“The thing I keep up with most is professional football. I know all the players. I know all their numbers, who they play for. I’ve had people quiz me on it, just in games when we got nothing to do. And that’s a big thing with me right now. I watch all the games that I can. I get the films from the teams themselves if I can. But next to the entertainment thing, and music, that, I guess would be the biggest.”
–Elvis Presley, August 1962

The front lawn of Graceland will play host to a Super Bowl “watch party” benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (“Super Bowl Watch Party at Graceland to Benefit St. Jude” — Elvis.com).

“The party will mark only the second time an event has been held on the lawn, or anywhere on the property, since Elvis’ passing,” states the official Elvis site. The (American) football Super Bowl game will take place on February 6.

Besides watching the game, the catered event will also feature football games similar to those Elvis and friends once played at Graceland. (I wonder if they will include the use of firecrackers, as those of Elvis allegedly did? Probably not!) There will also be a silent auction of sports and Elvis related items. Tickets are $500.

Elvis was a strong supporter of St. Jude, which was founded by Danny Thomas. In 1964, Elvis donated the USS Potomac, a yacht once owned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to the organization.

NFL playoff games are taking place today between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers (NFC) and the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets (AFC) to determine who will play in this year’s Super Bowl. Does watching the Super Bowl on February 6 on Graceland’s front lawn sound a little cold? Don’t worry, that part will take place “in a heated tent decorated in a style similar to Elvis’ TV room,” according to Elvis.com.

Kudos to Elvis Presley Enterprises for this event and its other efforts to continue Elvis’ “generosity of spirit,” as Lisa Marie Presley once so eloquently called it.

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Additional source: Elvis: Word For Word by Jerry Osborne, Harmony Books, New York, 2000.