Drafting: My way!
by LeonSA
on May 5, 2008 9:07 AM EDT
The draft passed in a flurry of trades for Eagles fans. We have all analyzed the picks, and graded the draft in our minds. But I want to share with the you the way in which I experienced the draft.
I live in a flat with a roommate, but he went home for draft weekend. So I invited my buddy who lives across the street to watch the NFL Draft. We bought lots of Windhoek Lagers, and stocked up on our supply of "biltong" and "droëwors". Windhoek Lager is a beer made in Namibia, according to the traditional "reinheitsgebot". Biltong is a true South African snack: it is raw meat (from cows, kudus, springbok etc) that is dried for a long period, and then some spices are added. Droëwors is literally translated as "dried sausage". It is made by mincing meat and passing it into a hollow piece of intestine, and then drying it in the same way as biltong. The draft started at 21:00 and finished as 02:00, when the broadcast switched to ESPN2 (not available in SA). I was able to speak in my own language about the draft: "Daar gaan Al Davis alweer agter die superster aan!" (There goes Al Davis, once again taking the superstar player). "Ons het weer ons eerste round pick getrade! Twee jaar in 'n ry!" and a bit later on, when I managed to calm down: "Dit was 'n flippin goeie move deur die Eagles om daai picks te trade." (We traded our first round pick again! Two years in a row; It was a great decision by the Eagles to trade those picks).
So here we were in my flat at 21:00: drinking Namibian beer, speaking Afrikaans, eating South African biltong and droëwors, and watching the drafting of players for American Football.
Eventhough we did things differently than everybody reading this article, there was still one similarity: the love of Football. This game has truly crossed the differences between cultures for me, and I have great appreciation for the efforts that the NFL are making to take the game global. This is also a great example of the benefits that globalization has brought to deveoping countries like mine. And the main piece of this feel-good puzzle is football.
Forgetting the problems of the NFL for a while, and just enjoying the game is what it is all about. And being able to enjoy it with fans who have very different lifestyles just makes it all the more worth while.
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Well said.
Highly interesting. Reminds me of whenever I’m in Israel watching the pre-season games.
by Alon on
May 5, 2008 10:11 AM EDT
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i agree
it must be hard to see a lot of eagles stuff in south africa. i went to israel once with a bunch of people that go to university of illinois, and that was when u of i was in the rose bowl, and they called about 5 bars, none of which were open for the game cause it didn’t end til 4 israeli time, and finally convinced the head of the kibbutz we were at to turn on espn on their cable package. i’d go crazy if it were the eagles playing and i couldn’t see
by eagleyosh on
May 5, 2008 1:40 PM EDT
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I’m lucky enough to have DStv, and it has an Espn channel, but its not the same as the one in America. I am only able to watch prime time games, and this year there are six Eagle games on SNF and MNF. So I get to watch 3 to 6 games every year, and I follow the rest of the games on the internet.
The NFC East goes through Philly.
by LeonSA on
May 5, 2008 2:21 PM EDT
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Leon – I’m sure you’ve probably mentioned this before, but I don’t recall. Are you from the States originally? How long have you been in SA? Are you there for work? Have plans on ever returning to the States? Just curious…
by foos05 on
May 5, 2008 2:45 PM EDT
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Excellent Post.
I can totally see myself hanging on the couch, quaffing a Namibian frosty and snacking on some biltong and droëwors.
Thanks.
J
by cavortingEagle on
May 5, 2008 11:14 AM EDT
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Have you ever tasted it Jason? I would be glad to send you some?
The NFC East goes through Philly.
by LeonSA on
May 5, 2008 2:17 PM EDT
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I haven't
She visited SA a few years ago. She actually read this post and emailed me to tell me how much she liked it!
by JasonB on
May 5, 2008 3:28 PM EDT
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Lol! Then you mustn’t show her my reply where I tell you that I’ll send you some, otherwise she’ll definitely nag you!
The NFC East goes through Philly.
by LeonSA on
May 5, 2008 3:59 PM EDT
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Foos05, here's my reply
I haven’t mentioned it before, but I am not from the States. I have been a South African all of my twenty years, and I fell in love with Eagles football a few years ago. Everyone here just watches rugby, and I do have quite a lot of rugby knowledge myself, but nothing compares to football. I get quite angry about the ignorance that I face about the NFL here. On your question about me going to the States, the answer is that I intend to emigrate within the next few years (hopefully before the 2010 soccer world cup). I am going to the US during my winter holidays (I’m at university) with my girlfriend and the buddy that I mentioned in the article. We are actually still looking for work, so if anybody has any vacancies from the end of November to the end of January, feel free to contact me! I don’t know, but I would guess that it is quite rare for someone to break the norms like I have, as I have never been abroad, and my family has no knowledge of the NFL. I made a choice to become an football supporter, I wasn’t born into the lifestyle. I would also just like to thank SBnation and Jason for giving me a platform to keep up with the news, as well as allowing me to experience this country and culture that has captivated me so much. So I hope that I will be able to one day say that I’m from the States foos05.
