By Lauren Bishop
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Last year, NBC vied for Super Bowl viewers during halftime with Fear Factor and Saturday Night Live specials. This year, in a creative counter-programming attempt, it's pitting men against men with three encore episodes of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy - its hit "make better" (not makeover) show normally broadcast on NBC-owned Bravo.

Can't decide between Queer Eye and this year's Super Bowl? Let us be your comparison guide:

Super Bowl vs. Queer Eye

Stars:
Tom Brady Born: 1977 Occupation: Quarterback, New England Patriots Education: University of Michigan Seen hobnobbing with: First Lady Laura Bush, Donald Trump, Playboy bunnies	Carson Kressley Born: 1969 Occupation: One-fifth of the Fab Five, stylist who once worked for Polo Ralph Lauren Education: Gettysburg College Seen hobnobbing with: Cher, Juliette Lewis, Playboy bunnies
Location:
Reliant Stadium, Houston	New York City metropolitan area
The players:
Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots	The Fab Five (Ted Allen, Kyan Douglas, Thom Filicia, Carson Kressley and Jai Rodriguez) and three straight shlubs: John Bargeman, Ross Morrissey and Andrew Lane)
Salaries:
$468,145 (2002 median annual salary, Panthers), $540,300 (2002 median annual salary, Patriots)	About $320,000 annually, each Queer Guy
What they'll be wearing:
Eye black, jockstraps, helmets	Eye cream, boxer briefs, Helmut Lang
When to watch:
6-10 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 1, Channels 12, 7	8-11 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 1 on Channels 5, 22
What to eat:
Wings, pizza, nachos, pork rinds, beer float	Toasts with truffle fois gras mousse, asparagus and pasta torta, crËme brulee
What to drink:
Beer, soda, beer	Fruit smoothies, mulled wine, martinis
Music you'll hear:
Aerosmith, Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, Walter Suhr and Mango Punch! during the pre-game show; Beyonce Knowles singing the Star-Spangled Banner, and Janet Jackson, Kid Rock, P. Diddy, Nelly at halftime show	Basement Jaxx, Elton John, Junior Senior, Kylie Minogue, Liz Phair, Widelife featuring Simone Denny
Major advertisers during show:
Anheuser-Busch, H&R Block, Pepsi, Procter & Gamble, erectile dysfunction medication manufacturers	Apple, Disaronno Originale Amaretto, Kohler, Orbitz, Smirnoff
Number of U.S. viewers:
130 million expected	7.2 million average viewers of past episodes aired on NBC
Lingo:
Buttonhook - A pass route in which the receiver heads downfield, then quickly turns back toward the line of scrimmage	Tjuzs (jooj) - To tweak, to arrange, to place, as in pushing sleeves up the forearm or stretching out a collar on a knit shirt to make it look worn and less "out of the box"
Controversies:
Patriots coach Bill Belichick cutting `efensive back Lawyer Milloy a week before the season; the NFL nixing Bono's offer to sing an AIDS-awareness song with Jennifer Lopez during halftime; being the most boring Super Bowl in years	Possibly perpetuating stereotypes of both gay and straight men; dumping Blair Boone, the original "culture vulture," for Jai; Carson and Thom briefly wearing straight guy John Verdi's police uniform
Memorable quote:
"We wanted to beat them up. That was the goal. Run and hit. Just hit and hit and keep on hitting. If they had the ball, hit them. If they didn't have the ball, hit them." Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi in The New York Post	"Spa treatments are expensive, but you know what's more expensive? Divorce." - Carson in Episode 102: A Great Mess in Great Neck