This year, the NFL’s biggest game came down to a Hail Mary pass on the final play, which occurred sometime around 4 AM Polish time. Warsaw, held at Platinium Club for the fourth consecutive year.
Football fans, from the rabid to the casual and everywhere in-between, saw a near replay of the 2008 Super Bowl, as the New York Giants got a touchdown late in the final quarter to come away with a victory over the New England Patriots. The crowd at Platinium, seemingly impartial as the game began, exploded as the final pass fell incomplete, giving the Giants the victory after a tense, back-and-forth contest.
Although the venue was open a whole two-and-a-half hours before kickoff, guests were by no means left bored waiting for the game. An open bar and a buffet-style spread awaited those who hadn’t filled themselves at pre-party parties, and there were games and football-related contests with prizes sponsored by ESPN America and the Warsaw Eagles. Members of two Warsaw teams in the Polish League of American Football (PLFA), the Eagles and the Spartans, were highly visible in the crowd, as was PLFA Commissioner Jędrzej Stęszewski.
The pre-game entertainment also featured the band V.O.A., who got the fans warmed up for the game with a nearly hour-long concert of Southern rock. By kickoff, Platinium was standing room only, with the game being shown on big screens in the main room and on numerous smaller ones in surrounding rooms. The game was tight and low-scoring throughout, meaning that most of the people who would have otherwise been tempted to wander home around halftime stuck around to the end to find out who would emerge victorious.
ESPN America Super Bowl parties were also held this year in Amsterdam, Berlin, Lisbon, Milan, Munich, Paris, Prague, Rome and Vienna. The event has become a can’t-miss on Warsaw’s yearly calendar of social events. All those who were not lucky enough to receive an invite to this year’s closed party would do well to start buttering up their football-related friends and acquaintances in hopes of securing one of these valuable ducats in the future.
Alex Zarganis
Photos: Marcin Fijałkowski, www.maffoto.pl