Super Bowl Surprises

Several big surprises in the Denver Broncos' Super Bowl victory. First is that I was so quickly and easily swept up in the football mayhem of our schools, neighborhood and city. Though still averting my eyes at vicious tackles, worrying about concussions, and booing unsportsmanlike conduct, I vigorously participated in game-watching with forty or fifty of my raucously cheering neighbors.

The second surprise was the amount of family bonding that took place on game day. Daniel wanted to create a gluten-free, dairy-free Broncos cake for the party and though he at first insisted that neither sibling could help him, he later shared graciously in both the cake-making and frosting process. With all three collaborating, the cake evolved into a green gridiron masterpiece.

The third and perhaps biggest surprise was the amount of Broncos mania I encountered at the immigration detention center, where I went earlier in the afternoon to interview a detainee. While waiting for my turn at the visiting windows I watched the lobby fill up with people of all ages, races and backgrounds. The common denominator among them - aside from the fact that they had to visit a loved one through a window and phone - was the Broncos paraphernalia. Jerseys in orange and blue predominated but there were also T-shirts, scarves, and even a small girl in a pink Denver uniform.

As the guards shuffled out on the shift change there were fist bumps and glances toward the TV and muttered exhortations to the team. When we left after a one-hour visit, the game was just starting and Denver had lost the coin toss. Perfect strangers exchanged worried glances, then we got swept up in commiserating with a young lady over the fact that her father had been detained though he was legally in the country. With a worried frown she said that they "hoped for the best," then her frown cleared and she departed with a hearty "Go Broncos!"

It's a bit confusing that we needed a football team for so much bonding. I'm grateful for it, but just wish I could find a way to replicate it during the off-season - both in my house and in the Denver area. We'll enjoy the rosy glow through the victory parade tomorrow and then I suppose it will be back to business as usual.