching the Super Bowl. No muss, no fuss beer and food specials are on the menu at Rookies, including beer buckets and game day appetizers. Rookies will also offer their regular menu. (599 S Collier Blvd. #105, 239-394-6400)

Vandy’s/5 Brothers’ Super Bowl Party starts at 5 p.m., Sunday. They offer an all-you-can-eat buffet, prizes and Jello shots (1089 North Collier Blvd., call 239-394-5100).

The party starts at Capt. Brien’s at 2 p.m., Sunday. They offer $2 domestic drafts and $2 hot dogs and cheesburgers and a 100” screen with surround sound. (239-389-6900).

The Marriott is offering Collier County residents the big game at the beach, starting at $139. You get deluxe room accomodations, unlimited beer, wine and wings, complimentary entrance for kids into the Tiki Tribe (code C1J, marcoislandmarriott.com or 800-438-4373.