Football Theme Parties

Astroturf can also be used in other spots. Food service company Sysco Metro NY served tacos and other hors d’oeuvres from a station covered in Astroturf at Jets & Chefs: the Ultimate Tailgate hosted by former quarterback Joe Namath and Mario Batali. The event was held as part of the New York City Wine & Food Festival in 2013.

Helmets can also serve as decorative accents. Tables at the premiere of football player Ernie Davis’s 2008 biopic, The Express, featured centerpieces with pom-poms, helmets, and pennants.

Or, look for a tablecloth that reflects a football theme. At Diffa’s Dining by Design in Chicago in 2013, an elegant tailgate party inspired the vignette from Sparc Inc., designed by Richard Cassis and Hunter Kaiser.

Solo cups are an often-spotted component of any tailgate party and can also be a fun, inexpensive way to dress up a football-viewing party. Turn the cups into decor by arranging dozens of them inside the spaces of hurricane fencing to spell out game day messages, as David Stark did for a high school graduation party in New Jersey in 2013.

Tony C's Sports Bar and Grill, a restaurant with two Boston-area locations, is serving up football-inspired fare this season. Clever menu items include a dish called "Pig Skins," which is actually potato skins with two types of cheese, bacon, scallions, and sour cream drizzled to reflect the stitches on a football.