The streets of Rosebank and Rondebosch in the Western Cape of South Africa do not have the same buzz or climactic feast or famine atmosphere I have become accustomed to at home as a Boston Sports fan. There are no Boston Herald news stands predicting the outcome, nor are there overweight, pale white males fashioning Fu-Manchus and proudly wearing patriots jerseys despite the fact they are over fifty and their athletic ineptitude. In South Africa, many people do not even know what the Super Bowl is, and those who do hardly have their lives come to a halt for it. While one of the main missions of my time in South Africa is to get away from the culture of the United States and immerse myself in the location I am in, Sports are one thing that I cannot just forget about. I plan to learn to play Cricket and Rugby for the University of Cape Town this semester, but I will be eagerly watch the Patriots, Bruins, Celtics and Red Sox all the while.
Here's to hoping plenty of Giants Super Bowl Champions shirts will be on their way to those who need them in Africa tomorrow
So, seeing as it is Super Bowl Sunday, I could not live with myself if I were to act like it was just another day in Africa, without paying homage to the greatest sport, the greatest team, the greatest quarterback and the greatest coach in the history of American Football. That being said, for those of you who are curious, here is what Super Bowl Sunday in Africa entails for a die-hard Boston sports fan, outside the friendly confines of New England.
11:00 (14 hours and 29 minutes until kickoff)- Wake up to a particularly hot African sky. Already sweating in my bed, I draw open the windows and turn the fan on high to aide my discomfort. After hopping up out of the paper towel sheets I call a bed, I head to the kitchen to get a few glasses of water and return to the front of the fan and lay down on my bed, open my computer and connect to the internet. Internet is paid for here by the megabyte (MB), and it is quite expensive. Americans used to consuming their days with videos of personified cats or chipmunks waterskiing, will pay through the nose for their mindless surfing. Youtube videos in particular eat away at your usage. You must be dedicated to each MB you use, and today I planned on using many MBs of internet with purpose. By 11:00 it was 4:00 AM EST, meaning that sportswriters had written their columns the night before, submitted them to their superiors and posted them so that the early birds at 5 and 6 AM on the east coast could read about their beloved franchises in the two of the United State's most prominent sports markets.
Sports Nation Vote was split exactly 50/50 on who would win, and so called "experts" and "analysts" were roughly 50/50 aswell.
Reading every column from the less recognizable writers like Greg Garber and Ashley Fox to the well known Bill Simmons and Rick Reilly, who in my opinion are superficial sports fans that rely on their names which have become recognized despite writing columns that mention Kim Kardashian as much as any pro-athlete. But I digress, I like to read every angle, read off of both ESPN Boston, ESPN NY and even a few Barstool articles, to make sure I haven't overlooked any match-ups, potential story lines or fact that will come in handy while watching the game. Most articles say essentially the same things, "Giants D is strong, Eli is emerging as a leader" or "Brady and Belichick will not be denied twice, Pats Offense unstoppable." Why I support and keep this over saturated market of so called "experts" and "analysts" employed is beyond my control as a sports fan, and even though all articles regurgitate the same numbers and facts over and over, I can never seem to get enough. My appetite as a sports fan is insatiable, even for mindless, redundant writing. By 11:50 I have read all that I intend to read, although I will, simply through habit, pull out my iPhone or Blackberry periodically through the day and find new articles to read while I am doing various other tasks.
Now my stomach is rumbling, and everyone knows that the key to a successful Super Bowl Sunday is endurance. Especially considering the Super Bowl starts at 1:29 Monday Morning here, meaning we'll be up until about 5:00 watching the game. So, I fix some eggs to give me some energy to take on the day and hydrate because of the incredible heat outside that I will soon have to combat.
34º C means 93º F, mind you this is still before midday
13:15 (12 hours and 14 minutes until kickoff) - Restless and ready to take on the day, I meet up with Bryson and Jarrett to make sure we have a venue for the Super Bowl at 1:30 and to get in the spirit of football by throwing the football around up at UCT. Jarrett, Bryson and Tripp are all from South Carolina, and thus are huge South Carolina Game Cock fans, and SEC Football fans. While I am not as big of an SEC or NCAA Football fan, they in return are not as big of NFL football fans. That being said, we are both fans of all types of football and are all excited for the game tonight. So we stopped by the local UCT bar, Pig 'N Swizzle, and they told us they would be open for the entirety of the game, thankfully there are many international students around UCT, so Pig 'N Swizzle sees a big money making opportunity by keeping its doors open all night. With that settled, we walked up the hill to Upper Campus to the Rugby fields in the sweltering heat to throw the ball around and get in the mood for football. We obviously stood out as Americans, carrying this foreign ball around that is not used commonly on any other continent (other than occasionally in parts of Europe). The football was hardly the only thing that gives away our cultural identity, the football merely accents our skin tone, croakies, rainbow sandals and t-shirts.
Proudly standing out as a Football fan in South Africa today
Nevertheless, people in Cape Town give a strange look when they see a football, likely because to them it looks like a misshapen rugby ball. Conversely, I recognize it must be much like the way I feel as an American, when I give odd looks to a noticeably foreign gentleman at the beach, wearing sneakers, denim capris and Dolce & Gabbana Glasses, all accented by a rugby ball. But, we paid that cultural difference no mind and had some fun throwing the football around the field. Running long routes and bombing it, short routes and finally collapsing due to the unfriendly sun that gave us no mercy this day. Finally after about 45 minutes to an hour of battling the elements, we submitted defeat to mother nature and headed for a cooler venue. By now it was 14:30 and the heat was reaching its cruelest levels, now was the time to prepare for the pre-game feast a group of us planned to enjoy before the game. With the Markets closing early on Sundays, we would have to have a quick turn around to ensure we did not leave any loose strings untied.
