Super Bowl Sunday is a time of celebration for pizzerias across the nation as American pizza lovers and football combine to provide a boost for the take-out pizza business on the day of the championship game. Pizza orders have risen by as much as 35% on the day of the championship game in the past and there's no reason to expect Super Bowl Sunday 2011 will be any different.

According to estimates from the National Association of Pizzeria Operators, the Super Bowl Sunday spike could translate to a record setting day that will see more than 40 million pizzas consumed nationwide. Most of the orders will be take out due to the fact that most Americans watch the game at a home Super Bowl party instead of going out to a bar or restaurant.

Pizzerias all over will be adding more delivery drivers and kitchen staff to handle the short-lived rush. Pizza Hut's research team observed that super Bowl Sunday is Pizza Hut's busiest day of the year and the chain expects up to a 60% increase in orders as
Americans place more than 1.3 million orders with the Dallas-based chain alone. Pizza Hut will have nearly 120,000 employees working across America on the company's busiest day.

Papa John's is the official pizza of Super Bowl XLV, and will handle its official NFL sponsorship duties by giving away a free $45 Papa John's gift card every 45 seconds along with free large pizzas to customers registered for Papa Points if this year's game goes into overtime. Papa John's new connections with football run deep and in addition being in the first year of a multi-year sponsorship deal with the NFL, the chain is also is the official pizza of the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Tennessee Titans and Washington Redskins.