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Super Bowl fans A beach party. A flight itinerary. A day at work. For some diehards, even these obstacles couldn't keep them from planting themselves in front of the tube on Super Bowl Sunday.
find way to watch,
no matter what
Whether they went out,
Seven go from Super to Pro Bowl
threw a party or worked,
all huddled around a TVBy Treena Shapiro
Star-BulletinEdmund Semetara Jr., 22, threw his son's third birthday party at Magic Island yesterday with lots of food, friends, family, a 27-inch TV set and an electric generator.
About 30 people huddled outside a tent that shielded the TV set from the elements, while another 30 or so sat back closer to the food.
Friends said they would have skipped the Super Bowl to come to the party, but Semetara thought combining the two was better.
"This is the first time (we've done this)," he said. "It's fun."
Edmund Semetara Sr. said watching the game at the beach was better than watching it at home in Kalihi. "It's more cooler here than in the house," he said. "There's a breeze."The party started at 6 a.m. and would last "till the game pau," Semetara said.
New York Giants fans Matthew Gerber, 30, his wife and friends wanted to see the game so badly that they planned their vacation around it.
"We got a layover all day just so we could watch," he said. "We had to make our travel arrangements around it."
After spending a week on Kauai, Gerber said they flew into Honolulu at 9:30 a.m. yesterday and planned to fly out to Los Angeles on their way back to New Jersey at 10 p.m. They chose to watch the game with some 350 other people at the All Star Hawaii in Waikiki, where the game was shown on more than 35 TV monitors.
Although his back was to the nearest big screen monitor, Gerber said he had a great view of nine or 10 sets so even if someone stood in front of him he could see at all times.Jay Daguio, 23, wasn't so pleased with his view of the game.
While his parents threw a Super Bowl party, Daguio had to work at his family-owned convenience store, Downtown Stop, on Nuuanu Avenue. As he worked the counter, he watched the game on a 6-inch black-and-white television set.
Describing himself as a "pretty big" football fan, Daguio said he wasn't thrilled to be working during the game. "It sucks," he said. "You can't get drunk. You can't do nothing. You can't enjoy with everyone else."
But Daguio was ever-so-slightly better off than 22-year-old security guard Ruben Loketi, who, standing on the other side of the counter, couldn't even see the tiny screen as he listened intently to the announcers.
He had to work until 11:30 p.m., but "my friends are having a barbecue at home watching the Super Bowl," he said.
Former Mrs. Hawaii 1975 Bernie Nishimura's only real obstacle to watching the game was driving halfway around the island from Punaluu to the Eastside Grill on University Avenue, where her friends filled a table at the restaurant, which was filled to capacity with 150 clients.
But Nishimura couldn't keep her eyes on the game at all times because she frequently was distracted by the urge to pummel Baltimore Ravens fans with her blue-and-white pom-poms.
A frequent victim was Raven Esposito, who rooted for the team he joked was named after him.
"They goin' win," he crowed, gleefully admitting that he wanted to antagonize the tableful of Giants fans.
Although the Giants eventually lost the game, Nishimura enjoyed watching the game away from home. "This is our first time venturing out (on Super Bowl Sunday) and I think we're going to do it again next year.
"It's better than making our own pupus," she said.