I’d only ever made a conscious effort to celebrate the Fourth of July when I was overseas. There’s something about being away from your culture of birth that throws things into starker relief.
So that’s why I ended up at the Gym Bar in Phnom Penh, 6am SHARP for kickoff of the Superbowl. Am I a big football fan? I have numerous qualms with sports when it’s engineered from the top down. But the sheer drama of it (as well a tiny vocal New Orleans contingent in Phnom Penh) made it irresistible.
Everybody loves an underdog. And a lot of folks (overseas and Khmer) gravitated to the New Orleans Saints from the buzz, or the stories of their community work after Katrina.
The prior game against the Vikings had people on the edge of their seats. (Pictures here are from that prior game.) Fans arrived early for the big show with full regalia. And two quarters in, I was off to work. (Ouch!)
By the time I’d gotten out of a three hour ministry meeting, the verdict was in: Score! Let’s just say Mardi Gras started early. And the ripples will continue much farther than the world of sports and fans.
Phnom Penh Parties: Playoff Game / Superbowl
Whooping it Up: audio of Playoff Game / Superbowl
Tags: cambodia,football,sports,saints
Tags: Things I've Seen