When I was deciding which semester I would go abroad I had two key factors to consider. If I went abroad in the fall, I'd miss football season. If I went abroad in the spring, I'd miss the Beer League playoffs. Ultimately, I decided that I only have the chance to play in the Beer League playoffs a few times in my life, and I could watch football for the rest of my life, and as such I would go abroad in the fall. Little did I know how crippling not having football would be.
I've watched football every single Sunday I've been at Pomona College. I've watched football every single Sunday for as long as I can remember. I always find a way - even if I'm out skiing - to watch the games. I hoped that it would be the same in South Africa - maybe I'd be able to stream the games over the internet? (Haha, in retrospect this is hilarious, internet here is so slow it's a joke and you have to pay for the amount of bandwidth you use, so streaming a game would cost me a fortune.) But, as the first Sunday of the NFL season passed without me seeing a second of action, I knew I was in for it. I even tried staying up until 2:30 am on the first Monday night of the season to watch the Jets vs. Ravens on ESPN, since my dorm has a television. Much to my dismay, ESPN was showing rain-delay tennis instead of Monday Night Football. I was furious! But, deep down, I understood that there isn't much of an audience for football down here, and I begrudgingly accepted that I would have to wait until Thanksgiving to get my first taste of some pigskin.
I'm not sure what prompted me, but last night I decided I had to try again. I went to sleep early, woke up at 2, and went down to the TV room. I switched the TV to ESPN, and before the picture could even load I heard the defining "Bom bom bom bom" of the Monday Night Football theme song. I threw up my arms in a Johnny Drama-esque fashion with a loud "VICTORY!". I couldn't believe it - real football! One of the happiest moments of my study abroad experience thus far.
(On a semi-tangent, every single commercial throughout the game was for ESPN. I mean EVERY SINGLE ONE. Be it for the upcoming NBA season, a scrimmage between the Lakers and FC Barcelona this Friday, Spanish League soccer, ESPN's soccer website, ESPN's cricket website, the MLB playoffs, or the plays of the week, literally every single commercial was ESPN related. I guess it's hard to sell air time at that hour, and that the NFL really doesn't appeal to the average South African.)
Though the game was a blowout, I wound up staying up through the third quarter before crawling into bed around 5:00 am. Did I have a Tuesday morning meltdown? Absolutely. But I could not have cared less - I had tasted the forbidden fruit and borne it's benefits. I remember now why I love America so much - the NFL.
No comments:
Post a Comment