That’s right, I went to a Superbowl party here is Dublin last night which was thrown by the International Student Society. It was at a club call Kobra downtown and we arrived around midnight (Dublin is six hours ahead.) I went with Brittany, Stacy, Jen, Stevie, and Anna, Maggie’s friend who was still in Dublin.
It was eight euro to get in but it was worth it for just the experience. First of all, when we arrived they put face paint on us, which you can see in the picture. I think it was to make us look like football players but we really just looked like cats. The place was pretty packed but I eventually found a little seat and I must have looked lonely because the guy next to me started a conversation. His name was Derek and I met his other friends (I swear one of the guys' name was something like Edna but brogue plus loud music often equals bizarre conclusions) and stayed with them most the night; Brittany joined the group too. Derek and his friends were Irish and they said that the majority of the people there were Irish. Love it! Apparently they follow the NBA more than the NFL but they still turned out in great numbers to watch the Superbowl. (I am also told they are all Giants fans for the NBA and Yankees fans for the MLB.) I have so many questions about Irish life and they typically have a lot of questions about America ("Are girls from the South trashy? Like from Louisiana? Britney Spears is from Louisiana." or "What is the most boring state? North Dakota?")
Here are some of the highlights:
I met a girl named Aoife (pronounced “eefa”) who was determined to find me friends because she had studied abroad in Minnesota and knew what is was like to be alone in a new country. Now, I have friends here, but I appreciated her effort. She left me and came back with a girl who was studying abroad at UCD from DePaul, so also from Chicago. Aoife also talked about how the city of Dublin shut down for a day because they had an inch of snow but in Minnesota they would have many feet of still go about with their lives. She wants to find a “Texican” (Mexican Texan) to marry so she can move to the US.
When Brittany came over Derek and his two other male friends asked if we knew each other before we came to Ireland and I explained that we were in the same fraternity. You would have thought I said that we were supermodel princesses; they just kept repeating “American frat girls!” over and over grinning like they had won the lottery. I was flattered.
Every time the Saints did something good everyone sang “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Because it was supposed to be an American night, song selections included “American Woman,” “Born in the USA,” and “Empire State of Mind.” I’m not complaining.
The Superbowl ads were not so good. Derek said “I know they pay a million dollars for a ten second ad in the US but ours are shit,” as an ad for Sensodyne toothpaste played. I don’t blame them too much considering the time slot is from 12-3 am.
It was a great time because I got to talk with Irish students and share a completely American experience in Ireland. I got back to campus around 3 am but it was so worth it!
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