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Here's What Happens At An Obama Super Bowl Party

by Morgan Brinlee

In an interview at the White House with CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King prior to the Super Bowl's kickoff at Levi's Stadium, President Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama dished details about hosting Big Game viewing parties at the White House. The First Couple said they watch the Super Bowl just like everybody else.

When asked if they had any special plans for the last Super Bowl party they'll host at the White House, the First Lady uttered a phrase that surely struck a familiar chord with nearly everyone else hosting Game Day parties today, "I've been cooking all day!"

The president told King he and Michelle have "a regular group of friends" they've been inviting over to watch the Super Bowl for the last four or five years. The First Couple host their Super Bowl party in their personal residence at the White House, with much of the party taking place in the Treaty Room, a room that normally serves as the president's office.

Like many Americans on Super Bowl Sunday, the Obamas admitted they let nutritional concerns slide for the day to indulge in a few favorite treats like wings, pizza, and nachos. "We love Super Bowl food. We let Let's Move off the table," Michelle said in reference to her healthy eating initiative aimed at curbing the childhood obesity epidemic.

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While it isn't all junk food at the Obamas' Super Bowl party, you might want to think twice before passing the president the crudités. "There's the little vegetable tray that nobody touches," President Obama said, letting his preference of Game Day munchies be known. The couple said they serve two types of salad along with a host of barbecued goodies.

Come game time, the president and his family enjoy both the action on the field and the advertisement entertainment aired between plays. "We're like everybody else. Folks rate the commercials," the president said while giving a thumbs up and thumbs down gesture. "We enjoy watching the game and we hope for a good game." Although the Obamas certainly don't host a stuffy or silent Super Bowl party, they said they're not likely to yell all out at the screen when their hometown team, the Chicago Bears, aren't playing.

First Lady Michelle Obama broke down just what an Obama House Super Bowl Party might look like, explaining who's got their eye on the alcohol (her mother), who's into the sport (the president) and who's just there for the food (the kids).

Basically, we have sort of three ways that we do the Super Bowl. We have the serious watchers and that's the Treaty Room where if you're in that room, you're watching the game. Then we have the outside room where the kids are, where they're kind of fooling around, they're by the food. And then there's what I call the Champagne Room. That's where my mother sits. Where you really don't know what's going on, but you're close to the champagne.

In many ways, the Obamas' Super Bowl party sounds similar to viewing parties taking place across the country very moment – football fanatics in one room, rambunctious kids in another, and a few folks gathered around the beer. And yet, after hearing the president and the First Lady discuss party details, I can't help but hope my invitation to their Super Bowl party won't get lost in the mail next year too. That is what happened this year, right Michelle?