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“Mom, the Chiefs are playing tonight at 2 a.m.” David said.
“That’s more like morning,” I replied with a chuckle.
“Can we stay up and watch the game, please?” he begged.
In our family, we are serious football fans. That’s our American side. When I say “football,” I do mean “American football.”
Yes, in all of Europe, soccer is also called “football.” In French and Spanish, that’s what we call it—“football” and “
Football or Football?
Don’t get me wrong. Our family equally loves soccer, “European football.” Actually, we like soccer even more than football, but please don’t tell.
Robert is in an American soccer academy in England, and there, the name of the sport freely fluctuates between “soccer” and “football.” It’s understood. I guess they all know that they are kicking a soccer ball and not an American football . . . and they can’t use their hands except for free throws and in the goal.
However, during American football season, when we talk about “football,” we all know what we are talking about.
We are talking about the Kansas City Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers!
These are our favorite adopted teams, and our family follows them closely.
Obsessed With Two Teams
David is obsessed—whether it be while playing Madden on his Xbox One with his best friends in the U.S. or whether he is following the real-time line
I grew up in the Kansas City area. There, you have no choice—you have to be a Kansas City Chiefs fan.
Our family also spent a number of years in the Milwaukee area where David was born. If you live in the state of Wisconsin (especially if you are native-born!), you have no choice. You
Yes, we even wore the giant “cheese heads” when we lived there!
So, as you can see, we have a dilemma—especially when the Chiefs and the Packers play against each other. It’s heart-breaking to see one of our favorite teams lose, although we are always happy to see one of our favorite teams win.
It’s an emotional roller coaster for sure!
Time Zone Dilemma
We also have another major dilemma when it comes to watching American football while living on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean—TIME ZONES!
When we live in Europe, we have six hours difference with the Eastern Standard Time zone. That’s a problem. We are seven hours ahead of Kansas City (CST).
If you do the math, you can see that this poses a huge problem for our football-loving family!
If a football game starts at 7 p.m. in Kansas City, that is 2 a.m. here in Spain.
Once in awhile, games start at noon, and we rejoice here in Europe!!! We can actually enjoy watching our favorite teams play after dinner and get to bed at a decent hour.
Late Nights
Unfortunately, most of the games are starting here between 12-2 a.m.
You may call me a terrible and irresponsible mother. However, I have been known to allow my 14-year-old, David, to stay up with me and watch the BIG games—yes, the whole games—even on school nights.
The only exceptions are if David has exams the next day or if there is a huge spread in the score and no chance of a different game result. In that case, we both go to bed earlier—in the last quarter. 🙂 We all know that a lot can happen quickly on a football field. (Did you see those four touchdowns by Kansas City in
We have also made a deal together. If ever David has a hard time getting up in the morning to go to school, or if he falls asleep in class, or if he doesn’t keep up his grades . . . no more late night football games.
Oh, I mean “early morning” football games!
Super Bowl, we are ready for you here in Spain! Go Chiefs!
The game starts here at 12:30 a.m. and will end at 6 a.m. You better believe this French/American family living in Spain will be staying up all night and celebrating! We’ve even invited some other Americans over for an all-night party!
We’re ready for kick-off!
—THE CULTURAL STORY-WEAVER
MY GIFT TO YOU—GET YOUR FREE EBOOK—”THE 5-DAY JOURNEY TO CULTURAL AWARENESS”!
LET’S WEAVE CULTURES!
Have you ever been in another part of the world—in a different time zone—when something exciting and important was happening in your home land? What did you do to still stay connected to your native culture for that event? Have you ever stayed up all night to enjoy your culture from the other side of the world?
We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures!” Write about them in the comment box below.
