Super Bowl Mania Grabs Deployed Troops

KABUL - Excitement is mounting at FOB Sharana as many "Currahee Brigade" soldiers lay plans to watch the big game live. "The brigade will postpone all but the most critical of its regular nighttime meetings, so troops can hit their racks early to get up to watch the game," reported Army Maj. Ali Johnson, the brigade PAO.

---

For troops in Afghanistan, the kickoff will be at 5 a.m. local time, Feb. 7. Assembling around TVs being set up in morale, welfare and recreation (MWR) tents and conference rooms around the base, they'll join their comrades in arms in 175 countries, and aboard Navy ships at sea, in an annual tradition that's as all-American as Thanksgiving and apple pie. American Forces Radio and Television Service has delivered the Super Bowl live since the game's inception in January 1967. Service members at JBB in Iraq, where it will be 2:30 a.m. at kickoff, are gearing up for the festivities, too, reported Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Lensch, a member of the Army Reserve's 103rd ESC's personal security team. Posters around the base are heralding the big event, and big flat-screen TVs will take center stage during myriad Super Bowl parties being planned. "I think there are going to be a lot of people up all night watching the Super Bowl," Lensch said. "A lot of people are going to be walking around like zombies the next day," he added with a chuckle. "The Defense Logistics Agency has worked to make deployed troops' Super Bowl experience as down-home as possible, complete with all the chicken wings, pizza and chili they can handle," reported Nick Sistrun from DLA's Troop Support activity. "In addition, DLA shipped almost 1,900 cases of mozzarella sticks, 1,300 cases of jalepeno poppers, 1,200 cases of meatballs and more than 1,500 cases of potato wedges to Iraq and Afghanistan," he said. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bradley Huber, a food service tech for the 103rd ESC in Iraq, plans to serve up a big selection of pizza and finger foods during the game. And, in a special exception to policy -- one that Army Lt. Col. Gerard "Gerry" Schwarz, the unit's deputy support ops officer, emphasized is closely controlled -- the troops will get 2 beers each to drink during the game. "There's only one time in the course of the year in Iraq that we're allowed to have 2 beers: Super Bowl Sunday," Schwarz said. "Due to the early morning kickoff time in Afghanistan, TF Currahee plans to provide a lumberjack breakfast rather than traditional Super Bowl fare," Johnson said. Instead of beer, the soldiers will wash down their chow with coffee and juice. Army Sgt. Kali Tackitt, a supply sgt., comes from a family of die-hard Green Bay Packers fans. In fact, Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr, who earned most valuable player honors in the first 2 Super Bowls -- wrote her uncle a letter, back when he was 9 years old, and it's been passed down through her family as a prized heirloom. Like many of her fellow Packers fans, Tackitt said she's suffered along with her team as it endured injuries and "unfortunate losses" over the season. "But, we made it through, and it showed all the haters what we're all about," she said. "I will be a Packers fan in good times and bad times, and trust and believe I will be wearing my cheesehead hat, and my Aaron Rodgers or Greg Jennings jersey on the night of the 6th. I'm super excited for my team to be in the Super Bowl, and I can't wait until they earn their ring!" Army Staff Sgt. Todd Christopherson, the brigade's PA NCO-in-charge, feels as passionately about the Pittsburgh Steelers. "The Pittsburgh Steelers have been my team since I can remember watching the black-and-gold with my father, who's also a diehard fan, in the lean years back before the '70s," he said. "They played with heart and fire, even when they were a losing team." Christopherson remembered watching his very first live football game at Pittsburgh's old Three Rivers Stadium. He thrilled to the roar of the spectators, whom he called "those nuts -- my kind of people," many of them wearing no shirts despite the bitter cold. "It was a sight to see and hear," he recalled with pride. "The experience Christopherson expects, and that he and his fellow soldiers will enjoy this weekend, transcends football," he said. "It wasn't just about the game or the fans," he said. "It was about good old-fashioned American pride. You may win, but by God, you'll know you were in a game, and damn sure worked for it."

---