When a New England Fan Goes to Buffalo

The Bee and I shuffled off to Buffalo, NY this weekend for a social event. Here’s what I discovered, sports-wise:

1. It’s too soon to face New York Giants fans. Except for the part where we snarkily said, “Enjoy it while it lasts because the Giants won’t get another ring any time soon,” there’s nothing enjoyable about rehashing the Super Bowl. We were happy to learn that a fellow New England Patriots fan shunned all thing Super Bowl in the two weeks following the debacle, too.

2.  The Canadian understanding of “drama” differs from our own. Curling is big in Canada but never really took off in the States. We found out why. The announcers are waaaay too serious about it. And not in a “Man I LOVE this intensity! Yay for competition!” kind of way. More in a “We don’t crack jokes or make lighthearted remarks because that would be more taboo than shouting in a library” kind of way.

Best line by the announcer, uttered in a deadpan manner without a hint of irony: “As we return to the drama here today . . .” 

We. Aren’t. Even. Kidding.

3. We met somebody who called the emergency hotline at the U.S. Embassy while in Amsterdam asking where they could watch the Super Bowl. And it worked. After a frantic search for access to the Super Bowl—in the wee hours of the morning, Amsterdam time—that came up empty, these guys called the Embassy as a last resort. The good news is, they got invited to the U.S. Marine barracks to watch the Big Game. The bad news is, one of the guys was a Buffalo Bills fan, and this was Super Bowl XXVIII. (The Dallas Cowboys won 30-13).

We learned an important lesson here: Never go on vacation, especially during the playoffs, World Series, or the Super Bowl, without the phone number of the U.S. Embassy.