Major American football game this week if you live in the Northeast. The New York Jets vs the New England Patriots. People have parties with "buffalo wings"--chicken wings baked in hot sauce, which they dip in bleu cheese and then eat celery to cool their mouths.

At football parties we eat tortilla chips dipped in "layer dip", and "onion dip"--Lipton onion soup mix mixed with sour cream. We order out pizza and "subs"--huge sandwiches with meat, cheese, dressing, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, oregano, salt, and hot peppers. In America, pizzerias will usually deliver pizza and subs to your house. You should tip the delivery person--three or four dollars is appropriate for a party order. The delivery person makes part of his living from tips; he is only paid a small wage by the pizzeria that employs him.

At football parties we watch our teams and cheer them on--for the jets the cheer is "J-E-T-S! JETS JETS JETS JETS!"

Here's video of "Fireman Ed"--an unofficial Jets mascot leading fans in a Jets cheer.

Some people even have home theaters with huge television screens where they watch the games. We drink beer--Heinekin, Budweiser, or Coors are good brands.

We also have a tradition in this country of "tailgating" at American style football games. "Tailgating" is when fans of a team gather in the parking lot of the stadium before a game and set up huge grills and portable cookers and cook chile, hot fries, ribs, po' boys, crab sandwiches, barbecued chicken--everything and anything goes at a tailgate party. It's rowdy and raucous--a place to really let down your hair. (To "let down your hair" means to get rowdy and act wild). Tailgate parties often involve competitions for the hottest chili or the best ribs.

Tailgating got its name because of the "tailgate" of a pickup truck--people would drive their pickup trucks to the game and put their cookers and food and everything in the bed and sit on or serve food on the lowered tailgate. Tailgate parties are a great time for fans to meet up with each other and generally enjoy the camaraderie of their fellow team lovers.

Note: if you ever go to a tailgate party, you are expected to bring some kind of food yourself--meat is best but if you can't, a selection of dips, salsas and *plenty* of chips and drinks will do. You have to remember that you are feeding a *huge* number of people. It's also a good idea to bring beer--but be *careful* who you give it to. In America, the drinking age is 21 and it is ILLEGAL to provide alcohol to anyone under that age, and the consequences are SERIOUS.

All right? LETS GO JETS!

(The Jets are winning the game going on right now Sunday evening...if they go all the way to the Super Bowl at the end of January it will be their first time since 1969. Jets fans used to be referred to as "long suffering"--the Jets were famous for opening the season big and then falling apart. No more. Last year they made it all the way to the conference championships, one game before the Super Bowl. This year it is conceivable that they could go all the way and maybe even win it.)

All right? All right? Catch you later! LETS GO JETS! ;-)