Plenty of good seats still available

It's tough being a fan of American sports if you live in Asia. I am 12 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time here so, for instance, if a game starts at 6:30 pm Sunday there, I see it at 6:30 am Monday here. When I do watch sports it's usually just after I've woken up.

If you're a soccer fan you're in luck. There are approximately 5,000 television channels that show soccer 24/7. If you're more into cricket, rugby or non-NASCAR motorsports, you can always find a place to watch your game of choice.

It's hard to find anywhere to watch American sports because most places that show sports aren't even open when the games come on. An additional complication that no one really cares. During the World Cup sports bars were packed beyond capacity, even though most games started at 11:30 pm or 1: 30 am. Places would stay open beyond their normal closing time to accomodate the crowds. The already overworked staffs of these places had to work additional hours with no additional pay.

The Super Bowl is a big deal. I was living in Saigon during last year's game. A buddy of mine sent me txt messages through the day to keep me updated. He tried to go to the sports bar we hung out at, but he couldn't get in. We went to the same bar to watch the NCAA basketball championship. It was one of the great college basketball games of all time -- and we were the only two watching!

I've always been more of a college sports fan. I was excited to watch the BCS championship game between Oregon and Auburn. I was curious to see the teams' video game offenses in action. There's an Irish bar on the riverfront that shows sports. During the World Cup it was difficult to even walk past the place, let alone get in, because it got so full the crowd spilled onto the sidewalk and even into the street.

For the BCS game ... not so much.


This is the scene at halftime. It was nice being able to watch the game, but a little disappointing that one of the biggest sports events of the year drew exactly five fans. Of course, the game did start at 8:30 in the morning here...

The game was a huge disappointment. Sure, it was close. Sure, it was one on a field goal as time expired. But both teams looked sloppy and unprepared. Both coaches looked completely lost on the sidelines. The game turned on a fluke play -- Michael Dyer's "was he down or not?" run -- on which the refs botched the call because they didn't understand the rules. (Just for starters, in college football the whistle does not have to blow for the play to end.) And of course it's a disgrace that Cam Newton was even allowed to play.

I think TCU would have convincingly beaten either team.