Taipei, Feb. 7 (CNA) American football fans in Taipei took part in an annual ritual in the wee hours of Monday, getting up early and gathering in a local sports bar to watch the biggest game of the year in the United States-- the Super Bowl.
Around 200 National Football League (NFL) fans spent the morning drinking beer and watching a broadcast of the Green Bay Packers' 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2011 Super Bowl at the Brass Monkey, a restaurant located in downtown Taipei.
The 45th Super Bowl could not have taken place at a better time for local fans, as Monday marked the last day of the six-day Lunar New Year break.
"A Packers' Super Bowl victory! You can't find a better way to start a brand new year! " said Wu Ching-chi, who works in Taipei.
Due to broadcast rights issues, sports channels in Taiwan stopped carrying NFL games four years ago, which means that local fans can only watch NFL playoffs on premium digital channels, said Steve Lin, an anchor and analyst at All Sports Network, which owns the NFL broadcast rights in Taiwan.
On Monday morning, it appeared that most fans in the restaurant were rooting for the Packers, which did not secure victory until the final quarter.
"I would say that the New England Patriots probably have the most fans in Taiwan. But the Patriots were eliminated in the playoffs early this year, so my guess is that there are more fans supporting the tradition-rich Packers in the finals, " Lin said. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J