Four years ago, as the New England Patriots faced the New York Giants in a much-hyped Super Bowl showdown, Boston prepared itself for a raucous victory celebration. Streets were closed off and parking restrictions imposed. Bars and college campuses were urged to curb excessive drinking. If you were a Pats fan then, or even a casual Super Bowl partygoer, you know what happened next. No last-minute comeback. No confetti. No celebration, raucous or otherwise. However, if you were out and about the city that Sunday, you weren’t necessarily focused on Tom Brady versus Eli Manning or who would air the more entertaining Super Bowl ads, Doritos or Bud Light. Museum exhibits were wide open that day, Oscar-nominated movies a breeze to get into. Theater seats, restaurant reservations: Sure, when can you get here?
Enjoy Super Bowl Sunday, without watching football
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Tomorrow, the Pats once again prepare to meet the Giants, with kickoff scheduled for 6:20 p.m. It will be nonstop Super Bowl hysteria for many - for others, a walk in the park. Or a movie night. Or an evening on the town.
“A good amount of us couldn’t even tell you the date’’ of the Super Bowl, said Jason Bond, chef-owner of Bondir, the very hip but tiny (28 seats) Cambridge restaurant where it will be business as usual at game time. His advice about booking a reservation for tomorrow night? Early and late seatings are easier to get than a prime-time table.
Does Bondir have a flat screen TV, at least, in case diners want to follow the game? That would be a no.
Laurie Nash of Newton doesn’t care much about football or the Pats, either. But she is a theater buff. Tomorrow she’ll be attending the New Repertory Theatre’s production of “ART,’’ which ends its three-week run with a 2 p.m. matinee show.
A New Rep season subscriber, Nash specifically picked Super Bowl Sunday to see the play, assuming she’d secure a better seat that day because people were making plans to be elsewhere. Which she has.
“It wasn’t a difficult decision for me,’’ says Nash, who may end up at a Super Bowl party with friends later, but more to socialize and watch the ads, she says, than to root for the home team.
Also at “ART’’ tomorrow will be Ken Kimmel of Newton, who does care about the Pats and will catch the game action later that evening. But like many locals making other plans for tomorrow, his day will not be built around hours of pregame hype.
“I can’t do nine hours of pregame analysis,’’ he says. “There’s time to do something in the real world, too. To get some culture and take advantage of what this city has to offer.’’