Not being much of a football fan, I tried nonetheless to get into the Super Bowl spirit.

I was inspired by my hairdresser, Yvette, who described to me all the mouth-watering appetizers she planned to concoct for her family before Sunday’s game.

I had never cooked wings but, armed with advice from Yvette and a handful of Internet tips, I took the plunge. I bought wings and a special baking pan with a rack, as well as Buffalo sauce and ranch dip. I mixed up baking and garlic powders with paprika, salt and pepper, tossed it with the wings, then placed them in the oven to bake about an hour, turning them every 20 minutes as instructed.

I made deviled eggs, something I hadn’t done in years, using a simple online recipe that called for white vinegar, relish, Dijon mustard and Hellmann’s. Then I spread blue chips on a baking sheet, topped them with shredded cheddar, salsa and black olives, and baked it until the cheese melted. Voila — nachos.

My husband Phil and I sat down to watch the game, eagerly anticipating my Super Bowl fare. First, we had the deviled eggs, which were acceptable, but nothing to write home about. Then we dove into the wings, trying some with Buffalo sauce, some with ranch and then, just plain. We chewed in silence until we could stand no more. I declared the wings awful — nothing like those we had had in restaurants.

“These are horrible,” I said.

Phil concurred: “You don’t need to make these again (his polite way of saying they bombed).”

I offered a consolation prize: Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Aside from being chagrined about the apps, I was disappointed. I had carefully selected what I deemed the best wing recipe and the freshest chicken. I even logged on to the U.S. Department of Agriculture website to ascertain whether to wash the chicken before prepping (and followed the advice not to do so, as it can cause cross-contamination with other foods, it said).

I’m really not a bad cook — I consider myself pretty competent, actually. It’s just that wings and nachos are not usual fare for us; we typically prefer more traditional food such as a baked potato, Brussels sprouts, a green salad and a small portion of meat or poultry. I occasionally try new recipes for variety’s sake, but cooking for Super Bowl Sunday just isn’t part of my culinary repertoire.

I was rooting for Kansas City, by the way, not for any educated reason but because I like Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, whose story provides a spot of positivity in an often dreary world.

We tried to watch the game in earnest and with interest, but at 8 p.m., we switched to PBS for our usual Sunday night fare: “Miss Scarlet and the Duke,” followed by “All Creatures Great and Small.”

Then, the game went into overtime. It looked like San Francisco was heading toward victory, so we turned the TV off and went to bed.

Early Monday, I was jolted from a heavy sleep.

“Kansas City won!”

Phil was shouting. Whaaaat? I couldn’t believe my ears. Go figure. “Never assume” is my new mantra.

As Monday was a new day, I decided to start with a clean slate. I asked Phil if he minded if I tossed the leftover chicken wings, literally, to the birds. He assented, and they were scooped up within seconds. At least somebody liked them, I thought. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

As to my failed attempt at Super Bowl fare? As they say, there’ s always next year.

Amy Calder has been a Morning Sentinel reporter 35 years. Her columns appear here Saturdays. She is the author of the book, “Comfort is an Old Barn,” a collection of her curated columns, published in 2023 by Islandport Press. She may be reached at acalder@centralmaine.com. For previous Reporting Aside columns, go to centralmaine.com

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