Tuesday, February 05,

Super Bowl? In Italy? Who Cares!! The US Elections, NOW You Have Their Attention !!

The ANNOTICO Report

 

Italians showed a remarkable indifference to the Super Bowl, and could not tell you the teams and the city they represented.

People in America are more likely to watch cricket than Italians are to watch the Super Bowl.The only recognizable name was Tom Petty. and the Heartbreakers. Italians love American music. They just have no clue what the lyrics mean.

 

In Italy, people know every American presidential candidate, from Clinton and Obama to Huckabee and McCain.

Many people in Rome care about American politics more than Americans. Someone has to tell these Italians to get their priorities straight.

 

Interestingly,  the Piepoli Institute in Italy was hired by the satellite channel Sky 24 News,to conduct a poll of Italians, and while  Italians showed a preference for Clinton by a slight margin of 39%  to  32% for Obama.  However, 59% believed Obama would get the Democratic nomination.

 

The poll also found that 51% of center-right voters would prefer a Democratic for the next American president, while 15% supported a Republican and 27% had not made any decision. (See the second article)

Super Bowl? In Italy? Not a Chance

By Matt Kiebus
Columnist

Loyola College Greyhound

Baltimore,MD,USA
February 5, 2008

ROME -- The Super Bowl has already been played; the NFL season is over. This frees up Sundays for men everywhere to spend quality time with girlfriends and significant others, and unfortunately, it no longer gives people a viable reason to drink at 1 p.m. The gridiron is left dormant for the next few months.

Here in Italy, the locals could care less. The only recognizable name in Phoenix, Ariz., last Sunday was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Italians love American music. They just have no clue what the lyrics mean.

At home, people of all shapes, colors and creeds got together to watch the one thing that binds (and perhaps defines) us as Americans -- The Super Bowl.

That is what I used to believe and hold dear: Most people in the United States take the Super Bowl more seriously than their respective church doctrines. "It is more than a game, it is an event," we are told.The pre-game analysis consists of al l-hair and all-wardrobe teams. Stuart Scott's eye starts to bother you more than ever. Chris "Boomer" Berman is way too excited. The Fox crew is making fun of Terry Bradshaw's illiteracy. The CBS crew is mocking Shannon Sharpe's speech impediment. Tiki Barber is pouting.

And I'm missing it all, the wonderful pageantry that is the Super Bowl.

In Europe, and specifically in Italy, people know every American presidential candidate, from Clinton and Obama to Huckabee and McCain. However, no one could pick Tom Brady out of a lineup of one-legged dwarfs. Many people in Rome care about American politics more than Americans. Someone has to tell these Italians to get their priorities straight.

The quest for the Italian football fan in Rome was nothing more than a complete failure. Whenever I asked the question, "Who do you want to win the Super Bowl?" I received the same perplexed look, as if I asked if I could've kidnapped their daughter.

F rom the Metro to the bus system, from Italian teachers to pizzeria workers, the answers came back the same: "Who?"  "What?"  and the ever-popular, "Why?"

No one knew the game was on a Sunday. Tom Brady is known as Gisele's boyfriend.

No one knows the rules. No one cares to learn them.

After unscientifically polling Italian teachers, host families, Metro workers and bus co-passengers alike, I came to the following conclusion: People in America are more likely to watch cricket than Italians are to watch the Super Bowl.

Not even the Manning family's witty commercials translate over the Atlantic Ocean. Manning? The gap in communication is larger than the one between Michael Strahan's teeth.

By the way, the game ended around 4:30 a.m. over here. No one was interested in staying up until dawn to watch grown men in tight pants and extensive pads release their childhood frustrations on each other.

Nevertheless, I held out some hope that R ome, one of the most well-known cities in the world, would at least show some interest in America's most famous sporting event, especially with a glut of out-of-towners like myself scattered here and there. I can only imagine what the people of Tuscany would've thought if I was there on Sunday evening. In case you don't know, Tuscany is home to wine and beautiful hills. Not exactly the best atmosphere for American football.

You will be hard pressed to meet an Italian who knows the names of the cities the teams are from, let alone the names of the teams themselves. However, I suspect if an Italian were to watch the Super Bowl, they would probably watch it for the same reason as those girls you go to respective Super Bowl parties with: the halftime show and the commercials. Both are worthless. Sort of like trying to watch American football in Italy.

 

ITALIANS PREFER CLINTON BUT SEE OBAMA WINNING NOMINATION

ANSA - Rome,

February 4, 2008 

 

Although more Italians, if  given the chance, would vote for Hillary Clinton, the vast majority believe that Barack Obama will be the Democratic Party nominee for president of the United States, according  to a new poll.

Carried out by the Piepoli Institute for the satellite channel Sky 24 News, the poll found that over 40% of Italians are very interested in the American primaries and 56% liked  the system, while 30% do not.

 

Among the 504 adults quizzed in the poll, 58% said that they would vote for a Democratic candidate in the November presidential elections, with 39% indicating a preference for Clinton and 32% for Obama. However, 59% believed Obama would get the Democratic nomination because of the backing the Illinois senator has received from the family of the late president John F. Kennedy.

 

The poll also found that 51% of center-right voters would prefer a Democratic for the next American president, while 15% supported a Republican and 27% had not made any decision.

 

According to Sky 24 News director Emilio Carelli, what Italians like about the American primary process was that it was ''an instrument of direct democratic participation''. ''Having clear and accepted rules is the foundation of  American democracy. And the race for president, while at times very harsh, always takes place in an atmosphere of  mutual respect,'' he added.

 

 

The ANNOTICO Reports Can be Viewed (and are Archived) on:

Italia USA: http://www.ItaliaUSA.com [Formerly Italy at St Louis] (7 years)

Italia Mia: http://www.ItaliaMia.com (3 years)

Annotico Email: annotico@earthlink.net