Annual Monday Morning Full Blown Party

 

It  is a weird premise: early Monday morning party with the possibility of beer. Now how could  it  be fun even if one could care less about the NFL?       

 Food and Drink Really Early

My friend Alan and I have been going or attempting to go to Super Bowl viewing events in Manila since around 2005/ 2006. At some point during the game we order beer and wings. Some places will have a buffet . Some  places will  just serve their regular menu. These places will usually have something for every one. Even draft beer at 7 AM.  Warning : you know it is a crucial moment in the game because the waitress is more likely to ask you  if you want one more. 

    

Unique Atmosphere

The United States has the best professional basketball, hockey and baseball in the world . Yet the interest in those sports ( based on US TV ratings)  is dwarfed by the interest in the NFL. A sport that has no significant corresponding league overseas.  In 2024,  of the top 15 most widely viewed programs in the US - 13 were NFL games. The other two were the Oscars and the Biden- Trump debate.

   

 The good thing about watching the Super Bowl in an Asian country is people care but not too much. There will be cheering and yelling during certain events plus liquor is served. What I have never seen is people who are  so passionate about a team that arguments erupt or even worse. Some places will have promos . Prizes I won over the years include a Philadelphia Eagles cap that I won in 2006 that I still wear today and an ESPN 5 shirt .

   

 Goes without saying that the Super Bowl is big in the US. People love football . It is an honor for the teams to play in it, the announcers to call it , the cities who host it and even the musical performers who play during halftime.  In Philippines even the guys let alone the females don't know the difference between the punt and field goal. They however will mention that the only thing they know about  the Super Bowl is the halftime show.  The ones I talk to assume that the halftime show is why the Super Bowl is successful. Why not? They heard about the musical acts playing and they only watch games with a shot clock.  They are of course wrong. The tail does not wag the dog. First of all review that stat I gave you earlier about the Top 15 TV events in 2024.   I hate to bring logic and empirical evidence is an a piece about passion but how about this nugget? The halftime performers in the Super Bowl do not get paid. They get promoted in a way that they never have been promoted and never will be promoted. The performers want the Super Bowl more than the game wants them.

   

"I am not a morning person. Except the second Monday in February. "

 

Best Commercials In One Place

YouTube has demystified commercials that are done better than  ones we find locally in the Philippines.   Last year it cost $7 million  to air  one 30 second commercial . To put that   in perspective. The PBA in 2022 earned a record income of $3.5 million Normally commercials during a game are a good time to go the bathroom at your friendly neighborhood pub. You have no idea what you will miss when you leave for the can during the Super Bowl. I seem to remember hosting a few friends decades ago making club sandwiches and this came on during the pregame.  I remember this cute Volkswagen ad. ( Google their founder)  This commercial is even more epic considering the foreshadowing of what happened with a certain celeb couple.     John Keating  (Robin Williams ) said "the human race is filled with passion".     What is strange is that in a country where the general population only knows a team sport with a round orange ball, I see that passion every year on a Monday morning in February. You get to witness that passion at a sports bar near you  Feb 10 , 2025 . Show up with a  football literate friend or two and learn some new things and maybe have more fun that you ever thought a Monday morning could be.

CSA in the 70s through the lens of my dad

 I went to CSA from grade 1 to grade 6 always in section C . I enjoyed the reunion in July more than I thought possible . Thanks to Mon Dayrit and Joel Arcenas for getting me to the reunion in the first place . I spent grade 7 in Southridge with Adrian Hernandez , Manoli , Tonton Mapa among other CSA transplants . High school and undergraduate in Canada . Masters in DSLU Manila . Been planning to share these pics for a while . I will add more to this album when I find more . Thanks to my dad who is a shutterbug and my mom’s organizational skills with the albums for 7 kids . If there is anyway I can contact people like Rene Khan, Albert Medalle, Edgardo Katipunan etc that would be cool . Events include our first communion in 1974 and Cub Scout kerchief ceremony I think . 

 

Eduardo Pertiera on the left 

With Philip Hagedorn extreme right 

Mrs Agraviador of 2C SY 1974-75 . Her daughter Michelle who was in grade 1 and an “ angel “ for our First Communion who probably had the good sense not to be fond of me.

The late Adrian Hernandez visible here. 

CSA 40th Reunion

I am so thankful that word got to me about a reunion with people I didn’t graduate with. What do you do when you have over 170 pics ? Put it in your seldom used blog instead of flooding people ‘s viber . Thanks so much for people who remembered me and people who were so welcoming last night . I had a simple motivation for going . A chance to speak to people I have not seen since the 70s and achievement unlocked .