thedrifter
02-06-07, 06:56 AM
Semper fidelis and football
Marines throw Super party
BY T.J. QUINN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
ACCRA, Ghana - There are no medals given for this sort of heroism, but Americans in Ghana were stranded, and the Marines came through for them.
"We try our best," Staff Sgt. Shawn Fowler says.
A few bigwigs with satellite dishes had access to the Super Bowl last night, but the hot spot to watch the game was at the Marine House, where six Marine Corps embassy security guards live. Fowler, who completed his second tour in Iraq last year, and his comrades showed the game on their large-screen television, with a second movie-sized screen on the outside balcony, complete with dinner, pretzels and a cash bar.
"I can't watch the games all year, but I wouldn't miss it," says Zack Carter, an engineer working at the U.S. Embassy.
Carter, a former teammate of Adam Vinatieri's at South Dakota State University, grabs his hat and pulls the brim down over his head when Vinatieri misses a 36-yard field goal in the second quarter. "He'll make up for it," Carter says.
Besides the 11:30 p.m. kickoff time, the only downside to watching the game overseas is the Armed Forces Network commercials. Whatever Coke and Pepsi came up with this year, no one sees it at the Marine House. An AFN telecast means AFN commercials. Like the one with the cowboys sitting around a campfire talking about moving to another state. The lesson: Contact your legal office before doing so. Want to bring home a war souvenir from the enemy? Better go though chain of command first. Sgt. Somebody took an advanced motorcycle course, and it probably saved his life. A gazelle is seen smoking, and a cheetah easily runs it down for the kill. "Smoking thins the herd," is the signoff.
"I can't take these anymore," says Jillian Frumkin Bonnardeaux, an economist with the embassy.
Frumkin Bonnardeaux, a native of the Chicago suburb of Buffalo Grove, is wearing a Bears cap, one of several fairly loud Bears fans. The Colts fans appear to be fewer, but louder.
She has other problems, though. Her tradition back home has been to make a dip that she swears tastes better than it sounds, but she can't get all the ingredients here: cream cheese, chili, salsa, cheddar cheese and fresh vegetables, including avocado, which is out of season.
B.B., the Ghanaian bus driver who took a few Americans over to the Marine House for the game, tries to watch a little bit. He drinks tonic water and then shakes his head at what he sees on the screen.
"This is not my football," he says.
He returns to the bus and takes a nap until it is time to go.
Ellie
Marines throw Super party
BY T.J. QUINN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
ACCRA, Ghana - There are no medals given for this sort of heroism, but Americans in Ghana were stranded, and the Marines came through for them.
"We try our best," Staff Sgt. Shawn Fowler says.
A few bigwigs with satellite dishes had access to the Super Bowl last night, but the hot spot to watch the game was at the Marine House, where six Marine Corps embassy security guards live. Fowler, who completed his second tour in Iraq last year, and his comrades showed the game on their large-screen television, with a second movie-sized screen on the outside balcony, complete with dinner, pretzels and a cash bar.
"I can't watch the games all year, but I wouldn't miss it," says Zack Carter, an engineer working at the U.S. Embassy.
Carter, a former teammate of Adam Vinatieri's at South Dakota State University, grabs his hat and pulls the brim down over his head when Vinatieri misses a 36-yard field goal in the second quarter. "He'll make up for it," Carter says.
Besides the 11:30 p.m. kickoff time, the only downside to watching the game overseas is the Armed Forces Network commercials. Whatever Coke and Pepsi came up with this year, no one sees it at the Marine House. An AFN telecast means AFN commercials. Like the one with the cowboys sitting around a campfire talking about moving to another state. The lesson: Contact your legal office before doing so. Want to bring home a war souvenir from the enemy? Better go though chain of command first. Sgt. Somebody took an advanced motorcycle course, and it probably saved his life. A gazelle is seen smoking, and a cheetah easily runs it down for the kill. "Smoking thins the herd," is the signoff.
"I can't take these anymore," says Jillian Frumkin Bonnardeaux, an economist with the embassy.
Frumkin Bonnardeaux, a native of the Chicago suburb of Buffalo Grove, is wearing a Bears cap, one of several fairly loud Bears fans. The Colts fans appear to be fewer, but louder.
She has other problems, though. Her tradition back home has been to make a dip that she swears tastes better than it sounds, but she can't get all the ingredients here: cream cheese, chili, salsa, cheddar cheese and fresh vegetables, including avocado, which is out of season.
B.B., the Ghanaian bus driver who took a few Americans over to the Marine House for the game, tries to watch a little bit. He drinks tonic water and then shakes his head at what he sees on the screen.
"This is not my football," he says.
He returns to the bus and takes a nap until it is time to go.
Ellie