Having moved to Mexico in 2013, there were so many things that we didn’t consider. An important event that never crossed our minds was the Super Bowl. Of course we’d be able to watch the Super Bowl! Well, technology hasn’t always been our friend living out of the country. Or perhaps our cultural bias is showing. It’s a bit like the World Cup. No one watches the WC in the US. For many people not being able to watch the Super Bowl is no big deal, but not to us, at least it wasn’t in 2013. Living in Austin, Texas, Lisa was a huge football fan. Every Sunday she turned on the game, stretched out on the couch and slept through most of it. Her team? the Dallas Cowboys of course. (Dallas hasn’t played in the SB since 1996).
In Mexico, without satellite, it is nearly impossible to get American football’s biggest over the top magic show on your TV. We have tried going out to local bars but the game volume can make your ears bleed, the commentary is in Spanish and everyone is sloppy drunk. Not our favorite environment.
This past weekend we invited some new friends over for our version of a Super Bowl party and made another attempt to get the game from the comfort of our living room. We made Texas chili and started over an hour early to tune in. Between two couples, we had access to three different streaming services and a VPN. A VPN encrypts your internet traffic and hides your physical location. Why the NFL doesn’t want people to be able to watch the game from overseas is beyond me, especially if they’re willing to pay!
NOTHING WORKED! With fiddling and rebooting every ten minutes, we got a grainy view of the field and game play leading up to the halftime show. Then the whole thing failed. Our guests had long since left. We went to bed.
Truthfully our poor reception could have been caused by inadequate capacity for all of Bacalar. New internet towers have been going up everywhere but the increase in tourists and the fact that it’s Super Bowl Sunday might have put the system over the top.
We woke the next day to discover the Chiefs had won. That’s why the Superbowl is like life. You just never know the outcome. There are so many contributing factors, injuries, who Taylor Swift is rooting for, and social sentiment. Sometimes the game may go into overtime but when the clock runs out, you’re toast. These days our clock is ticking along a bit louder. But never fear, we’re in it until the final whistle blows.
DOS TORTAS
the adventures of dos tortas 
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