America Plans for Super-Sized Super Bowl Sunday

(The New York Post) - America has a giant appetite when it comes to the Super Bowl, and this year's contest stands to be a record breaker.

More Americans than ever will celebrate Super Bowl Sunday this weekend, spending a predicted $11 billion -- more than ever before -- according to a National Retail Federation survey.

Nearly 173 million people will watch the Giants play the New England Patriots, the most in the survey's eight-year history and up from an estimated 171 million last year.

Of those, at least 5.1 million will buy a new TV specifically for the big day, compared to 4.5 million last year and 3.6 million in 2010.

"It seems millions of Americans are already planning to have a knockout good time for Super Bowl XLVI," according to Mike Gatti, executive director of the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association.

Pizza Hut is predicting that it will sell more than two million pies -- more than 16 million slices -- on the big day.

According to the Calorie Control Council, the average armchair quarterback will consume 1,200 calories and 50 grams of fat, just from snacking during the game.

That is not counting actual meals on what is the second-biggest eating day of the year after Thanksgiving, according to the US Agriculture Department.

The National Chicken Council reports that more than 1.25 billion chicken wings will be consumed during this weekend. If they were laid end-to-end, they would circle the circumference of Earth more than twice over.

But the king of Super Bowl snacks, according to the Nielsen Company, is potato chips. Nearly 46 million pounds of chips are sold in the run-up to the game. Add in other snack foods -- like tortilla chips, pretzels and popcorn -- and there are about 177 million pounds of snacks sold for Super Sunday.

Read more: The New York Post