It's great to be back

It is wonderful to be back in the land of the free, home of the gun shooting at a Super Bowl parade (the price to pay for said freedom). But anything is better than the highly surveillance state of China, am I right? I’ll have much more to write about my two weeks in Guangzhou at a later time. In long form, with many pictures.

Not so pro trip: what really helps alleviate jet lag symptoms is drinking plenty of water during the flight (I must have drank over 2 liters), and wearing compression clothing (better blood circulation or something). It’s been 36 hours since I’ve landed yesterday at SFO, and I feel completely fine. 12 hour plane rides suck no matter what, however. Especially in the cheap seats. It’s all I could afford as a public servant.

I did watch the Super Bowl whilst in China. At a bright 7:30 AM Monday morning, I awoke to turn on the game. Unexpectedly, the local Guangdong sports channel was televising the Super Bowl. I didn’t even have to perform any elaborate VPN magic to get my free trial of Paramount Plus (it is definitely not available in China) to work in order to see our San Francisco 49ers lose to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The bad feeling started when the Chiefs blocked the extra point try in the fourth quarter. That feeling turned into inevitable doom when the 49ers decided to kick the field goal in overtime, instead of going for a 4th and short. When you’re up against Patrick Mahomes in extras, a three point lead might as well be a tie. Mahomes then did exactly as I expected: drive down the length of field to throw the game-winning touchdown.

Disappointed? Sure. But I was in my birth home of Guangzhou, with plenty of activities to look forward to still. The sadness was brief.

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The most expensive Rolls Royce.

I'm going to miss it

While I am extremely happy the San Francisco 49ers made the Super Bowl, I am extremely sad that I will miss the big party. Because I am due to fly out to Guangzhou, China at the end of this week, and scheduled to return after a fortnight. Indeed I will be at the opposite end of the globe whilst friends gather here in the States to cheer on our local team. The fear of missing out is incredibly strong right now.

It will be early morning in Guangzhou - the Monday after - when the Super Bowl is happening in Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon, February 11th. As far as I know, American football is not big at all in China. Finding an establishment over there showing the game will probably be impossible. Especially not during that hour of a work day. Perhaps there's some die-hard NFL fans (dozens of them!) in Guangzhou doing a viewing party? Or maybe the NFL is blocked wholesale over there. Because, you know, too much western values. (Huge American flag and military planes flying over.)

I got to find a way to watch it somehow. Hint hint, wink wink.

Funny enough, the last time San Francisco was in the Super Bowl, it was back in February 2020. That was just before the COVID-19 pandemic effectively shut everything down worldwide. The opponent in Miami then is the same as it is now in Las Vegas: the Kansas City Chiefs. Sports can be coincidentally weird that way. It is going to take the maximum best effort on the 49ers to beat Patrick Mahomes, who is well on his way to becoming the greatest quarterback of all time. He will be playing in his fourth Super Bowl in the past five seasons.

I think Patrick should be kind and let the 49ers have one. Please.

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If you steal my sunshine.

I'm fine

Perhaps it’s because I’m older and wiser now at the age of 32 (ha!), but I’m feeling quite fine today, even though the team I was rooting for utterly lost the Super Bowl the previous evening. The younger, sports-obsessed version of me would’ve had his night and the following week completely ruined; current me understands what’s truly important in life, and local sports teams isn’t one of them.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love to watch sports; it’s the outcome that I’m now detached from. Obviously, I don’t judge people who stake their entire being and existence on a particular sports team; those are the true believers that make sporting events possible in the first place.

What I take out of the Super Bowl is the time spent with friends watching the game. Those are the moments worth remembering: gorging on unhealthy food, drinking alcohol, and focusing more on the conversations than what’s being broadcasted on the television. Truthfully, because I had a vested rooting interest in this year’s big game, I did pay more attention to the match than year’s past, though I kept reminding myself that there will always be a Super Bowl, but the people around me are only as young as they are today.

Not to get completely morbid, but just look at what happened to Kobe Bryant: anything you hold near and dear can be taken away from you in an instant. Relationships are what’s important, not a football game. Would I be tangibly happier today had the 49ers won the Super Bowl? Probably, but that sort of happiness is fleeting - the shine will inevitably wear off. Having great experiences with people close to me? That sort of happiness is forever.

Footnote: I did try the vaunted ‘White Claw’ drink for the first time at our Super Bowl party, and I have to say it’s a damn efficient way to get people drunk without realizing it. There’s no alcohol taste at all, so I can see how a person can down multiple cans and not think about the ramifications. In certain hands, I would say White Claw might be more dangerous than the infamous ‘Four Loko’ drink.

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We’re walking on glass.

San Francisco will host Super Bowl L!

Just announced this morning at the NFL owner’s meeting, the NFL has selected San Francisco to host Super Bowl L in 2016 (an endcap to the 2015-2016 NFL season). The event will be held at the new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara (home of the San Francisco 49ers). For those less inclined on roman numerals, it is the 50th Super Bowl, so it’s going to be super special (pun heavily intended.)

It also will be the first time in my lifetime that the Super Bowl will be local to me. Since attending an actual Super Bowl is on my bucket of list to do before I hit the dirt, I think this Super Bowl L will be the perfect opportunity get it checked off. I’d save on airfare and hotel accommodations because the stadium is just a mere hour worth of train ride from my house. For sure the tickets will be exorbitantly expensive but going to a Super Bowl, for me, will be a one and done, once-in-a-lifetime thing. Worth it, wouldn’t you say?

Even though it’s a little under three years away, I am already very excited and anxious for Super Bowl L, in my hometown (area). Time to save up those pennies, then!