I've never been a huge pro football fan but I have always liked watching the game. If I have to cheer for a team, it is usually anyone playing the Packers. I don't really know why, but I have always felt compelled to hate them. Probably not a good reason to not like a team, but so be it. Last night was the Superbowl as I'm sure you ALL know, and it was very interesting viewing it from a different country.
Kick-off here was at 11:30 PM and it was only being shown in a few select places. So a few of us headed for a local bar in lower Bangor around 9:30 to ensure we would get in. It wasn't too bad when we got there but it soon got much busier. There is an American Football league here at the University so pretty much the whole team was there. Plus most of us Americans were there and a bunch of locals.
It soon occurred to me that there would be no commercials during the game and I got very bummed! In the UK you have to have a licence to have a TV because there is no advertisements, so there wouldn't be an exception to the rule just for the Super Bowl. So,one I didn't care for either team playing and two, no commercials, why bother watching? Well, at least there was the half time show with the Black Eyed Peas.
They finally turned the TV on at around 11 and before you know it they were announcing who would be singing to open the game. It was announced that Lea Michele from Glee would be singing. Everyone except us Americans burst into boos and screams. Granted they were booing because of who was singing but I still felt hurt that they would be so disrespectful during a time of honor for our country. I realized she was singing God Bless America and not the National Anthem but it still hurt. After that Christina Agulara came on to sing the National Anthem, and they didn't boo but they sure didn't quite down. I never thought about it before but you don't notice how patriotic you are until someone disrespects your country. And I know they didn't do it on purpose but I know I would show more respect than that if the situation was reversed.
The game started and I wasn't really cheering for anyone but it really felt like being at home watching the game. The major difference while watching the game was no commercials. To me, that is what makes the Super Bowl what it truly is, and it just wasn't the same without them. I never thought I would miss commercials but I sure did last night.
The half-time show looked pretty cool, but I heard from people in the states today that the sound was terrible. I didn't notice because I couldn't really hear anyways. We walked back from the pub after the half-time show and then my friend had her parents skype the rest of the game to us. It was nice to see some of the commercials, but we still really couldn't hear that well. Overall, it was a crazy experience watching the game in a different country.
This Thursday for OP we are mountain biking, wish me luck that I don't die!
Until next time...
~Amy
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