Despite the Giants (aka i giganti) inability to convert a 3rd down, I had a good time last night.
An expat friend of a friend invited me to watch the game at a pub with him and some of his Italian friends. I haven't had a burger and fries since I've moved here. Delicious.
The crowd was pretty diverse with Italians (there was a Roma game playing in another room but I was surprised how many Italians were into the Giants/Eagles game), American students and expats. Lots of couples. Most of the fans were for the Giants but unfortunately some Eagles fans were also in the house. heh
Not sure what the heck was up with the refs. Horrible calls all night against both teams.
While Donavan McNabb is a fellow Syracuse Alum I cannot root for the Eagles.
I'm rooting for the Steelers to go all the way. Back in the day Franco Harris was the man. He along with Terry Bradshaw and Lynn Swann led the Steelers to several Super Bowl Championships in the late 70s.
As I walked home I wondered why didn't I do things like this in L.A? A couple years ago I asked some friends to meet up at pub for the Superbowl. The whole time we talked about the biz, my friends could care less about sports (which was distracting when you're trying to watch the game) and we left at half time. It was a disaster.
Last night we did talk about work for maybe one minute. As in:
"How's work?"
"Good."
"What the hell is Eli doing now? Don't ***king pass!"
The graphic below from the New York Daily News cracked me up. Poor Giants.
16 comments:
Your post reminds me of my days in Southern California. One night a couple of female friends and I went to a sportsclub to watch the Superbowl. They all had no interest in football or the superbowl but went there to flirt with guys because the Superbowl was a 'guy magnet' according to one. (as if any guy would pay attention to flirting girls when the superbowl was on) I went to watch the game. I was the only one of this group satisfied that evening because my team won.
I'm glad you had fun though.
I live in Washington, DC, and I can really relate to your LA story -- people do talk a lot about work. While it seems normal to me, reading posts like yours reminds me such interactions need not be work-based all the time, you know?
Hey City Girl. I'm in DC too, and TOTALLY get what you mean. Everything here focuses on politics. Or the redskins. And being a Giants fan, that's a non-starter for me :)
Sis, I can't even digest yesterday's showing. It was like Eli was a 1st year player. Bad decisions, bad timing, bad EVERYTHING. UGH!!!!!!!!!
Hey ragazza- can you tell me where you got the 'decent' burger and fries? I've scoured Rome and have yet to find a decent burger.
The first thing I plan to do when I get to NYC on Friday is go to the corner bistro for a burger!!
j. doe - yes most men I know are paying attention to the game during the Superbowl even if their team is not in it. Not sure why a woman who has no interest in football would think it would be a good idea to try and pick up guys such an event. ha.
city girl - I understand and believe I like to dish about my industry sometimes but 24/7 is too much.
gibber - I still can't process how badly Eli played. Open receivers, bad passes, etc. grrrrrr.
kataroma - have a great trip.
The pub showing the games was the Abbey Theatre Irish Pub on Via del Governo Vecchio (near Pz. Navona). The burger and fries seemed to be very popular. For 10 euros you get a burger, fries and a bottle of beer or soda (not sure if that was a special but that is what I had) the burger was okay (I don't have anything Italy side to compare it to) but the fries were perfect. They are kind of like steak fries and had the right amount of salt. Yum.
Funny, I have thi sAussie friend. They hang in packs with other Aussies. When I ask about it, they say back home they would never even associate with the people they do now or do certain things, its just being from Australia that unifies them.Other than that a lot have nothing in common.
glamah16 - A few other expat bloggers have written posts about how some expats only want to hang out with other expats and then there are the expats who are the opposite extreme. I've met people at both ends of the spectrum and really don't get it.
The expats I'm friends with here would be friends back in the States. Most of them are either in the arts/creative fields or lawyers (like most of my Italian friends) and are politically active.
My question (which maybe needs to be another post) was why am I more social here, where I know fewer people than I was in L.A. In NYC I had an active social life as well. In L.A. we had to schedule brunch, dinner, whatever weeks in advance only to "reschedule". Here it's not that deep and these folks are busy too.
p.s. I like your new photo.
nice to see other giants and steeler fans out there. growing up they were the two teams my dad rooted for. we watched both games with him yesterday...poor giants! but yay for the steelers....hopefully roethlisberger won't get injured before the game!
John Melendez from the Tonight show has to shave his head now. He bet Kevin Ewbanks that the Giants would win.
I have to be happy for the Eagles. Philly in general has sucked for a very long time as a sports city but has made a supreme comeback as of late. It is a city with great heart.
I was downing some pasta with garlic and oil (did not feel like sliding on my butt down the driveway to get to the grocery store today) when I read about the hamburger and fries. I am sorry your team lost but I am jealous about the great burger and fries, quite honestly.
I have not had a conversation about work at a bar in so long that I can't even remember when the last time was. Do they still do that in the States you think? Talk about work? :) Sometimes being in Italy is really great.
ps sorry, I forgot this. Ragazza, I think it is extremely good and important that you are doing more socializing here. It's one of the reasons you are feeling so good about being here and enjoying things as you are. You are out of your comfort zone which means more effort is required of you to feel comfortable in your new digs. By getting out there, you are doing a good thing for yourself, and making this time so much more enjoyable, and who ever knows what lies around the corner when you put yourself out there a bit. It's a good thing, I think.
Ciao ragazza,
I blame the Italians for the Giganti's lame effort yesterday. Something karmically was amiss. Clearly it was them... But they all told me they enjoyed the game, odd maybe as Luca and Manuel seemed to be totally baffled by the concept of "forward progress" and the idea of awarding 2 points for anything in sports took a bit of explaining.
I like dragging that crowd out to the occasional game. As long-suffering fans of Genova and Udine they're convinced the big city teams just drive a suitcase full of cash to the officials on the night before the big match. Refreshing maybe to them then that the refs seemed to be in the pay of the smaller Philadelphia. Refreshing to them.
6 Nations rugby is next, a sport nobody anywhere can explain with any authority. And, as far as I know, cash bribes are not acceptable.
A presto,
b
eryn - I am still in shock over how poorly the Giants played. I hope the Steelers bring it.
Diana - I agree Philly is a great city with a lot of heart but man, I was not happy with the Eagles the other day! :) Regarding the socializing, it's incredible how my life has changed. I know I went to more dinner parties in two months last year than in 10 years in L.A.
bernhard - ha. I blame those Eagles fans in the bar who clearly vexed our team. I'm glad your friends had fun. I have no idea what the rules are for rugby either. Only a few weeks before March Madness starts.
Lots of interesting questions raised with this post. I'm one of those expats that spends equal amounts of time with other expats and with Italians. I think tht if you spend all your time with other expats then you miss out on really integrating into your new home, but that's just me. As for going out more, can it just depend on where you live? We used to go out a lot more when we lived in Rome than we do now that we live in Milan. Rome is a city where people are always out on the streets and in the piazzas. Milan is all about the latest hot spot. Although our decrease in outings has more to do with having a kid than anything else ;).
joanne - I agree. I don't understand the point of moving overseas only to hang out with people not from your new country. All my friends who have children socialize less these day, esp. if their children are very young.
I love the Steelers - I was in P'burgh during the late 70s at CMU. I hope they hit it!
jen - your Steeelers are in the Super Bowl! I know nothing about the Cards.
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