Things have been far from usual in the world of sport-watching (and playing) this term. Usually I live with a bunch of other guys that watch and talk about games together with me, but I mostly haven't found someone with that broad interest in most all sports.
Haven't watched nearly all the English Premier League soccer I've wanted, finding myself often occupied or out of town on the weekends when games usually are. I didn't realize the extent to which Brits cared about rugby football (it basically subsitutes for American football) - and this was on full display the past month during the annual Six Nations rugby event. Almost all the pubs were showing games, and during our travels to Scotland, Ireland and Wales there were sure signs of national pride from all six nations, something that I wish was on display for Americans.
NOT to say that we don't have any - watching the Olympics (and especially the U.S. Men's Hockey and four-man Bobsled) made me incredibly proud to be from America. On a somewhat related note, I feel a sense of pride presenting my American passport as I travel throughout Europe, with the hope that I will always be able to represent my country (and all the other social groups I am a member of) well. Talking to some of the other international students reminds me of the convenience that being a US national affords in traveling to other nations, especially throughout Europe, where no visa is required to visit for a relatively long period of time (as it is for nationals of most non-EU nations).
It was interesting watching the BBC coverage of the Olympics with all events streaming live on the internet. The lack of US-focused coverage (and the presence of GB-focused coverage) put a different spin on things. For one, it was really interesting watching from a perspective where the goal was to get three medals (as opposed to winning the medal count). It was also nice being able to watch the whole of the competition, as well, rather than just watching USA plus just a few of the other notable teams.
Watching US sports has been a real challenge due to the lack of places that air the coverage as well as the time difference (primetime US is 1am UK, so even if a bar or pub has the right channel it is often closed). I´ve resorted to watching streams online - this has worked out extremely well of late for March Madness, where CBS has no country IP restrictions on streaming, as is the case for most US content. This is extremely fortunate, considering that unlike American football and the Olympics, in which the Brits typically have a passing interest, they don´t really care at all about basketball, let alone the college variety. The tournament has also been extremely exciting, and although I´m abroad for the Final Four I feel like I´ve already gotten all the madness I can handle. Not sure how I feel about a possible expansion to 96 teams, however, but we shall see.
Streams online were a little more difficult during NFL playoffs, when the times were inconvenient and the NFL didn´t have any online streams available. NFL.com is very good about highlights, however, but for the actual games other online streams from sites such as justin.tv had to be employed and weren´t always reliable. I was also in Edinburgh during the Super Bowl and was extremely disappointed that I missed what turned out to be a great game. This was definitely one of the times I wish I could have been in the states, watching at the Phi Psi house while clogging my arteries with deep-fried food.
Baseball is also about to start and I am extremely hopeful that I can make progress this summer on my goal of visiting all the MLB stadiums. Intensive as they are, I am only trying to do two fantasy baseball teams this year (down from 5 last year, and 8 the year before that) and have recently done my first auction-style draft (again, at an ungodly hour thanks to the time difference). I am sad that I won´t be able to enjoy opening day (instead will be in Zurich!)
Finally, I haven´t been able to get as much physical exercise in as I would like, but I did get the opportunity (thanks to my hallmate Noah) to go to an Ultimate practice in the UK. Having not exerted myself strenuously in a good couple months, I probably ran harder than I should have for the three-hour practice and was sore for about the next week. Practice was in Regent´s Park, and close enough to the zoo that you could hear some of the animals. Even though it was late February (and the fields were predictably soggy and mushy from the London rain and lack of ventilation), the temperature was fantastic (perfect for running, and only a slight rain for part of practice) and it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Difficult schedule and expensive cost meant that gym membership was prohibitively expensive, so I´ve also recently undertaken the hundredpushups exercise regimen, with the goal of doing a hundred pushups consecutively. My brother apparently did this a while back (and tried to get my dad to do it too?...not sure how that went lol) and it´s been a decent workout so far. Hopefully I´ll be able to finish on schedule after I return (or perhaps even continue it on my trip)
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