SuperBowl: Has it got to do with food? by Chua Kee Peow
Amidst all the Lunar New Year celebrations, some (mostly American?) sports fans out there that are also waiting for an important annual event to unfold.
SuperBowl XXXV!
So when is it? Hell, what is it anyway? To most soccer-crazy Singaporean sports fans, it sounds more like a buffet eating contest or perhaps some bowling alley in Marina South.
In reality however, it is nothing even close to either. It is the finals of the American National Football League (NFL). Quite unlike soccer, this game has nothing much to do with kicking the ball, besides the field goals, kickoffs and punting. For that matter, the ball isn't even round!
I still vividly remember watching sports on television (as a true armchair quarterback should), and coming across highlights of the American football games. It fascinated me.
Rarely do you see a game depending so heavily on tactical play, and so much brute force is used in the execution of the plays. Anyone who has seen the NFL games would agree with me that neither rugby nor soccer could come close in comparison with the amount of physical strength exerted during the games. Now you would understand the reason for having an offensive, a defensive and a special team on the whole roster.
Sometimes I find myself wishing that others were aware of how interesting American football truly is. Then I could babble on and on about how my favorite San Francisco 49ers used to win SuperBowls; how Steve Young combined so well with Jerry Rice for many touchdowns.
So
come next Sunday (US Time), put aside your Lunar New Year visiting and stay home
to catch the final showdown.
Note: This article was published on Aspire website (under the section "The Huddle") in 2001.