Game On

So American Sports... I've never been a big fan of them if I'm honest. I didn't really understand American Football at all, other than it being a weak version of Rugby. I've enjoyed a bit of ice hockey before, especially in the last Winter Olympics, and basketball's always been pretty decent. Although that might just be a childhood watching Space Jam. But one of the typical American events every year is the Super Bowl, so we had to get into the American mood for it.

We could watch the halftime show... or watch Yusuke sit in front of the screen and eat Doritos. 

Anyone who saw the game, which stretched over 3 1/2 hours know it was a shocker, with the Seattle Seahawks thrashing the Denver Broncos and coasting for about half the game. We'd put our support behind the Broncos just before the game, which says a lot about our knowledge of this game! The entertainment came from the weird and wonderful commercials (Morpheus singing Nessun Dorma being the best) and the half time show. It's the most watched television moment of the year in the U.S, 115 million people tuning in to watch Bruno Mars and Red Hot Chili Peppers be pretty terrible. It's incredibly overblown, ridiculously commercial, a genuinely bad sport in my opinion, so I'm not the biggest Super Bowl fan in the world, it's fair to say! The stoppages are so often and the adverts (ok, commercials) come in so often it's not worth it. Thankfully it was a good excuse to cook some burgers and chicken wings, have a few drinks and laugh at it all. It's the only way to enjoy it really. And well done Ross, whose burgers were actually better than Five Guys!

I was hoping seeing ice hockey live would be better, and it was a really good sport to see. We went to the Verizon Center in D.C to see the Washington Capitals take on the New York Islanders and it was an entertaining watch. Not knowing much about ice hockey we were promised plenty of fights, and sure enough 2 minutes in one broke out on the ice. You might expect the officials to be outraged and an effort to cut out the violence- instead the crowd cheered and the speakers played the Mortal Kombat music. Instantly hockey was one up on American Football. The rest of the game was engaging, end to end with some fantastic saves and a few more fights- until the Caps conceded in the last part and went on to lose 1-0. Our track record for picking the winning side was consistent, at least.

Sports are closely linked with the military here, and it can often come across as over the top. The Superbowl had a long pre-game video about the Declaration of Independence which is admirable, but to Brits who are generally less vocal about their Patriotism it was too much. But at the hockey they celebrated military night with a lot of pride, proudly singing the anthem and watching a former army officer with prosthetic legs score a goal was great. Americans are huge supporters of their troops and are outspoken about it, and I really appreciated the atmosphere of it all. Well done America!

So after our teams lost in both the Super Bowl and the hockey, maybe Mason could break the cycle and give us something to cheer?

Thanks a lot Mason.

A