The NFC East goes through Philly.
by LeonSA on
May 5, 2008 4:34 PM EDT
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Leon – I think it’s actually good to see that people from around the world can fall in love with the NFL… and especially the Eagles. If you don’t mind me asking, what was it about the Eagles that drew you toward them? I only ask because alot of people in the states might be a little bias on picking their team due to location or other family members that like them… I’m just curious what it would be like to start following the NFL as a whole and then have the opportunity to pick a team to begin following. If that makes sense… What kind of work would you be interested in? I’m sure between all of the people on the board we might have enough contacts to maybe help you in your search…
by foos05 on
May 6, 2008 7:55 AM EDT
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I was thinking the same thing.
You would assume someone would be a Cowgirls fan or G-Women, maybe Niners, Colts or Pats being from another country seeing as how they get the most press.
Even a Packers fan, but we are honored to have you as a Birds fan Leon, how did you choose upon the misery of being an Eagles fan.
by Whodie126 on
May 6, 2008 9:09 AM EDT
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I know this is a bit of an abnormal situation
Well this is actually a nice story…It all started when I was in 9th grade. I had a friend who owned a playstation football game, and it was at a time when the Raiders were starting to become a good team (2002?), so he liked the raiders. We were really good friends, and we started to dig deeper into the NFL and learn about it. I guess I just came across the Birds, and as I started to learn more, I really liked everything about them: From McNabb to Andy to the midnight green colour to the extremely passionate fans. I was in a hostel at the best rugby school in SA (Paul Roos gymnasium), so I was put under pressure by the other guys, and this meant that I had to defend the nfl and the Eagles. And from there on I was hooked. I went through the turmoil of the NFC Championship games and the Superbowl. I hate(d) TO. During my time as an Eagles fan, I have gobbled up any info I can find about them, and I have watched many videos. I am proud to say that I know about guys like Chuck Bednarik, Steve van Buren, Reggie White etc. It was a rather unorthodox road, but I have reached a point where I feel like I can truly call myself an informed Eagles fan. Now the only thing left is actually visiting Philly, which I hope to accomplish this year. And I know a few people who know about the nfl because of me…And they “support” teams like the Pats, Packers, 49ers etc. But I get really frustrated, because they know absolutely NOTHING about football… Foos05 we are just looking for jobs like waiters, bellboys, drivers (I would personally like to be a courier driver so I can see a lot of things), shop assistants…We would gladly take any jobs like these. The original idea was to go to Aspen for work, but I figured that I might as well see if there are jobs around Philly. But we’ll go anywhere, no hang-ups. And for anyone who might be interested, we will have J1 work visas. We are also looking for accomodation (a small cheap flat or something). So if there are any people with hotels, a courier service etc and would like to help out an Eagles fan (and get a good worker for 3 months)...Go ahead!
The NFC East goes through Philly.
by LeonSA on
May 6, 2008 12:01 PM EDT
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Leon – Awesome story… I’m actually from Scranton… it’s about an hour an a half north of Philly… I know a handfull of people in that live in Philly or very close. Next time I talk to them I will ask them if they have anything available… As I said though, I’m sure someone on this site might be able to come up with something as well… If you make it here sometime soon, you should definitely keep everyone posted, I’m sure you’d get more than a few offers to hang out or maybe catch an Eagles’ game…
by foos05 on
May 6, 2008 12:30 PM EDT
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Thanks very much
Like I said, I don’t really care where we get jobs, but being in that area would be a bonus. I know it might seem a bit forward and this site isn’t really intended for this purpose, but I’ll take a chance on finding some contacts. I’d really appreciate it if you could find something for us (working at a Starbucks or something is a good example). I’ll certainly keep everyone posted about our progress, and if I make it to Philly I would love to hang out with other fans! Can I give you my email address so you can email me if you do find a job for us or something?
The NFC East goes through Philly.
by LeonSA on
May 6, 2008 12:59 PM EDT
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sure thing… nothin wrong with using BGN to find some contacts here…
by foos05 on
May 6, 2008 1:27 PM EDT
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All right...
My email is 15091732@sun.ac.za (That number is also my student number at the University of Stellenbosch). Thanks again!
The NFC East goes through Philly.
by LeonSA on
May 6, 2008 1:39 PM EDT
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Good read.
Always interesting to hear how people in faraway places come to know the Eagles. Next time I’m in NJ , I’ll have to see if I can find Windhoek Lager. (No visit to my in-laws is complete without a stop at Monster Beverage)
Why the Hell Not?
by BrianS on
May 8, 2008 8:43 AM EDT
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