Man Cave Essentials

Sunday Football Game Room Essentials

The following is a guest post from Kevin Fischer.  You can follow him on Twitter @kevinTFischer.

For many, Sunday is a blessing this time of year—and not the spiritual kind (unless you’re Tim Tebow). It’s football season, and with that comes the one day of the week reserved for not just relaxation, but hour upon hour of unrestrained gridiron action.

But indeed just as our holy brethren have established sanctuaries for prayer, football fanatics across the globe have created rooms made to capture the good karma of the football gods. Often referred to as the “man cave” (non-gender exclusive), these establishments offer both items for uplifting spirit and comforts for when things get tough.

If you have not put together a room in your home dedicated to maintaining the graces of the football gods, here are some essential items to help you get started.

Items for Uplifting Spirit

Whether the week was good or it was one you just want to put behind you, these necessities are designed to immediately give you a positive outlook on life come Sunday.

HDTV

Ah- beautiful, elegant, immersive high-definition. Jersey colors radiate like never before. Tuffs of grass unearth in your face. You can almost reach out and touch sideline reporters’ caked-on foundation. HD is the very reason you purchased a flat screen. And it’s the only real way to watch the game without actually being there.

The price of owning an HDTV has dropped drastically over the past few years, making it much less bank busting to get one for your football room. If you don’t have one, any reputable brand will do, but it is recommended that you get one with at least 120hz refresh rate to better capture the fluid motion of players.

The Thrown. The Caretaker. Old Faithful. The place where we sit down to consume hours of football goes by many names and comes in many shapes and sizes.

Some prefer the La-Z-Boy type, with springy automatic footrests, sturdy leather, and 150 degrees of reclining freedom for a respectable balance of relaxation and optimal TV viewing. Others prefer the “second-hand sofa,” already well-traveled and ripe with scents of spilled nachos and stale beer of many a successful Sundays-past.

Regardless of preference, it’s the one place where you can kick your feet up without being scolded. For this reason, every football room demands one.

Additional spirit points rewarded for furniture that includes any or all of the following built in features: refrigerator, beverage/remote control holder, leg massager.

Sustenance

A common food source for football practitioners is a healthy balance of wings, pizza, chips, and beer. Suppliers know this and have created special football packages and deals for Sunday. It is recommended that you establish a relationship with a conveniently located supplier, so your order takes priority when undisciplined foodies start picking up the phone midday.

To maximize pleasure-inducing consumption, a solid supply of TUMS should also be within arm’s length at all times.

Items for Rough Patches

Sunday isn’t just about the high notes. Your QB will throw an interception (or two, or three). Your fantasy lineup will suffer. You might be told you have to pick up the kids from across town. Thankfully, there are things you can have in the room that will help counter any hiccups that could arise.

Cleaning Robots

Nothing can make a frustrating day of poor home team performance worse than having to clean up everything on top of it all. Make it easy on yourself and invest in a Roomba®. Just let one of these little autonomous vacuum cleaners loose at first kickoff and by the time you’re done with the afternoon games your floor will look the same as when you started.

Not having to hear a nagging partner complain about your mess is well worth the $280-$700 price tag.

Additional rough patches combatted with the Scooba®, which can wash and scrub those tougher stains out.

Service Backups

We’ve all been there before. Just as a Hail Mary bomb leaves the QB’s fingertips the power goes out, leaving you in the dark (literally) on the outcome of the play. You need a backup.

Unfortunately, a generator won’t necessarily help in this situation because an outage could affect not only your own home’s power, but also your cable provider’s hub down the road. Instead, if you’re a Verizon Source: play.google.com
Source: play.google.com

With Verizon you can download the NFL Mobile app, which gives you access to Red Zone and live coverage of the Sunday evening game (and Thursday and Monday games) for just $5 a month during the season. There are several other sports apps available which are helpful for emergency situations or even just to get you through commercials.

There are many more items you can include to get your room prepped for game day. As long as you have the essentials, you’ll be well on your way to more fulfilling, liberating Sundays.