For most of us, the Super Bowl is a national event. A holiday, even. For us with families, unless we are living in either Arizona or Pittsburgh (which MDIAG! is not), we struggle to keep the game relevant with our families. Here a few tips to do just that:

1. Watch the Superbowl! Short of another Timber-gate wardrobe “malfunction”, the Super Bowl has plenty of family fare, albeit mostly in between whistles. The first peek at The Transformers: Rise of the Fallen and the 3D preview of the upcoming Dreamworks Animation flick Monsters vs. Aliens are just as exciting, if not more, than any play from scrimmage. Other trailers include G. I. Joe, Star Trek, Land of the Lost, Ice Age 3, Disney’s Return to Witch Mountain and Night at the Museum 2.
2. Play Some Videogames. Family-friendly games like Madden NFL 09 All-Play and Backyard Football for the Wii are solid choices for your kids to play with family or friends without suffering a single bruise.  Tecmo’s Tecmo Bowl remake for the Nintendo DS is good for a portable diversion. Or show them how their parents used to play videogames with LED Football for the iPhone.
3. Not Watch the Superbowl. The Disney Channel is showing a Phineas and Ferb marathon all day, while Cartoon Network is airing a Chowder marathon, leading into the CG flick Monster House at 7PM EST. Toon Disney is showing Cinderella III: A Twist In Time, and ABC Family is showing The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, both also at 7 PM EST. As far as direct counter programming, Animal Planet has…Puppy  Bowl V. Geez, remember when In Living Color and Beavis and Butthead had their halftime counter programs? Those were the days…
4. Go Shopping. It’s Sunday, which means there’s some fresh sales to be had (like You’re In The Movies! for the Xbox 360, only $29.99 at Target). And MDIAG! can certainly guarantee light traffic at the local shopping mall. Take out the family, have a nice dinner, and in this economy do a little window shopping, because there won’t be many others doing the same. Just be careful out on the roads.
5. Xbox Live. Microsoft is hosting “Football Fanfare” on the community gaming service, which wil feature “dozens of the hottest football-themed movies, TV shows and more.” In addition, you can also stream Air Bud via Netflix to your Xbox 360 (while picture-in-picture-ing the game on the small window, of course).

So go stock up on those pizza bites and chicken nuggets now before it’s too late!