# Non-US Dopers: Do you watch the Super Bowl? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 28, 2001, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-do-you-watch-the-super-bowl/52135 "2001-01-28T16:21:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-do-you-watch-the-super-bowl/52135/1 "2001-01-28T16:21:32Z")
They broadcast this thing to every country in the world, but do people outside the US actually watch it? ---
**Author:** ![nikjohns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/53a042/32.png) [@nikjohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikjohns)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-do-you-watch-the-super-bowl/52135/2 "2001-01-28T16:38:38Z")
Brit here… I never have in the past, but I’ll give it a try this year. ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-do-you-watch-the-super-bowl/52135/3 "2001-01-28T16:59:05Z")
Nope. OTOH, I hardly watch any televised sports at all. Oh, and I’m from Denmark. S. Norman ---
**Author:** ![Silly\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Silly\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silly_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-do-you-watch-the-super-bowl/52135/4 "2001-01-28T18:52:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spiny Norman \* > \*\* > Oh, and I’m from Denmark. > > \*\* No wonder you are so good looking! 😉 And… yes, I sometimes watch the Superbowl. It all depends on who’s playing!! ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-do-you-watch-the-super-bowl/52135/5 "2001-01-28T19:20:46Z")
> [@](#): > > No wonder you are so good looking! 😉 \ Thank you! - you’re not exactly hard on the eyes yourself, if you’ll pardon me saying so 🙂 S. Norman ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-do-you-watch-the-super-bowl/52135/6 "2001-01-28T19:36:38Z")
Hell, I live in the U.S. and I haven’t watched the Superbowl in 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![Elkman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Elkman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elkman)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-do-you-watch-the-super-bowl/52135/7 "2001-01-28T20:20:45Z")
I’m in Canada, and I can only remember 1 that I’ve missed in the past 15 years. I generally watch it somewhere that has the satellite feed, as Canadian networks are allowed to edit out all the cool commercials and insert local ones. (If I ever hear the "Mattress, Mattress, the Mattress Store girl again during the Superbowl, I’ll do an Elvis on my TV!!) ---
**Author:** ![RickQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@RickQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickQ)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-do-you-watch-the-super-bowl/52135/8 "2001-01-28T22:59:24Z")
I have watched it for the past 4 or 5 years, but we never get to see it live cause of what time it is on. I usually tape it and watch it later. It is really hard to avoid knowing the outcome. This year it is worse cause it is not even being broadcast live, it is being shown the next day, so I have to tape it then and watch it later still. Rick ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-do-you-watch-the-super-bowl/52135/9 "2001-01-28T23:10:44Z")
Rick I’m pretty sure I saw an ad today on one of the Sky channels that said they were showing it live 😕 (expat US Doper here who didn’t even know which teams were in it until yesterday :D) ---
**Author:** ![RickQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@RickQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickQ)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-do-you-watch-the-super-bowl/52135/10 "2001-01-28T23:26:56Z")
**Ruadh** , yeah, they are, but I don’t have sky. I have to wait for Channel 5 to get it, which is the following day at about 1am. Totally sucks, but what can I do ☹ Rick ---
**Author:** ![Juggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/juggler/32/3194_2.png) [@Juggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juggler)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-do-you-watch-the-super-bowl/52135/11 "2001-01-28T23:32:09Z")
I don’t think they broadcast it here in Sweden. Never seen it and don’t care. But we got some teams and the sport is on the rise so I suppose they will send it next time or soon. ---
**Author:** ![timothy98765](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@timothy98765](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/timothy98765)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-do-you-watch-the-super-bowl/52135/12 "2001-01-31T06:44:23Z")
“They broadcast this thing to every country in the world, but do people outside the US actually watch it?” The only sport event that’s broadcasted to EVERY (literally) country in the world is World Soccer Championship,beating even the Olympics.In Russia, Italy, and Spain,as I can say based on a personal expirience, no one is even aware of Super Bowl existence. No wonder,though. After all,there’s a reason for that–football is not a popular game in the world.In fact, can anyone name at least 10 countries,where football is played professionally? Oh,yeah,and one other thing. Me and couple of friends had a good laugh some time ago about certain other “sport”. You know, the one where two teams from one city meet and they call it World Series championship? ---
**Author:** ![Andy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Andy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-do-you-watch-the-super-bowl/52135/13 "2001-01-31T11:36:29Z")
timothy98765: please be careful, these kind of comments only lead to ‘Soccer SUX’ type replies which we’ve endured ad nauseum…😉 I didn’t watch it this time (3am finish and 7am work don’t mix), although I did a few years ago, but that was more because a friends bar stayed open all night so we could watch it. They serve beer. The trailer to this superbowl called it the biggest sporting event in the world, but like timothy, I disagree…the world cup surely has a bigger audience. In the days running up to and the time since, I have not spoken to one person where the topic of the superbowl has come up. ---
**Author:** ![Gregor\_Samsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@Gregor\_Samsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gregor_Samsa)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-do-you-watch-the-super-bowl/52135/14 "2001-01-31T23:14:38Z")
Canuck here. I occasionally watch the Superbowl, although I have to confess it’s usually because someone’s built a party around it. My problem with the Superbowl is that it’s not usually a good, close game. It tends to be a blowout every time. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-do-you-watch-the-super-bowl/52135/15 "2001-02-01T03:22:36Z")
If an American/former UK resident can answer: I only met about two or three people in the UK who watched the Super Bowl. From my experience that’s due to a number of reasons: 1. If the game is shown live, which it was during the six years I lived there, it will start at 11 pm at the earliest. Not many sports fans will stay up that late for it, especially if they’ve been watching soccer all weekend. 2. Few people follow American football long enough during the season to understand the rules enough enough to want to watch the Super Bowl. OK, there may be some people in the US who only watch the Super Bowl, but at least they’re involved in a “football culture,” and would have a vague idea of what terms like “first down,” “sack,” or “field goal” mean. To most of the world, watching the Super Bowl is about as confusing as, well, Americans watching cricket. 3. And if those reasons aren’t enough, there’s always the fact that, if you don’t follow a sport, you have little interest in who wins. Heck, I follow soccer, but I would have no interest in watching a match in, say, the Croatian league, because I couldn’t give a damn about the result. So why is the Super Bowl played in so many countries? I suspect it’s because of the presence of American ex-pats and soldiers in those countries. Besides, what else is there to show on TV at 11pm, or later, on a Sunday? ---
**Author:** ![TheFunGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f1d935/32.png) [@TheFunGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFunGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-do-you-watch-the-super-bowl/52135/16 "2001-02-01T04:46:14Z")
A few years ago, living in Brazil, the Super Bowl was only a quick series of highlights. Nothing quite beats hearing the sportscasters, who love to yell, “Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool!” Instead yell, “Touch-Downdowndowndowndowndowndowndown!”