LUSAKA, ZAMBIA- This is a sports country. I arrived here last weekend in time to watch the game and aftermath of the Zambia National Soccer Team upset one of Africa’s real soccer powers Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalty kicks. This is akin to winning the Stanley Cup in a shootout. In the words of the local wags Chipolopolo, the Zambian nickname which means copper bullets, shot the Ivory Coast Elephants who were overwhelmingly favored in the matchup for African Cup supremacy.
The win kicked off a celebration of national pride which went on for at least three days. Unlike the confusion and chaos in Vancouver after last year’s Stanley Cup loss it was a joyous occasion. The sudden death win after midnight here in a game televised and played in Gabon drove thousands into the streets of this capital city’ It also touched off a cacophony of those plastic horns made so famous at the last World Cup, blaring automobile horns and personal expressions of joy. On Monday it was an unofficial national holiday as a lot of school children and workers took the day off to greet the team at the local fair grounds. Three days later hotel clerks, news vendors and government officials were still dressed in the colors of Chipolopolo.
All the celebration was exciting but while I was watching all of Lusaka dance from my hotel room I was searching for hockey on the satellite television. I found lots of soccer, a 24 station devoted entirely to cricket and every news channel imaginable on earth including one from Beijing. What I couldn’t find was hockey. I was now in a state of panic having flown 17 hours on Friday night to South Africa during the Stingrays’ contest without knowing the outcome. Additionally the Washington Capitals were on the ice struggling to reach the playoffs but with Ovechkin slowly it appeared awakening from his two season slumber.
Africa or no Africa I wanted to watch some shinny with some other hockey nuts. No problem I thought. In a city with 1.5 million souls but no ice rinks I still expected that a quick search of the yellow pages or the Internet would steer me at least to the local hockey hotbed.
No doubt there would be a local sports bar that North American and European expats and visitors use to savor if not the world’s fastest game at least the world’s fastest game absent animals. Unfortunately no such venue exists in this part of Africa.
Contacts with some great people at the US Embassy revealed only casual acknowledgment that hockey season was underway and no leads on fellow puck heads. It is the only time in my life I wanted to be a Canadian citizen as I am sure the Canucks at their local embassy have the NHL Network and Center Ice on their satellite.
Obtaining the scores wasn’t the problem although with a seven hour time difference I had trouble staying awake for any puck drop that went past 1 PM Eastern time in the USA. I wanted to watch hockey not just look at box scores. The ease of internet connectivity I love back home and which allows me to watch almost any game on earth especially when my ‘Rays and Caps are travelling is a little less reliable here. Mostly I get a still picture so that doesn’t work
Also my spouse quickly disposed of the idea I had of having my wife hold the Skype video camera towards the television screen so I could watch the action. Besides she was watching American Idol. Additionally, the internet speed and bandwidth here also makes the internet broadcasts US hard to use. Anyway how many Kwachas’ (ZNB) would that cost?
Twelve days after my arrival I finally caught a 30 second blurb on CNN Africa this morning on the Detroit Redwings latest win streak at home. It was buried between discussions on Barcelona, Real Madrid and the English Premier League. I am still waiting to find a scoreboard or sports show that features updates.
I think if the NHL or ECHL could find a tall good looking Chinese hockey player for their leagues Channel 4 out of Beijing would be on it like a flash. They have had wall to wall NBA coverage since Lin showed up. Of course my Chinese is a little rusty but I think it is the NBA.
Thus, my hockey knowledge gap grows as questions go unanswered. How is Alex O doing? Is Crosby Skating? Most importantly are the Stingrays closing in on the playoffs? The good news is I will be back stateside in time for the playoff push.
Meanwhile I have also figured out how to be in the thick of things at the local sports bar. I have a Chipolopolo kit that has temporarily replaced my Stingrays’ sweater. So far it has resulted in the locals buying me lots of Mosi. Use the internet and look that up if you can get a connection.
Contact the author at Phil.Brand@prohockeynews.com
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