"Watching" the Big Game

Super Bowl XLV will be a memorable one for me. It is certainly memorable for the fact that the Packers came out as the victors. It will be just as memorable, though, how I watched the big game this year.

First, take into account the 13-hour time difference between Thailand and Wisconsin. It had stopped me from watching other games this season (including the NFC championship game between the Packers and Bears sometime around 3AM), but I figured I could muster the effort for a more forgiving 6AM Super Bowl wake-up time.

So I woke up, put on my Wisconsin Badgers t-shirt and Marquette stocking hat to represent, filled up my coffee mug with hot water and instant Nescafe mix, and walked over to the neighboring dormitory to watch the big game. The door locked, I knocked to get the security guard's attention, but she unsympathetically shook her finger at me and put her hands to one ear to make the sleeping gesture. I took that to mean that the security guard was forewarned not to let Super Bowl viewers inside, for fear they would be a bit too boisterous.

I returned to my own dormitory to check the TV situation there. The night prior I had heard reports of the cable not working in the dormitory, which is why I went to the other dormitory in the first place. Sure enough, the cable was still not working in my dormitory (I was later informed that there is only one cable connection for the dormitory, and that connection has been transferred from the second floor lobby to the room of a VIP guest currently staying there).

Feeling a bit lazy to travel into the city to find a place to watch the game (yes, several venues opened early morning to host Super Bowl watchers), I turned on my computer to see if I could get a live stream of the game online. No such luck -- I couldn't find a single reputable (read: legal) live stream that I wouldn't have to pay for.

A bit despondent by this point, I settled for "watching" the game play-by-play from the NFL's official website. It looked something like this:

As you can see, arrows described the movement on the field, and the text box in the bottom right-hand corner described the play that just occurred.

Remember that great Packer drive which led to a touchdown early in the fourth quarter? This is how I remember it happening:

Even without video or audio, it was an intense and heart-pounding last few minutes of the game. I sure was happy to see the word "final" appear and the score still standing with the Packers on top:

For most people, turning on the the TV was the least memorable part of the Super Bowl game. For me, not turning it on was probably the most memorable part.

Hello Wisconsin!

Eric