Super deals

COEUR d'ALENE - The Super Bowl can mean super deals.

Take the 46-inch Toshiba TV, Blu-Ray player and sturdy TV stand for $699.99 through today at Shopko.

The Super Bowl can also mean unlikely deals.

Take for example the temporary truce between DirecTV and Northwest Broadcasting Inc., which operates the local Fox Network station. The two sides have been trading jabs while negotiating a new contract. Now DirecTV customers won't need an indoor antenna to watch the ball game.

The Super Bowl, of course, means business.

Jim Hightower, who owns Domino's Pizza outlets in Coeur d'Alene, Hayden, Post Falls and Rathdrum with his wife, Melissa, said Super Bowl Sunday is one of the busiest days of the year for Domino's Pizza - if not the busiest.

He said he expects to sell 1,500 pizzas between his four local stores Sunday.

Ivan Zaragoza, a sales representative at the Coeur d'Alene Shopko, said, "It's been a good week for the TVs."

He said the "super deal" on the TV, Blu-Ray player and TV stand started on Sunday and is aimed at Super Bowl fans.

The Super Bowl drives additional traffic to Shopko.

"Traditionally, we see a spike in TV sales right before the Super Bowl, both in-store and online," Shopko spokeswoman Jen Steffen said. "Also a lot of recliners, football-theme party supplies, and snacks" sell well during that time.

Green Bay Packers apparel, though not in the Coeur d'Alene store, has been a hot seller at shopko.com, she said. "We plan to have Packers Super Bowl champs tees available online as soon as the game is over - I mean as soon as the Packers win."

During the Super Bowl, the store is usually a little quieter.

"We do find there are some non-football fans that actually like to shop during the game when they expect the store to be less busy," Steffen said.

Hightower, of Domino's Pizza, said on most days the dinner rush begins about 5 p.m.

On Super Bowl Sunday, the rush begins much earlier, about an hour before kickoff, which means about 2:30 p.m.

"We will approximately double our staffing as well as the amount of food that we will 'prep,'" he said.

There's another rush at halftime.

"It provides a break from the game's action and also coincides with the normal dinner hour about 5:30 p.m.," he said. "We will have several team members 'proofing' dough, stocking our pizza toppings, and prepping our chicken, sauces, sandwich bread, and pasta early in the morning so we can be ready for our customers."

Pizza is the main product, but Domino's also will sell chicken by the farm-load.

"Many of our customers have Super Bowl parties and they order large amounts of buffalo wings, as well as our oven-baked sandwiches and breadbowl pastas," he said.

For those heading out on the town, local bars and restaurants are planning some major Super Bowl shindigs.

Cricket's Downtown Bar and Grill, on Sherman Avenue in Coeur d'Alene, will be packed to the gills on Super Sunday.

"We're having a big bash, like we do every year," said Cricket's manager Margaret McCormick. "Lots of different food specials."

The restaurant boasts 15 televisions and seating for 100 patrons. The annual party has been a Super Bowl tradition since 1989, and the staff anticipates a healthy turnout this year.

Six servers and two bartenders will work the Sunday shift, doling out food and drink specials.

"Lots of fun, lots of smiles," McCormick predicted.

Elsewhere in Coeur d'Alene, Capone's Pub and Grill is also planning a Super Sunday party. The restaurant on Fourth Street will have 41 beers on tap, a special on tequila shots and plenty of high-definition TVs tuned to the big game.

"We're expecting a big crowd," said manager Jeff Strong. "It's a good day."

Capone's also will serve up some special menu items, including the "Pitts-burger," a quarter-pound patty with cheese soup on the side.

Football fans can stop by "for the good food, and the great atmosphere, and the great beer," Strong said.

Ever since Jan. 15, 1967, when the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in Super Bowl I, friends and family have gathered around televisions to watch the biggest game of the season. They've munched on chips, guzzled soda, watched quirky commercials and endured awful halftime shows. Some were definitely better than others.

And this year will be no different.

Paul Villano, of Coeur d'Alene, said he plans to watch the Super Bowl with a small group of friends, "downing some serious pizza and beer." The flat-screen TV will be fired up, too.

"Biggest game of the year, obviously," Villano said. "I'm not really for the Packers or the Steelers, but, it's a big deal."

Browsing the aisles at Safeway on Friday, Janice Peters, of Hayden, was buying supplies for a Sunday get-together. She'll be making salad and some other healthy treats, rather than traditional, more belly-busting Super Bowl fare.

"I'll be with family," Peters said. "My son has a big-screen."

The Super Bowl, she said, is about team spirit and patriotism and being American. It's a special event.

"I like the gathering, the camaraderie, the food - just everything about it," Peters said.