Brittany McGee

My favorite season: Football. It wasn’t until I went to the University of Texas and had season tickets to our football games that I really appreciated the sport. Sure, I had been raised a 49er fan, born in the era of Joe Montana and raised with Steve Young. But I just didn’t have that much interest in the sport until I watched Colt McCoy connect with Jordan Shipley on long passes, experienced a screaming crowd in person, and felt the agonizing pain of the 2008 Texas v Texas Tech game. Coming to Peru, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to watch much of the football season. I still kept my fantasy team, and somehow managed to finish the season okay-ish. Though both of my teams (the Longhorns and the Niners) had moderate to somewhat disappointing seasons, I realized while I was in another country on another continent what football meant to me. Football season is a time for gatherings with friends and family. I shared raw emotions- highs and lows with those friends and family and connected with them in ways I hadn’t before.  Football gave me something to talk about with my dad, and a reason to hang out with my family on Sundays. Because of what football means to me, I was excited when my site mate told me that she wanted to watch the Super Bowl with her host family. Along with two other volunteers, we made plans to cook light snacks and stream the game in her kitchen. When we all sat at the kitchen table to eat the grilled cheese, guacamole, fruit salad and popcorn, it gave us something to talk about. We did our best to explain the rules and why we were all rooting for the team we were (as a Niners fan, I couldn’t cheer for my rival, so Tom Brady and the Pats it was). Since I was the lone person cheering for the “white team” my site mate’s sister said she’d go for them too. While the family didn’t stick around for the entire game, I loved being able to share what little I could with them. For those fleeting moments, they got to be a part of my world and witness an event that draws millions of Americans together each year.