A Strange Football Season

I have not been able to stop watching football while in Europe. You'd think that the time difference and the lack of television coverage would have kept me from it, but I've actually watched quite a bit (sadly?). The playoffs started this weekend, and the only game that is on at a reasonable time is the Kansas City - Baltimore tilt. It began here at nine o'clock, eight hours later than it's real, one o'clock kickoff. We bought some Russian junk food and a tiny bottle of $3 vodka (85 rubles). The potato chips may be Lays, but they're "red caviar" flavored. The vodka is "Putinka" brand, which we are suspicious about. The alcohol is vile. The potato chips are amazingly good - they have a sort of creamy, fishy taste that might be off-putting to some.

I watch football on my computer, illegally streamed from a Swedish cable television station. These are the Swedes who come on for commentary during commercial breaks. They are, above all else, very earnest seeming. I have no idea what they are talking about, but they do seem to have a fairly good grasp of the football terminology - it sounds like "touchdown smorgasborgenblad halfback morgenmalganmeatball Joe Flacco," or something like that.

It's amazing to see the sunlight of middle-America flash on my computer screen, beamed to the dark, Russian night via Sweden.