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February 8,
2005
[Have an opinion about the issues discussed in this article?
Sound
off in our Discussion Boards.]
By Terry Boyd,
Stars and Stripes, European edition
Spc. Ryan McLane, left, and Staff Sgt. Fred Vestal were dressed for
victory Monday morning as the Boston soldiers' New England Patriots
repeated as Super Bowl victors. It was a “fantastic” game, McLane
and Vestal agreed ... the best since the Boston Red Sox won the World
Series for the first time in 86 years. (Photo by Terry Boyd).
FORWARD OPERATING BASE WILSON, Iraq:
Spc. Jones, take a letter.
To: The National Football League
From: Young American soldiers in the desert
Re: The Super Bowl XXXIX halftime show
Take all that Super Bowl ad money and buy a clue.
"Where is Britney Spears?" asks Pfc. Joshua Payton, a 21-year-old
1st Infantry Division soldier from Ironton, Ohio, watching the halftime
show at Forward Operating Base Wilson's dining facility.
"That was whack," says Staff Sgt. Jamie Riley, Headquarters and Headquarters
Troop, 1st Squadron, 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, as the last notes
of "Live and Let Die" fade from the huge television.
"This is where you make a beer run," Payton counters.
"Volunteer to make a beer run," replies Riley. "I'd rather see the
AFN ads!"
It's hard enough getting up in the middle of the night, Iraq time,
to watch football. Even the Super Bowl. So, when all they have is
Red Bull and alcohol-free beer, soldiers need somebody besides Paul
McCartney to party, especially for a low-scoring, defensive game.
At 7:32 into the third-quarter, Fox finally shows a close-up of a
cheerleader, drawing a hoot from the crowd.
"That's the best highlight of the whole game!" yells Staff Sgt. Douglas
Darden, a 33-year-old 1st ID soldier from Fayetteville, Texas.
The refrain here at this small base outside Tikrit is, next year will
be better.
Less Paul McCartney, more Britney Spears, says Payton. More beer,
chicken wings, women, and, most importantly, sleep back in the real
world instead of missions, mud and microwave popcorn fished out of
care packages in a corner of the dining facility.
Yes, football is sacred, Payton says: "You're not an American if you
don't watch the Super Bowl." But, he adds, Wilson is "a working FOB,"
where missions go out around the clock. And his duty day begins at
0800, Super Bowl Monday or not.
Strolling into the DFAC at 2:45 a.m., Riley shouts to the small, sleepy
crowd, "Yeah, we gotta pajama party this morning."
With many soldiers scheduled for dawn missions, "We're going to be
hurting tomorrow. Or today, I should say."
Only about 35 soldiers out of more than 200 here got up before the
chickens and made it to the dining facility for the game, especially
with 1st ID troops preparing to return home to Schweinfurt, Germany,
via Kuwait. Many of the rest watched it in their barracks.
Especially Philadelphia Eagles fans. It's the sound of one man clapping
when the Eagles get on the board first with a touchdown at 9:35 to
go in the first quarter.
"Donovan McNabb is the best player in the league," says Spc. Ray Simmons,
21, 1-4 Cav, who happens to share the same hometown with McNabb -
Chicago.
Simmons sticks it out to the bitter end as the Eagles lose 24-21 to
the Patriots.
Just how soldiers view the game goes far beyond winning and losing
to whether they're coming or going. Simmons and his 1st ID comrades
are on their way home.
Representing the newly arrived National Guardsmen is the Boston contingent
sitting right in front of the TV. The game was the same as last year
- Pats win - when he was back home in Boston "minus the beer and women,"
says Spc. Ryan McLane, 23.
These guys are hard-core fans, and McLane and Staff Sgt. Fred Vestal,
42, with the 42nd Infantry Division -- attached to the 1st Squadron,
278th Regimental Combat Team out of Tennessee -- are sporting Patriots
headgear.
Homies Sgt. James Gallagher, 28, and Spc. Jose Perez, 24, round out
the Boston foursome.
It's a "fantastic" game, McLane says. The most fun since the Red Sox
came back from three games down in October to beat the New York Yankees
in the American League Championship Series, Vestal says. The Red Sox
would go on to win their first World Series in 86 years.
Ah, except now, it dawns on them they have 10 months left in Iraq,
not to mention a year till the next Super Bowl.
"That was," McLane says soberly as he watches Patriots players celebrating
on the field, "all we had to look forward to."
Then his face brightens -- the BoSox's first game is only six weeks
away.
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