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I watched the Super Bowl on TV for the first time in 1982, the second time it was on Italian TV. I could see it because then it was hel at 10 p.m. Italian time, if it had been after midnight, like now, maybe I would never have become an American football fan. The passion grew, and if not since then, at least the year after I began to dream of watching one live. I hoped to do it when I started working, but because of costs and practical difficulties (especially in the pre-Internet age) the moment never came.
I considered going in 2011, then gave up because the city (Dallas) was not very attractive, but in 2014 the Super Bowl took place in a city full of attractions and easy to reach: New York. I decided that the moment had come. Among other things, the first Super Bowl I watched on TV was the first one that took place in the north (Detroit), but indoors, the first I watched live was the first to take place in the north and outdoors. One wondered how much the cold would affect the game: one wondered whether it would snow. Instead it was relatively warm: about 7° C (44°F): with great disappointment of New Yorkers, they did not even beat the record of the coldest Super Bowl, which is 4° C (37° F) in New Orleans in the '70s (when the Superdome didn't exist yet and was played outdoors).
I had arrived in New York on Friday evening. Saturday morning I went to collect the tickets in a hotel (different from the one where I was staying). I asked how many Europeans had bought the package: they told me about 1,200. I met someone at the stadium, a group of Germans. In the hotel there were pictures of the teams, but also the presentation of the Super Bowl 2016, to be held in San Francisco. I really wished to go there.
In the afternoon I toured the Super Bowl boulevard on Broadway. I immediately dropped the idea of participating in interactive games: too long queues (but I do not know if I would have dared to do it anyway: too much fear of fooling). I saw the exhibition dedicated to Vince Lombardi and his ties with New York, his hometown. There was also the chance to see the Vince Lombardi Trophy, but I heard of a 5 hour queue, so I was content to peek from the outside, through the glass. I could also see the ESPN studio, where I saw was my boyhood hero, Joe Montana.
Needless to say, there were a lot of fans showing merchandising from the two teams, without the slightest problem: I also saw one who sold t-shirt salesman from one team give five to people wearing the other team's jersey.. I, as a former (very bad) defenseman and in particular cornerback, picked Seattle, a team that had its strength in defense and its most representative player (or almost) in a cornerback, Richard Sherman. From conversations I overheard , many had chosen the team to support according to the opinion they had of Sherman.
On Sunday the package included a pre-game party, which took place in an arena opposite the stadium. A crowded party crowded, with queue at the gates and a full arena. It included a concert by Cindy Lauper: seeing her so aged reminded us how much we were too. About an hour before the beginning we headed to the stadium. Great emotion in having it before me and even more in entering such a modern stadium, with escalators and screens at every corner. On the seat we find a "warm welcome", all equipment to warm up, predicting a great cold that did not arrive: cap (to be used in the halftime show), a "pocket" similar to the ones where quarterbacks tput their hands, gel for instant heat.
My position was very high, close to what in the first half was the Broncos end zone. So I could not see the details of the game, let alone notice the intensity of the tackles, but I saw the field positioning of the teams. It starts on my side: first play from scrimmage, misunderstanding between Manning and his center (and there was no deafening noise) and automatic safety. First half on the same patterns: it ends 22-0 for the Seahawks. I have to stand up often to let people go to get something, and I am surprised that so many do not mind missing a piece of Super Bowl, especially given how much it costs.
The second half begins with many empty seats in the stands, of people who are not from the bars. The speaker announces "Either we will have the first title for the Seahawks, or we will see the biggest comeback in the Super Bowl history". The hopes of comeback vanish at the first play: on the kick-off return, Seattle scores again. For the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history we will have to wait three years, with the Patriots over the Falcons. When I started to follow football, so one-sided Super Bowls were the rule, but now it was the only one in the last 10 years, and I had to watch that. When Seattle defends, I watch Sherman, and I see him doing amazing things.
Towards the beginning of the fourth quarter, the stadium begins to empty: I am more and more surprised that someone gives up a part of Super Bowl, though without history. Atthe end, the empty seats are many, at least one fourth. At the exit I wait for a while for the train to return to the city and I think maybe I had better buy the transfer that I had been offered for $ 99: I thought it was, but I had spent 75 for the taxi to get there.
The day after the snow came, so another missed opportunity to attend an epic game. See you who knows when ...
On Sunday the package included a pre-game party, which took place in an arena opposite the stadium. A crowded party crowded, with queue at the gates and a full arena. It included a concert by Cindy Lauper: seeing her so aged reminded us how much we were too. About an hour before the beginning we headed to the stadium. Great emotion in having it before me and even more in entering such a modern stadium, with escalators and screens at every corner. On the seat we find a "warm welcome", all equipment to warm up, predicting a great cold that did not arrive: cap (to be used in the halftime show), a "pocket" similar to the ones where quarterbacks tput their hands, gel for instant heat.
My position was very high, close to what in the first half was the Broncos end zone. So I could not see the details of the game, let alone notice the intensity of the tackles, but I saw the field positioning of the teams. It starts on my side: first play from scrimmage, misunderstanding between Manning and his center (and there was no deafening noise) and automatic safety. First half on the same patterns: it ends 22-0 for the Seahawks. I have to stand up often to let people go to get something, and I am surprised that so many do not mind missing a piece of Super Bowl, especially given how much it costs.
The second half begins with many empty seats in the stands, of people who are not from the bars. The speaker announces "Either we will have the first title for the Seahawks, or we will see the biggest comeback in the Super Bowl history". The hopes of comeback vanish at the first play: on the kick-off return, Seattle scores again. For the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history we will have to wait three years, with the Patriots over the Falcons. When I started to follow football, so one-sided Super Bowls were the rule, but now it was the only one in the last 10 years, and I had to watch that. When Seattle defends, I watch Sherman, and I see him doing amazing things.
Towards the beginning of the fourth quarter, the stadium begins to empty: I am more and more surprised that someone gives up a part of Super Bowl, though without history. Atthe end, the empty seats are many, at least one fourth. At the exit I wait for a while for the train to return to the city and I think maybe I had better buy the transfer that I had been offered for $ 99: I thought it was, but I had spent 75 for the taxi to get there.
The day after the snow came, so another missed opportunity to attend an epic game. See you who knows when ...
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