Things To Do |

6 things to take advantage of while everyone else is watching the Super Bowl

For sports fans, the Super Bowl is the most anticipated weekend of the year—or at least of the winter. If you’re not all about that pigskin, though, it’s just another day to stuff your face full of wings and watch funny commercials.

The problem is that this can grow old, and fast. If you’re looking to switch up the way you celebrate grown men throwing each other around for athletic glory, there are many options in Chicago to explore Feb. 5.

1) Head to the zoo.

Prepare to bundle up and head to Lincoln Park Zoo. Though the crowds are diminished during the winter months in general, you’ll probably have close to free rein over the zoo—and the heated indoor conservatory next door will definitely be next to empty. Trade in the screaming and rivalry of the game for the tranquility of pretty plants. You’ll be glad (and so Zen) that you did.

If you’re willing to travel a bit, Brookfield Zoo has free admission every Sunday (and Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays) through the end of February. I would bet the price of admission that this is the only free day you don’t need to fight through throngs of screaming children demanding another stuffed giraffe.

2) Hit the mall.

Forget that Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching? Take the time while every other sucker is glued to the TV to get the perfect gift for your someone special, without having to throw elbows to get the exact sweater or necklace you wanted before anyone else. Pure romance.

3) Explore a museum.

If there is one entity that symbolizes the cultural opposite of football, it’s probably a museum. Fortunately, Chicago is chock-full of museums and culture to peruse while everybody else is five containers of spinach dip deep.

The Field Museum is free for Illinois residents every day in February, though lines on typical free days can take until closing to get through, so Super Bowl Sunday likely is your best bet to get some face time with Sue. The Chicago Children’s Museum is also free for children 15 and younger the first Sunday of every month, which—surprise!—just so happens to be Super Bowl Sunday in February.

4) See a show.

Maybe head to the theater to see that show you’ve been meaning to catch. “Hamilton” still has seats available for its Feb. 5 matinee showing. The tickets will still cost you a pretty penny, but don’t you want to be in the room where it happens?

For a cheaper price, you can also see “The Bodyguard” for as low as $41 as of Thursday afternoon. Blue Man Group also has tickets for its Feb. 5 show available, if you’ve been putting off seeing this tourist staple in the name of avoiding said tourists.

5) Get cultured.

Super Bowl Sunday coincides with the Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade ringing in the Year of the Rooster. The parade starts at 1 p.m., stepping off from Wentworth Avenue and Cermak Road, right off the Cermak Red Line stop.

6) Catch a movie.

You’ll be missing out on those multimillion-dollar commercials for upcoming movies, but you’ll get to enjoy the ones you’ve been saying you don’t want to brave the crowds for. Imagine having a theater for “Rogue One” all to yourself. That can be reality, my friend.

If you’re into getting the you-know-what scared out of you, “Rings”—the follow-up to “The Ring” that nobody asked for—comes out on Super Bowl weekend, and it’ll be your only opportunity to catch it without a swarm of 13-year-olds trying to look cool on a date.

@shelbielbostedt | sbostedt@redeyechicago.com