Weird

Actually I forgot to note how watching that game last Monday was an interesting cross-cultural experience. First, having spent the last six months immersed in soccer, I had nearly forgotten the American TV sports world, just how many breaks and commercials there are, and frankly was almost bored at times. As I’ve learned, it seems to bore most of the world, who prefer soccer’s 90 minutes of action, stopped only by halftime.

Second, on two different occasions in the evening, I was asked by a Peruvian to explain American football – really a complicated game when you think about it. The abundance of rules and nuances don’t make sense to most non-Americans; again soccer’s simplicity wins out. The second gentleman, clearly a businessman just getting off work, showed up late in the game and was very drunk. He claimed to be from Puno, but spoke Spanish with a thick French accent. He really tried to understand, but preferred to shout, “Ooo, merde!” at the screen whenever somebody (of either team) was tackled. So it was that much more bizarre trying to explain, in Spanish, concepts like quarterbacks, 10 yards for a 1st Down, punting, pass interference, and the scoring system, to this well-dressed inebriated young Frenchman from Puno. At least I had somebody to rejoice with when we won.