Sunday, January 18, 2015

I Had Tears Rolling Down My Face

This is a really bad time for me to be relatively disconnected from America when it comes to my favorite sports teams. My teams are doing amazingly well this year, and I, here in the land of slow internet, have been tantalizingly close to, but yet unable, to follow my teams' triumphs.

My favorite sport is basketball, and although I can't play it anymore due to my age and back (yes, I've finally recognized this), I can still watch it.  By far, my favorite NBA team is the Golden State Warriors, the SF Bay Area team.  This season, they are the best team in the NBA.  They've got the best record. They've had incredible winning streaks. Reportedly, they're incredibly fun to watch and dominate the rest of the league. Unlike last year in Thailand where I had unlimited high-speed internet for $10/mo, I don't watch the Warriors games on the net. When I got it here, it would have been impossible due to the extremely slow internet speeds. Now, things are faster, but prohibitively expensive.

Expense is no factor when your team is in football's NFC Championship Game. My Seattle Seahawks, whose every game I watched last year from Thailand, played in the game-before-the-Super-Bowl yesterday, and I had to watch.  They were no lock to win, and it was sure to be an exciting game. I plunked down my $30 to the NFL to get access to the Championship and Super Bowl games and was really worried that my internet speed wouldn't be up to the task to stream the game.

Good news: it was.

Better news: The Seattle Seahawks beat the Green Bay Packers in the most remarkable fashion. I won't recap the game, suffice to say they overcame the largest halftime deficit in Championship Game history to win and move on to the Super Bowl.

At the end, the swing in emotion from the deflation of defeat to the joy of victory was so strong that I cried.  I couldn't help myself.  I cheered at the top of my lungs on this Monday morning, screaming YAAYYY as if I were there in the stadium.  With the overcast morning and my AC at its utmost to the point of being cold, it kinda felt like I was in Seattle, my former home.

In the post-game interview, Russel Wilson, the Seattle quarterback, had tears in his eyes and was crying with joy.  He pulled himself together, and although my team hasn't won it all this year, we've gotten to the Super Bowl again.  I'm going to have a party at my place for the event that I've already paid for.  I woulda felt kinda stupid having shelled out half a day's pay had my team NOT moved on to the last game.

Although I'm happy my new internet provider was fast enough to let me watch the game without too many stops and starts, I don't have unlimited internet; I get charged per data downloaded.  It was $5 for the data to watch the game.  Yes, high speed internet has come to Myanmar, but until high speed internet is paired with unlimited access at a reasonable price, it's more like high speed profits for the providers.

Maybe by May when the NBA playoffs start and I want to watch my Warriors win their championship, my internet provider will offer an unlimited package. The way my teams are playing, I'd buy it.


TOday's video is the next part of my holiday vacation in Southeast Myanmar.  Watch to the end. There's a bit of a surprise.


4 comments:

  1. I enjoyed the J..... and through all my "New England Patriots are goona Kick Sea Pigeon Arse" lingo I am truly happy your team won.....and I am happy that you got to see the
    Game..... may the best team win my friend :)
    N.T.

    ReplyDelete
  2. P.s. enjoyed the video too .... :)
    N.T.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dad was so excited thru much of the game a the Packers led, but bummed at the final result! Oh Well, Go Seattle!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well, thanks to internet connection, you could still catch up with all the things you’ll leave behind in this country – especially your favorite team. So, dry up your tears and look forward to the bright future. Good luck on your endeavors!

    Clara Brooks @ Telco World

    ReplyDelete

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