Indians taking on the Super Bowl fever

First Sunday of February is just so special for the Americans. Nothing more important happens here on this grand day. Millions of fans wait eagerly for this moment, planning well ahead and making all the arrangements for the day to go smoothly. Pizza shops become super busy with their long list of delivery schedules. Drinks and juices, popcorn, finger foods become the common menu and people are glued to their TV sets as they party with friends and family. If lucky, one does get to spend hefty dollars to watch their heroes play live at the stadium. Others are just so happy to chill out at home with friends to cheer. No other major entertainment is planned throughout the nation because it is the first Sunday of February, the holy Super Bowl day! Interestingly, for the Indian immigrants in the US, this is one grand occasion toshow how truly Americanised they are. So one cannot miss the ‘desis’ ganging into full action, all just to watch a game that is so unfamiliar to them as Indians.

“The first time I was invited to a Super Bowl party by my colleague at work, I readily agreed to attend. It was just my first month at work in the US and the invitation sounded so much fun,” recalls Sivakumar Radhakrishnan, an IT professional. “I readily said yes because I am an ardent follower of football that I used to play in my college back in India. Upon reaching his house, oops came the shock to me. The big screens streamed the game where the two teams were running and the key player was carrying the ball in his hand. Wait, if it was the football that I knew to play, why is no one kicking the ball? I realised this was an American football and not soccer, as they called my game. Does it matter that I did not know how to play this? Appeared not so as most people in the room had the same knowledge as mine.”

Every first Sunday of February, I loved being with the gang of friends and watching the game — with little improvements in my football knowledge but gathering enough to talk the next day in theoffice, so that I am not left out in the lunchtime discussions — is the general feel.

Football has a mad fan following in America. To get comfortable with American colleagues, if one is to pick a subject to converse, then one should know a bit about this sport. Identifying oneself with a team is the best one can do. Indian immigrants push themselves well and use the Super Bowl Sunday to show it all.

For most Indians in the US, it has become an accepted tradition to either host or attend Super Bowl parties. They mostly mingle among Indian pals to watch the game. Elaborate arrangements for food and drinks, setting up home theatres, cosy chairs and blankets for the guests, pizza and burgers ordered well ahead and all set. In some places, it’s just a matter of pride to announce the invitation for Super Bowl parties. While all sounds like a nice tradition, many don’t say aloud that‘I am not quite familiar with the game and its rules, so excuse me’.

The school-going kids are the real motivating factor for the families to watch the game. “I learnt a lot because of my son, an ardent football fan. The initial reaction was that I thought the game was too violent with no styles and techniques, compared to cricket. But both my sons had peer pressures from school and to keep up with it, I was watching the game reluctantly and ended up understanding every bit and got addicted,” says Jagannathan Srinivasan.

For many families, football is the only entertainment on the weekends with the start of the season in September. With thirty-two teams playing in different states, watching 267 games to reach the Super Bowl is a great way to keep engaged, particularly in the cold months, when opting to anything else doesn’t work well. Many Indian kids also take up this sport seriously to play at school and college.

Especially exciting is the Super Bowl advertisements, released during the game. A host of new ads that the corporate world waits to release on the Super Bowl Sunday is a favourite media subject for discussions the next day. Super Bowl is the biggest single day in advertising, with companies this year reportedly spending $5.6 million for a 30-second spot during the game. Incidentally, the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers are the teams heading for the Super Bowl 2020 fight.

The half-time breaks are the most-watched slot, with live pop music shows stealing the attention. To catch all the action, the wild sounds of joy and patronisation on the ground acted as the best energised moment to see in the US. “I have watched a couple of crucial matches in the stadium, yet not lucky to pay over $5000 to watch the Super Bowl match,” says Sathish Desai, an entrepreneur.

For whatever reason one gets attached to watching the Super Bowl football, certainly, it helps one to integrate well with the fun and fanfare attached with America! Statistics reveal that the largest ‘call in sick’ is reported on the Monday following the Super Bowl, leading to a long-drawn call to declare the Monday following the Super Bowl as a national holiday — Super Monday! Sure, if it happens, Indian immigrants will be happy to add it on to their list of long weekends with a smiley face!