Super Bowl 43

If you thought my being in a far away country would deter me from the national pastime of watching the Super Bowl, think again! There are plenty of ex-pats and Chinese in HK who wanted to watch the Cardinals and the Steelers go head to head, and I joined their ranks for an early breakfast on Monday to watch the game with some friends.

Because of the time difference, the game started at 7:30 am on Monday here, and there was one restaurant – Dan Ryan’s – that was showing the game on a big screen. It’s in Admiralty on Hong Kong Island, so a bit of a commute that early in the morning from the New Territories … but only for my friends since I was lucky enough to be housesitting for a friend in the area near Admiralty (ie I got to sleep an extra 45 minutes). I met six friends at Dan Ryan’s at 7 am and we were shown to our table we had to reserve several weeks in advance (under the name “Ms. Kaia” for my friend Kara). The tables were laid out in rows in the dining room, the game being projected on a screen on the wall at the front. Only three of our seven were Americans, the others being three Australians and one Brit – none of whom had ever watched an American football game. We Americans were asked endless questions about why the players do this and that … and being the football buff that I am NOT, I just kept saying, “Um… I don’t know. They just do.” The Brit among us kept drawing rugby comparisons, and was able to figure out the game based on what she knew of rugby.

Since it was morning, there was a menu of breakfast choices and we each enjoyed eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, and toast. There were several, more intense fans, in the place who, despite the early morning, kept the beers coming and enjoyed themselves immensely (I kept wondering what they were doing after the game was over, at 11 am, and they had already been drinking for so long, but oh well – and these weren’t Americans, but Chinese that were doing the drinking). I think I was surprised by how many Chinese were there, very eager to watch the game and knowledgeable about it too. In fact, I would say there were more Asians than Westerners in there.

It soon became apparent who was on what side, as with touchdowns half the room would explode into cheers and the other half into “NO!” I wasn’t sure which side to choose team-wise, so at half-time I called my dad and asked him. Being a football fan, he emphatically told me we are Cardinals fans, and have never been Steelers fans. Good to know.

Sadly, we only got to watch local commercials and not the much talked about Super Bowl commercials. We also did not get to watch the half-time show. It was a bit disappointing.

I had a lot of fun being in the midst of such an energetic crowd for such a close game. Even the Aussies and Brit with us got fully into the game, and by the end vowed to watch it again next year. So at the very least, I’m converting people to American football.

**In the photo above, I know it doesn't look very crowded but that's because the photo was taken after the game ended and people were clearing out fast to head to work. Bonus question: Can you tell just by looking who the Aussies are, the Brit, and the Americans? :)