Watching the Super Bowl in Iraq

The moon was high in the Iraqi sky early Monday morning when Super Bowl XLI kicked off after 2 am. Earlier in the evening the sound of distant gunfire had drifted into Camp Victory, the American military's massive base at Baghdad's airport, but by game time it was quiet outside the main dining hall.

In a large side room inside the hall, a few dozen fans had settled in for the night to watch the game—for some soldiers, an event that outdoes the holidays. "This is better, much better," said Maj. Alton Johnson, 33, who managed to catch all the games in this year's NFL playoffs. "Nothing happened on Christmas and New Year's." In deference to the games' nocturnal schedule (Iraq is eight hours ahead of Miami, where the Super Bowl is played) some units gave their soldiers late start-times on Monday.

Arriving soldiers unslung their rifles and slid them underneath their chairs. At the front of the room the game was on four screens: a giant projection screen flanked by two smaller flat-screen TVs, as well as a big-screen TV in one corner.

The food, served cafeteria-style in the back, was what you'd expect of a Super Bowl party anywhere in America: small sandwiches, mozzarella sticks and other finger food. Dessert was a giant rectangular sheet cake frosted as a football field, complete with Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts logos in the end zones.

In line with military regulations in Iraq, there was no alcohol. Instead of beer, the soldiers drank soft drinks and super-caffeinated energy drinks to keep them awake through the game's 6 am conclusion.

Armed Forces Network television gets to broadcast NFL games for free, which has a downside on Super Bowl Sunday (or, in Iraq, Monday). As usual, the regular network TV advertisements were pre-empted in favor of military public service announcements—information on everything from the dangers of cigarette smoking to the availability of military chaplains. On game night, the ads included messages of support for U.S. troops from Colts and Bears players, but the soldiers would probably have preferred to watch the Super Bowl ad blitz everyone sees in the US.

There were Bears fans in the mix but the crowd at Camp Victory was solidly behind the Colts. In part, it was because Indianapolis has fallen in the playoffs so many times in recent years and seemed due for a championship. But the team also had the advantage of broader geographical appeal. Maj. Johnson, a Florida native, is a fan of Colts coach Tony Dungy, who used to coach Tampa Bay. (The Florida A&M grad also got to watch his alma mater's band perform with Prince at halftime.)

For Petty Officer 2nd Class Will Cross, a Memphis native, the game was a chance to watch former University of Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning win his first Super Bowl—which he did, in a rain-drenched 29-17 finish that also saw him take the game's MVP award. But despite the big game for Manning and the Colts, it was a bittersweet night away from home for soldiers like Cross. His wife has six brothers and sisters, and they usually come over for a Super Bowl party highlighted by his wife's chili. "My wife likes the Bears and I like the Colts," Cross says. "So this would be a great game if we could watch it together."