Superbowl, UK-style.

OK, so as you know, I moved to England after spending the last 25 years of my life in South FL. I'll get into the multitude of cultural observations as we move along with this blog, but for now, I'll give you the latest. The Superbowl. The time difference here is that we're 5 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. So, the usual kick off at 6:25pm EST was really 11:25pm here in England. Just a side note: Thank God that we get ESPNAmerica on our Sky Cable Box, in general, (because I watch college football, MLB and hockey on there the rest of the year). So, because it's a big deal the BBC even aired The Superbowl, but I chose to watch it on SkySports1 because I love the broadcasters on that channel. There is something a little bit funny about a skinny, pastey-white British announcer analyzing the NFL. Anyhow, I can't explain how weird it was to be preparing jalapeno & cheese nachos at 11pm at night, knowing full well that I'll suffer insane heartburn at 4am, when I would be going to bed, after the game. My wife stayed awake for the first 11 minutes of the game, and housemate Hazel managed to keep her eyes open until after the Madonna halftime show. I was rooting for the Giants only because I thought the Manning family  needed some good juju with Peyton's problems this year and the Colts coming in last place for the season. Besides, Tom Brady gets to bang Victoria Secret model Giselle Bundschun on a regular basis, plus he's got good cheekbones. I think he's been bestowed enough good fortune.  I was tweeting like a maniac and following the celebs like Rosie O'Donnell, Caroline Manzo ("Real Housewives of NYC"- ok, maybe not A list celebrities!), Neil Patrick Harris, and Alec Baldwin to get real time pics and comments. For a moment, I almost felt like I was back home in The States, especially hearing Al Michaels and Cris Collingsworth voices for 4 hours. But at the same time, right at that moment, I really did miss my friends. Every year, I would bounce between my ex husband, Chuckie's house (We'll get into that part of history later! Suffice to say we're best buds) and just before the halftime show,  I would head over to Donna's (my show co-host & BFF) if she was having a party and then home to watch the last quarter. It felt a little odd not having to worry about getting up for work. For the last 15 or so years, I would be thinking up some kind of bullshit excuse for being an hour late to the office on the Monday after the big game, knowing that whoever my boss was at the time, didn't buy it at all but never wrote me up or anything. There was some comfort in knowing that neither Chuckie or Donna was having a Superbowl party this year. But, it still wasn't the same as being IN the States and feeling the hoopla, being a part of the 10 and a half hours of pre-game hype, and having access to the billion dollar commercial advertisements that preview and debut that night.  I did have the realization that I will now have to get used to the fact that birthdays, New Years and Superbowl nights will probably be the hardest thing about being away from Florida, but if you compare 3 rough times to waking up with your wife 365 days a year, it's not bad.

So...I basically sat on the couch, with a massive tray of nachos, a cider beer, and my ipad all laid out in front of me, alone for Superbowl 46 ...for the first time ever. At one point, I did flinch for a high-five...with absolutely no one.