HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — On the field of food battles, only one meal can reign supreme. Sure, chicken wings are great for snackers and burgers beat all on the barbecue. But if you need a food that can take a pile-on of toppings and handle the ups-and-downs of the Big Game, pizza certainly earns its crust.
The American Pizza Community (yes, it's a thing) said that over the last few years, about 12.5 million pizzas are ordered, baked, and delivered to football fanatics on Super Bowl Sunday.
Domino's told the APC they sell more than 11 million slices on that single day.
"We're going to be selling a couple hundred pizzas an hour during our crunch time," Marco's Pizza Managing Partner Darren Ezzo said. "Our busiest time of year is usually New Year's Eve, Halloween, and then, of course, Super Bowl. Super Bowl is probably the most pressure for the simple fact that it's usually within an hour and a half, it's all crunched and all at once."
Orders come through faster than a linebacker on game day, with "critical mass" hitting about one hour before kickoff, the APC said.
The earlier the better is the best way to order, Ezzo said, "because the crunch time is going to be between 4:30p and 6:30p. It is also usually easier for customers to call in and pick up their orders. "The easiest way is just to pick up from us. That is by far the easiest and quickest route for us," Ezzo said.
Overall, Marco's is already preparing their pizza boxes, toppings and dough to be fully prepared for the big day."We're expecting to probably sell about 150 pounds of wings, ten tubs of sauce, and we'll probably end up going through at least 800 pizzas for the day," said Ezzo.
Pizza Hut Shift Manager Porsche Ible said the best thing to do is know what time the game is coming on and place your order well in advance, "so that way we can prepare the order and have it there for you at the time that the game comes on," she stated.
The most popular topping? Pepperoni, naturally. And a LOT of it was used - more than 630,496 slices of it, in fact - to create the world's largest pizza. The 13,990-square-foot pie was made in January by Pizza Hut as part of a promotion for the return of its Big New Yorker pie.
Pizza Planet cited a 2019 National Restaurant Association study which said 61% of people surveyed consider 'za their "must-have" Super Bowl food. The foodie blog also shared data estimating more than $230 million is spent on frozen and deli-made pizzas in the two weeks leading up to the championship game.
Statista said the average adult will spend approximately $85.36 on food, beverages, and other items for Super Bowl viewing parties across the United States.
No matter how you slice it, pizza pie is as part of American tradition as the Super Bowl itself. And don't forget your local pizza shops if you consider pizza for your tailgate party.