The Greyhound
Matt Kiebus
Issue date: 2/5/08 Section: Sports
ROME -- The Super Bowl has already been played; the NFL season is over. This frees up Sundays for men everywhere to spend quality time with girlfriends and significant others, and unfortunately, it no longer gives people a viable reason to drink at 1 p.m. The gridiron is left dormant for the next few months.
Here in Italy, the locals could care less. The only recognizable name in Phoenix, Ariz., last Sunday was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Italians love American music. They just have no clue what the lyrics mean.
At home, people of all shapes, colors and creeds got together to watch the one thing that binds (and perhaps defines) us as Americans -- The Super Bowl.
That is what I used to believe and hold dear: Most people in the United States take the Super Bowl more seriously than their respective church doctrines. "It is more than a game, it is an event," we are told.The pre-game analysis consists of all-hair and all-wardrobe teams. Stuart Scott's eye starts to bother you more than ever. Chris "Boomer" Berman is way too excited. The Fox crew is making fun of Terry Bradshaw's illiteracy. The CBS crew is mocking Shannon Sharpe's speech impediment. Tiki Barber is pouting.
And I'm missing it all, the wonderful pageantry that is the Super Bowl.
In Europe, and specifically in Italy, people know every American presidential candidate, from Clinton and Obama to Huckabee and McCain. However, no one could pick Tom Brady out of a lineup of one-legged dwarfs. Many people in Rome care about American politics more than Americans. Someone has to tell these Italians to get their priorities straight.
The quest for the Italian football fan in Rome was nothing more than a complete failure. Whenever I asked the question, "Who do you want to win the Super Bowl?" I received the same perplexed look, as if I asked if I could've kidnapped their daughter.
From the Metro to the bus system, from Italian teachers to pizzeria workers, the answers came back the same: "Who?", "What?", and the ever-popular, "Why?"
Here in Italy, the locals could care less. The only recognizable name in Phoenix, Ariz., last Sunday was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Italians love American music. They just have no clue what the lyrics mean.
At home, people of all shapes, colors and creeds got together to watch the one thing that binds (and perhaps defines) us as Americans -- The Super Bowl.
That is what I used to believe and hold dear: Most people in the United States take the Super Bowl more seriously than their respective church doctrines. "It is more than a game, it is an event," we are told.The pre-game analysis consists of all-hair and all-wardrobe teams. Stuart Scott's eye starts to bother you more than ever. Chris "Boomer" Berman is way too excited. The Fox crew is making fun of Terry Bradshaw's illiteracy. The CBS crew is mocking Shannon Sharpe's speech impediment. Tiki Barber is pouting.
And I'm missing it all, the wonderful pageantry that is the Super Bowl.
In Europe, and specifically in Italy, people know every American presidential candidate, from Clinton and Obama to Huckabee and McCain. However, no one could pick Tom Brady out of a lineup of one-legged dwarfs. Many people in Rome care about American politics more than Americans. Someone has to tell these Italians to get their priorities straight.
The quest for the Italian football fan in Rome was nothing more than a complete failure. Whenever I asked the question, "Who do you want to win the Super Bowl?" I received the same perplexed look, as if I asked if I could've kidnapped their daughter.
From the Metro to the bus system, from Italian teachers to pizzeria workers, the answers came back the same: "Who?", "What?", and the ever-popular, "Why?"
No one knew the game was on a Sunday. Tom Brady is known as Gisele's boyfriend.
No one knows the rules. No one cares to learn them.
After unscientifically polling Italian teachers, host families, Metro workers and bus co-passengers alike, I came to the following conclusion: People in America are more likely to watch cricket than Italians are to watch the Super Bowl.
Not even the Manning family's witty commercials translate over the Atlantic Ocean. Manning? The gap in communication is larger than the one between Michael Strahan's teeth.
By the way, the game ended around 4:30 a.m. over here. No one was interested in staying up until dawn to watch grown men in tight pants and extensive pads release their childhood frustrations on each other.
Nevertheless, I held out some hope that Rome, one of the most well-known cities in the world, would at least show some interest in America's most famous sporting event, especially with a glut of out-of-towners like myself scattered here and there. I can only imagine what the people of Tuscany would've thought if I was there on Sunday evening. In case you don't know, Tuscany is home to wine and beautiful hills. Not exactly the best atmosphere for American football.
You will be hard pressed to meet an Italian who knows the names of the cities the teams are from, let alone the names of the teams themselves. However, I suspect if an Italian were to watch the Super Bowl, they would probably watch it for the same reason as those girls you go to respective Super Bowl parties with: the halftime show and the commercials. Both are worthless. Sort of like trying to watch American football in Italy.
No one knows the rules. No one cares to learn them.
After unscientifically polling Italian teachers, host families, Metro workers and bus co-passengers alike, I came to the following conclusion: People in America are more likely to watch cricket than Italians are to watch the Super Bowl.
Not even the Manning family's witty commercials translate over the Atlantic Ocean. Manning? The gap in communication is larger than the one between Michael Strahan's teeth.
By the way, the game ended around 4:30 a.m. over here. No one was interested in staying up until dawn to watch grown men in tight pants and extensive pads release their childhood frustrations on each other.
Nevertheless, I held out some hope that Rome, one of the most well-known cities in the world, would at least show some interest in America's most famous sporting event, especially with a glut of out-of-towners like myself scattered here and there. I can only imagine what the people of Tuscany would've thought if I was there on Sunday evening. In case you don't know, Tuscany is home to wine and beautiful hills. Not exactly the best atmosphere for American football.
You will be hard pressed to meet an Italian who knows the names of the cities the teams are from, let alone the names of the teams themselves. However, I suspect if an Italian were to watch the Super Bowl, they would probably watch it for the same reason as those girls you go to respective Super Bowl parties with: the halftime show and the commercials. Both are worthless. Sort of like trying to watch American football in Italy.
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