American football is an interesting four hours of stopping, briefly punctuated by moments of running about and throwing something shaped like a rugby ball. The main excitement this year was a power cut that halted play for a whole 34 minutes - I thought this was just part of the game - and also Beyonce's half-time show ("I heard there's a Beyonce concert where they're also playing some football" Elliot texted me).
It ended in heartbreak for San Francisco, who played like muppets for the first half but did their best to rally in the second. Too little too late, and the city by The Bay won't own both the "World" Series and Superbowl trophy in the same year.
We left before it finished, and one benefit was that the NICU was very quiet, nurses and parents alike prioritising what's important. To my mind, the challenge of teaching a premie baby how to drink 37mls of milk from a bottle in half-an-hour while he's trying to fall alseep is far more exciting than sport.* Have I gone soft?
* Apart from cricket.
The faithful gathered to watch! And we joined them for a bit.
Eileen, our apartment manager, made an avocado and salsa dip. She's a genius.
Beer, 49ers flag, smile.
At the start, when anything could happen, but it didn't for SF.
The adverts were a bit of a mixed bag this year, but there was one for Oreos, and one about how we should all be farmers that I attach for my West Wales cousins (it might have been for trucks).
And here's Beyonce doing her thing:
P.S. On putting a link to the Oakland Raider's site I came across the blog of Raiderette Kelly, one of a few cheerleaders who the NFL has sent to China to promote American football there, like Nixon did. "...our translator told me the girl kept calling me "Barbie". I have never gotten that before, and was flattered beyond belief!" Happens to me every day Kelly. Raiderette Kelly's China Blog
