Araneta Jv Column (Allez)

CEBU, Philippines - I started watching the NFL the year Brett Favre and the Green Bay packers won Super Bowl XXXI, and from that time on, I was hooked. Initially, the game didn’t appeal to me- helmeted guys hitting each other for three and a half hours, but the acrobatics and the athleticism was too exciting to miss. Here was a guy running at full speed towards another guy running at the same speed and, “wham!” they collide and what do they do? They pick themselves up and do the same thing all over again.

It took me a long time to understand the rules of the game and its nuances and when I finally did, at least most of it anyway, it was only then that I enjoyed the game. The next season, I was ready and was rooting for John Elway and the Denver Broncos. Then the Broncos won back to back Super Bowls and I vowed that an NFL game would be included in my TTDBID, aka, ”The things to do before I die” list.

Ten years later, I was able to finally tick it off my list. I found myself at the Giants Stadium (BTW, the 30-yo Giants Stadium was demolished in 2010 and replaced by the Metlife Stadium) in the Meadowlands, the shared home of the New York Giants and the New York Jets, two rival teams in the Big Apple. Thanks to my brother, JC, who scored a couple of US$180 tickets for me to watch the defending champions NY Giants host the Washington Redskins on Kickoff Night, the first game of the season. If you think that the Php10K ticket was near the sidelines, then you were dreaming. At that price, we had to take three escalator rides to reach our seats, which was the equivalent of a 14-story building! It was at that point that I understood what a nosebleed section meant,we were two rows below the highest seats in a stadium that could seat 80,242 screaming fans!

People were already in the stadium hours before kickoff for the “tailgate” party. It’s an impromtu party held in the parking area, where you could get barbecues, hotdogs, chips or beer. In other words, the fans were already inebriated when they get into the stadium where they could get so rowdy. Fortunately, the fights were only verbal screams, not physical.

As the game went on, I hardly took notice of it, as I was engrossed by he dynamics going on inside the stadium. Besides, how can you enjoy a game when you Giant QB Eli Manning looked no different from an ant on the ground! Superstar-model Christie Brinkley and a bunch of soldiers from Afghanistan appeared at half time for some promotional stuff but it seemed that everybody in the stadium didn’t care except for their beers. Finally, the game was over and as we exited, we were met by hawkers with Giants replica jerseys for sale. It was for me, an experience of a lifetime.

If you’re a fan of football, you must watch the game live, to understand the game. I’ve watched the US Open Tennis at Arthur Ashe Stadium but it doesn’t compare to an NFL game experience. But to enjoy the game, TV is the best medium to watch it.

Now, you multiply my experience a thousand times, and that “probably” is the Super Bowl experience!