Say Anything Blog

From Sports Illustrated:

The Super Bowl parties for U.S. troops in Iraq will start hours before dawn, and there won't be any beer. But at least in Tikrit, soldiers have a lavish venue: They'll be watching a cinema-sized screen in a former palace of Saddam Hussein.

At bases across the country, the 130,000 American troops will be able to catch the game between the Carolina Panthers and the New England Patriots live (starting at 2:25 a.m. Monday, Iraqi time) in mess halls and recreation centers...

If waking up in the middle of the chilly Iraqi night is too daunting, many bases will tape the Carolina-New England title game, which is being aired from Houston on the American Forces Radio and Television Service, and replay it later.

In Tikrit, Saddam's hometown and headquarters of the 4th Infantry Division, troops will watch the game at the U.S. Army recreation center -- a three-story palace built by the ousted dictator, with chandeliers, mosaic floors, a sweeping staircase and a man-made lake.

"It's going to be a big party for the soldiers," said Staff Sgt. Celeste Proctor, in charge of arrangements for the event. "It brings a little bit of home to the place."

It always makes me happy to see the soldiers get to have a little fun like this. They're putting their lives on the line every day, and they're doing one heck of a job. They deserve the break.

It'd be fun to do something so quintessentially American in one of Saddam's homes, though I'm sure most of the soldiers would rather be at home.

Just had a thought...is there any way we can pipe a video feed of the soldiers having their party into Saddam's jail cell?