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Best Place to Watch the Super Bowl? One of Saddamâs Old Palaces
EFL At bases across the country, the 130,000 American troops will be able to catch the game between the Carolina Panthers and the New England Patriots live (starting at 2:25 a.m. Monday, Iraqi time) in mess halls and recreation centers. If waking up in the middle of the chilly Iraqi night is too daunting, many bases will tape the game, which is being aired from Houston on the American Forces Radio and Television Service, and replay it later. Here in Tikrit, Saddamâs hometown and headquarters of the 4th Infantry Division, troops will watch the big game at the U.S. Army recreation center â a three-story palace built by the ousted dictator, with chandeliers, mosaic floors, a sweeping staircase and a man-made lake. Americans in Baghdad can watch the game in a tent outside Saddamâs former Presidential Palace, now the main headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition. Bo Jackson, a Heisman Trophy winner in 1985 who played both pro football and baseball, will join some of the U.S. troops based in neighboring Kuwait to watch the Super Bowl. Soldiers who canât get to a television can tune in on the Internet, said a coalition spokesman in Baghdad. Despite the early hour, some 500 soldiers are expected to show up for the party in Tikrit. Staff Sgt. Bennie Brewster, of Greenville, S.C., will be cheering the Panthers before going straight to work at the base post office. "Iâll be tired, but Iâll watch the match," he said. He and other soldiers can win door prizes, compete in Super Bowl quizzes and enjoy a spread of chicken wings, hamburgers and hot dogs. But military regulations prohibit beer from being served on base. "Thatâs the only bad thing," Proctor said, "but we have plenty of nonalcoholic beers brought in." Posted by: Desert Blondie 2004-02-01 |
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