BOWL PARTY SCORES WITH TEENS

Josh Wright and Matt Hart could have watched the Super Bowl -- complete with clever advertisements for beer, soft drinks, insurance and dot-coms -- from the comfort of their living rooms Sunday evening.

Instead, the Jackson, Mo., duo opted to make their own Super Bowl commercial and watch as it was screened to a room full of other teen-age football fans.

"We're trying to point things out that are zesty," Wright said, gesturing to a jumbo video screen that featured him and Hart confirming the "zestiness" of various activities and foods.

"Zesty," Hart said with a grin as he watched the screen, "means good." The commercial ends with a grandmotherly woman devouring a bowl of oatmeal, something the boys, on screen, confirm is "not zesty," to the delight of their friends in the audience.

More than 50 youngsters gathered Sunday evening at Freedom Rock, the First Assembly of God youth center at 396 N. Kingshighway, to cheer on their favorite Super Bowl team, toss back soft drinks and sandwiches and watch their friends appear in homemade Super Bowl commercials.

During televised advertisement breaks, youth pastor Mike Lovig would instead show commercials filmed by the teen-agers earlier in the afternoon.

Many commercials were parodies of well-known television advertisements for items such as car insurance, beverages, restaurants and psychic hotlines.

During halftime, Lovig showed a video featuring testimonials about perseverance, courage and commitment from athletes such as Isaac Bruce, Trent Dilfer, Kyle Brady and Anthony Johnson.

Lovig said he organized the party as a way to reach out to youngsters who attend First Assembly of God and to others who don't attend the church.

"We wanted something that the kids would feel comfortable coming to without the normal pressures and stereotypes of going to church," Lovig said, adding that he wanted to air homemade commercials to get away from commercials for alcohol or those that may have inappropriate content.

Wright, 14, and a Giants fan, and Hart, 14, and a Baltimore Ravens fan, said they had a good time at the party.

"I thought I'd come here and watch the Super Bowl instead of watching it in my room at home," Hart said.

Andy Stephens, 12, of Scott City, Mo., also said he enjoyed the party. He said he was rooting for the New York Giants, even though he is a fan of the St. Louis Rams.

"This is like a hangout place for us," he said. "I knew a lot of my friends would be here, so I decided to come."