15:45 (9 hours and 44 minutes until kickoff) - WoolWorths is the highest quality food market we have at our convince here, and the quality and freshness of its produce is unparalleled. So, for such an occasion, it was only right that a trip to WoolWorths was made to ensure nothing was left to chance. We had decided the night before with the girls (Laura, Olivia and Morgan) that we would make tacos as a pre game meal, fitting for the Super Bowl. The girls would prepare appetizers and dessert. The South Carolina boys would prepare bean dip and get the meat, and I would prepare the fixings, guacamole and tacos for Dinner. We all had our assignments and set out to get what we needed. I struck up several conversations with people in WoolWorths who were curious which cities were playing against each other in the Super Bowl, (eyes lit up when they heard New York) and what a traditional meal was for such an occasion.
Doesn't feel like I'm 12379.4 Kilometers (or 7692.2 Miles) from home, here we have Avocados, Tortillas, Cheese, Lettuce, Tomatos, Shrimp, Meat, Onions, Salsa, Gin & Beer. Regardless of where you are in the world, what more could you ask for on Super Bowl Sunday? (Other than a Patriots victory)
The "taco" did not cross borders as smoothly as I'd hoped (#illegalimmigrationpun), and I was required to explain ingredient by ingredient what went into a taco. Tortillas and vegetables were easy to find, but tortilla chips and salsa are not well known products here. Potato chips are pretty much the only chips you will find in most supermarkets, but the challenge of finding the proper ingredients was no match for Football fans on Super Bowl Sunday, we were able to find all that we needed, and even made an impression on some locals who admitted tacos sounded, at least in theory, "hmm... pretty good."
17:00 (8 hours and 29 minutes until kickoff) - Begin writing this blog entry, after getting to 17:00 in the timeline, realize I should nap for a bit so that I don't run out of energy in the second half of the game.
17:05 (8 hours and 24 minutes until kickoff) - Fall asleep.
19:30 (5 hours and 59 minutes until kickoff) - After waking up, showering and preparing for the long night ahead, we suddenly realize we don't have enough beer. This wouldn't be a problem, however, on Sundays alcohol cannot be sold in South Africa. The only place you can get alcohol is at a bar. SO, being the resourceful and crafty fellows we are, decided that we would have to find a way to find a couple of cases of beer to satisfy our thirst until we go to the bar after midnight to watch the game. Luckily, a few extra rand and a toothy grin were the only requirements necessary to bribe the bartender into selling beer illegally by the case to carry out of the bar. SO we were able to salvage our plans by purchasing beer to keep us satiated until later in the night.
20:30 (4 hours and 59 minutes until kickoff) - Now that we had plenty of libations to keep us happy, it was time to prepare the first course of our Super Bowl party. The girls were preparing bruschetta, South Carolina boys were making a bean dip and I was making guacamole. These would be enough to keep us busy during the early part of the evening.
Everyone enjoying carious delicacies via South Carolina, Lehigh University and Massachusetts
Socializing ensued for quite a while, everyone was having a good time, and the group was divided evenly among Patriot fans and Giant fans (most people were neither Patriot or Giant fans, but for the sake of the occasion decided to join a cause). Once again, I have come to appreciate the power of sports for the second time in my brief excursion into Africa. Here we are coming together as a group all because of a game being played thousand of miles away. Whether you agree that the game is important is irrelevant. The fact that food, a game or any other cause can bring people together and make a night for people is whats important. While I dearly hope the Patriots prevail and Brady and Belichick solidify their place in history as the Greatest of All-Time, this day has already been such a great day. Everyone has come together, put in time to prepare for their own role, and enjoyed the evening and the game hasn't even started yet. I have come to appreciate sport and cooking, as I have had ample opportunity to share recipes from my household (and take credit for them all without giving credit to my sister or stepmother). Cooking is a great way to share culture, hone skills, bring people together and enjoy yourself. I have thoroughly enjoyed cooking meals, and to this point people think I'm a very talented cook (this likely will not last long, seeing as I have no prior experience beyond the grill or scrambled eggs). For now, we are enjoying our appetizers and drinks before starting up tacos and heading to the bar. Now it is 21:51 only 3 hours and 38 minutes until kickoff, giddy up.
00:20 - (1 hour and 9 minutes until kickoff) - All the girls have gone to bed, but the men are ready to get the night started. About to head to the bar to get settled in for the game. The food was had and enjoyed by all, and now only the true fans (boys) are still awake. The focus is moving away from all the distractions, now the football is all that is left. Well, football and Madonna's half time show, which will make me cringe more severely than watching Brady throw a pic-six. I will gladly sing along to every Madonna song if it will help the Patriots pull out a victory though. In Belichick We Trust
01:28 (1 minute until kickoff) - Here we go
02:00 - Bar is packed with more Giant fans than Patriot fans, very American feel in the bar, few South Africans hanging out. Currently have three bets going, all currency is paid in Tequilla, I've already bought a few for that safety. Done blogging on this, now it is up to the Patriots and Giants to provide the entertainment. Here we go
the crowd at Pig N Swizzle on Super Bowl Sunday
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