"You really begin to understand the investment families make in their home theater when guys are saying they would rather watch the game on a great television than with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders."
Lee Simonson, business team leader for Picture, Source and Sound at Best Buy

This year more than 120 million Americans are expected to gather with family and friends to watch Super Bowl XXXVIII. So what transforms a "good" get-together into a "super" party? According to a recent Best Buy survey, it's all about the game, the television and the home theater system.

Survey respondents rated a great television and sound system (home theater) as the most important part of the Super Bowl party--ahead of party snacks, entertaining commercials and the halftime show. With 69 percent of Americans planning to watch most or all of the game, the quality of the home theater becomes crucial. Ninety-one percent of those surveyed said it is important to have a quality home theater to watch the game.

Men were especially concerned with the quality of the home theater for a Super Bowl party. In fact, men surveyed would rather watch the game on a great home theater than enjoy the game in the company of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.

A state-of-the-art home theater can also influence your entertaining habits. Seventy-nine percent of survey respondents said they would host a Super Bowl party if they had a new home theater.

Surprisingly, 60 percent of survey respondents said they need a television upgrade, and 42 percent described their home theater as a "punt" (needs to improve) or "fumble" (needs a lot of help). Not coincidentally, the National Electronic Dealer Association reported that sales of large screen televisions typically increase by 500 percent during the week prior to Super Bowl.

"More people entertain for the Super Bowl than just about any other occasion of the year, and at no event is home theater technology more the center of the attention," said Lee Simonson, business team leader for Picture, Source and Sound at Best Buy. "You really begin to understand the investment families make in their home theater when guys are saying they would rather watch the game on a great television than with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders."

Best Buy commissioned the study to determine what makes the best Super Bowl party. The results are based on an internet survey of a randomly selected national sample of 701 people ages 18 to 64, conducted January 2004 by Click IQ on behalf of Best Buy.