Nott What You'd Expected...

An American Footballer in England

Ingredients for a Nottingham Superbowl Experience:
9 flatmates
13 pitchers of bubbly American brew
100 wings (50 medium, 50 bbq)
1 piece key lime pie
1 piece chocolate cake
6 scoops ice cream
2 orders curly fries
2 sides of nacho cheese dip
1 co-hosting gig on Sky Sports from ambassador to Miami, Don Johnson
3 awkward Englishmen with Broncos jerseys
1 lame guy in a Cleavland Indians top
1 fake-tanned, awkwardly dyed waitress
1 bill for 130 pounds

let sit for 6 hours.

drive home in two cabs when done......

Without a doubt the most interesting (to say the least) Superbowl experience of my life. Hooters was packed with Americans, wannabe Americans, and so much testosterone that our girls actually started growing facial hair... i kid. At one point, there were Ohio State Jerseys, a Peyton Manning supporter in the Indianapolis Whites, a guy rocking a Chelsea jersey for some reason, and countless waitresses walking around in Urlacher and Manning-scripted White Hooters tops. It was Americana at its best.

I was a bit shocked when the din died down for Billy Joel's national anthem, but a few boos did make their way through the crowd. It was an embarrassing moment as the Brits realized that they were letting their true obsession with America show, and they were forced to overcompensate by booing the footage of troops in Iraq and Mr Joel tickling soaked ivories.

The night was long and laborious, but we succeeded in our goal of watching the entire thing. A few cultural moments I wont soon forget:

- at one point, an obviously clueless supporter became irate when Manning's 53 yard TD pass flew into the arms of a receiver who had beaten two Chicago defenders down field... in an act of pure Britishness, the fan screamed "YOU CAN'T DO THAT...HE WAS OFFSIDES!"... wrong football, buddy.

- In an act that recalled cold afternoons watching Forest matches, as each team scored, a round of Football (as in, soccer) chants started up, with changed words - usually referring to local clubs, now changed to support the Colts and Bears.

A late night (the game started here at around 1130pm) turned into an early morning, as I hit the sack at around 4am. Work in the morning at 9 didn't sound pleasant. Neither did the thought of 100 wings and 13 pitchers sitting in my stomach. One thing's for sure... we celebrated like true Americans.

posted by Kevin @ 5:52 PM