As Super Bowl LV is upon us, many businesses in downtown Craig have put up squares for customers to purchase as a way to stay connected to the big game. Those businesses include The Barrel Cathedral, Popular Bar, Gino’s and Carelli’s.

Sunday’s Super Bowl LV is between the AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs and NFC Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Kansas City is going for its second Super Bowl in a row behind quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and tight end Travis Kelce. The Bucs are going for their first Super Bowl since 2003 behind quarterback Tom Brady, who made the jump to Tampa Bay from New England after 20 years.

The Super Bowl squares is a yearly tradition around the United States, where people purchase a space that corresponds to a number on an XY graph. Each side of the box has a different number that represents the two team’s score. The numbers are the last digit of various numbers. Typically, if a person has two correct numbers right at the end of each quarter, they win some amount of money, with the amount going up by quarter. So, if it’s 7-7 after the end of the first quarter Sunday, whomever has the block that correlates with 7-7 will win.

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The squares tradition is something that makes the game more entertaining for those that do not have a proverbial dog in the fight. That is the thinking behind Carelli’s decision to do the squares according to owner Brett Etzler, who hasn’t seen his team in the big game in 14 years.

“We’ve been doing them every year,” Etzler said. “It just makes the game more interesting, especially if your team is not playing in the game and you can start rooting for points and scores.”

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Businesses are doing it to increase business in the community, with Etzler estimating that approximately 300 people have bought squares so far. The restaurant has already filled two $5 boards and one $20 board, and are currently working on filling up a $10 board.

“It’s a little boost [to business],” Etzler said. “I think when people come in, they get a little bite to eat or have a beer or a cocktail while they are picking out their squares. It seems right around happy hour time is when people start showing up, have a cold beer and grab a few squares. Beer sales have gone up a little during this time.”

The squares at The Barrel Cathedral were an idea first thought up by bartender David Medrano, according to the owner, Christian Dufresne. It was also heavily requested by patrons, Dufresne added.

While some do the boxes for charity, Dufresne has decided not to in hopes of increasing business.

“It’s just for a way to kind of spruce business a bit,” Dufresne said. “I mean, if people have squares, they are more likely to come in and watch the Super Bowl.”

Sunday’s action kicks off at 4:30 p.m.

moneill@craigdailypress.com