Taipei, Feb. 8 (CNA) Football fans in Taiwan had a chance to watch Super Bowl XLIV live and feel the same excitement as audiences back in the United States. The difference is they had to get up early rather than stay up late, which was exactly what they did Monday to see the New Orleans Saints win their first Super Bowl.
The game was broadcast live at eight locations in Taipei and in Taiwan's second largest city Kaohsiung, at six sports restaurants and the American Institute in Taiwan's (AIT's) offices in both cities, for fans to watch the biggest U.S. sports event of the year.
The game kicked off at 6:25 p.m. Sunday U.S. eastern time, which meant fans in Taiwan had to get up early Monday to catch the kickoff at 7:25 a.m. local time. But that did not deter them.
Canadian Lalit Golani, a former college offensive lineman who arrived in Taiwan two days ago on a two-week tour, said he was surprised to learn about the live broadcasts in Taiwan.
What he found even more surprising, he said, and was the sight of more than 200 screaming fans packed into the Brass Monkey pub in Taipei City.
"I think this game will be a toss-up. What do you think? " Golani said. Three hours later, the Saints had beaten the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 to win their first NFL title in their 43-year history.
The game was tight in the first half, which ended with Indianapolis holding a 10-6 lead, but the tension was broken by the funny TV commercials that had fans laughing and applauding.
A man surnamed Tsai, wearing the No. 9 jersey of Saints quarterback Drew Brees, chanted with his friends whenever New Orleans gained ground.
Brees tied a Super Bowl record with 32 completions and was named Most Valuable Player of the game.
Tsai said he skipped work to watch the live broadcast and that he idolizes Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.
"I also brought Manning's jersey with me but since my friend's a Saints fan, we're going to root for New Orleans today," Tsai said.
It seemed that the Saints fans in the pub were louder and outnumbered the Colts supporters, some of whom were diehard fans.
Jay Lin, an associate research fellow at the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering, said he supported the Colts because he was educated at the University of Illinois.
"I've been following American football since high school when I was on the Jianguo High School rugby team, " said Lin.
"It is natural for me to support Midwest sports teams such as the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis because of my alma mater, " Lin said, adding that when he's on business trips in the U.S. he takes the time to watch National Football League (NFL) games live whenever possible.
The NFL has not been very popular in Taiwan because, traditionally, baseball and basketball are the dominant sports here, Lin said. But it has become even harder to follow American football since sports channels in the country stopped carrying NFL games three years ago, he added.