How long do you think it would take to get ESPN America as part of our cable package? Keep in mind it took about 6 weeks to get our internet and cable set up in the first place, about 2 months for me to get a debit card (even though David and I have had a UK joint bank account since April), and we still don’t have cell phone plans. So naturally, with everything else taking forever here, I thought a change to our cable package would take at least a week or two.
I was wrong.
Before the first NFL game of the season a few weeks ago, David called Sky Cable to inquire about the ESPN sports package. And whatdayaknow? They were able to instantly grant him access to those channels and I couldn’t even argue the cost because it’s free for the first 3 months and only 8 pounds per month after that. Great!
So David set his alarm for 2 AM that night to wake up and watch the Saints/Vikings game. Fortunately he was really sleepy when he set his alarm and set it wrong. So he didn’t wake up. But he did record it correctly and rushed home from work that evening to watch the game. On Saturday, after a lovely theatre evening out with his sister and wife, David rushed home again to catch some college football. I think he came to bed that night around 3 AM. And the other night (or should I say morning) I woke up at 5 AM and noticed David wasn’t in bed next to me. Where did I find him? Asleep on the couch with ESPN on the TV. He swears he fell asleep around 1:00…
Football isn’t all bad though. I had never watched a football game in my life before I moved to Austin and became a Texas Longhorn. Since then I’ve watched almost every Longhorn game, either in-person or on TV, for the past 7 years. With football season approaching, David signed us up for the Texas Exes United Kingdom chapter hoping there would be game-watching parties. And there are!
UT alumni living in London get together every weekend at Bodeans, a BBQ joint in the city. We usually either watch the games live on Saturday night (like this weekend’s Nebraska game) or we watch on Sundays if the time difference is too great. We have all sworn an oath that we will not watch the game ahead of time and do everything in our power NOT to learn the score. That means we are usually phone/internet/ESPN-free Saturday nights through Sunday afternoons.
The first weekend we headed into the city, we had to admit we felt a little ridiculous wearing our burnt orange jerseys on the Tube, but we’re used to the strange stares now. It’s definitely better, though, to meet up with others and head to Bodeans together. Then people seem to understand you’re part of a group going to an event instead of one of those couples that like to wear matching outfits.
Enjoying some good old fashioned American beer (and root beer for me) at the Texas-Texas Tech game. Karen just HAD to wear her red Tech jersey, but it didn't bring the Raiders very much luck!
Even though the Longhorns have been sucking it up lately, we still like going to the games to socialize with other Americans and eat some decent BBQ. Hook ‘em horns!
Your husband sounds like mine! We seriously watch every football game on TV. I know more about football than I ever thought/wanted to know! I have to admit though, football is a lot more interesting when you understand what is going on. That is so cool you were able to find other people to watch the games with. Have a great weekend! =)
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