SuperBowl at the Fiesta

This year a small bunch of us went to the Fiesta Casino near the airport to watch the SuperBowl. The last couple of years we went to Diane's house in Cariari, but for some reason, we switched venues this year. I started going to the Fiesta a couple of years ago to watch some season football games and met a few guys who were regulars there. One of them, Christopher Howard, the #1 authority on retiring and moving to Costa Rica, said he'd reserve a big table for his and my friends for Sunday's big game.

Since my team, the New England Patriots, weren't contenders, I threw my hat in for the next best team, the New Orleans Saints. Actually, I just wanted any team other than the Indianapolis Colts to win. There's something about the Manning dynasty - one year Peyton, another year Eli, another year Peyton - that rubs me the wrong way. Plus, the Colts pair up against the Patriots during the season and are the hardest team to beat.

The Saints were the underdogs this year, well, at least that's how the betting was going until the middle of last week, when a lot of people must have plunked down a lot of money to make them the favorites. The Saints had never been to the SuperBowl before Sunday. Thus, I bet on the Saints.

It was so much fun! Diane, Sam, Carl, Carolyn and I sat together. Laurie, Allan and some others sat at a different table. Not sure why. Some of Chris's friends spilled over into the seats across from us, and we got to know them. There were big-screen TVs all over the room, and one was directly in front of me. The picture was crisp with brilliant colors. The nachos were a little cold, but the pizza was good. As was the Imperial beer.

Diane had made up a football card, and I bought two squares. Sam and I pulled numbers randomly from a deck of cards to set up the rows and columns. I won the second quarter bet, which made me $11 richer.

There was a table of three young guys near me, one wearing a Patriots shirt, so I went over to talk to him. He was tico, which surprised me, since most ticos don't know the rules of American football. He, too, was rooting for the Saints.

At halftime, we unglued a big SuperBowl balloon from the table and started tossing it around the room. What fun!

It was a very good and close game, until the fourth quarter, when the Saints pulled out way ahead. The final score was 31-17 in favor of the Saints. Yay - my team won!

To make it even better, I won this year's bet with Shell. He and I bet every year on the SuperBowl. Whichever team I don't want to win is the team that he bets on. The last two years I had to pay him. This year he finally owes me. Our bets are small, only mil colones, or about $1.75.

So all in all, a good time was had by all.


Our table


Picking numbers for the football card

SuperBowl Party 2009

I'm a big New England Patriots fan. For some weird reason, the Patriots didn't make it into the SuperBowl playoffs, even though they had 11 wins and only 5 losses during the regular season.

So I had no vested interest in which team won the SuperBowl. But there's something about the Pittsburgh Steelers that I just don't like. Maybe it's their yellow and black uniform that I find threatening, or maybe it's the meanness and unusual heft of their defense, or the fact that they have beaten my team. Whatever the reason, I didn't want to see them win the trophy. I had no problems with the Arizona Cardinals, though. I didn't know much about them, other than the team moved from St. Louis. But they must have done something right to have made it as far as the SuperBowl. So I decided to root for them.

Diane hosted the big SuperBowl party on Sunday. During this season and last, we took turns hosting football parties to watch our favorite teams: Diane's Dallas Cowboys, Ellen's Miami Dolphins, and my Patriots. I have a tendency to get obnoxiously excited when my team is winning, but my friends tolerate me just the same.

On Sunday about 13 of us brought food and drinks to Diane's, and settled in to watch The Game. Somehow I lucked out and got to sit in the big chair - a leather recliner that tilts so far back that it becomes a bed. I lack the weight/power to close the leg rest, so once I'm reclined, I have to climb over the side to get in or out, like a toddler in a crib.

To make the game interesting, we all placed bets in a pool. Diane and Mark created a grid, and we each paid $2 for a cell in the grid. I bought two cells. Depending on the score at the end of each quarter, someone would win $10, and the big winner would take home $20. I won nada, zilch, zero.

Not only did I win nada, zilch, zero in the group bet, but I had a side bet with Shell. Shell is my sworn nemesis. Whomever I cheer for, he cheers for the other team. In 2006 and 2007 when the Patriots were in contention, Shell was particularly nasty to me, which is probably why I have become so obnoxiously excited about my team. So even though I didn't really care too much if Arizona beat Pittsburgh, I bet Shell that the Cardinals would win. The last quarter's action was electrifying for both teams, and Shell and I ribbed each other mercilessly as each team scored. But we all know how the game ended: Pittsburgh beat Arizona 27 to 23. And I had to hand over another $2 to a jubilant Shell.

I did come away richer, though, from having shared a fun evening with friends and eaten delicious food.