Last night the South Africa vs All Blacks game was late, but not that late in my book being 11pm at night. I know many who never even made half time which is rather pathetic when you come to think this would be before midnight. Most nights I only turn in at around 2 am out of habit for security reasons. If you consider most crime is between 1am and 2 am and any time after that is even too late for the criminals with fear of sunrise a couple of hours later.
The game last night being played in the US at Baltimore's stadium had a few stoppages that extended the game quire considerably. The communications between the on field referee and his officials for some reason stopped working. The twenty minute delay that followed ended up with the referee having his microphone connected to a cell phone with his officials having the same set up. Delays are never great and one can understand that getting the decisions correct is what everybody wants so having communication is a must. The match must have ended around 1 am which is still a decent time and not too late. If you go out to a party this would still be considered early.
There is one story about late nights or not so late nights I can share with you is a family member who is old these days and must have been in his sixties when he did this. He was hosting a party and it was getting late when he walked through in his pyjamas and slippers trying to tell people it was late and he wanted to go to bed. It worked as most people left and we have never allowed him to forget about his rude interruption.
When growing up I can recall the special sporting events whether it was the Ashes Cricket being played in Australia or a boxing title on the line like Hagler versus Hearns or a 4.30 am rugby match from New Zealand. The very early ones like the 4.30am events one could sleep and wake up early without having to wait up.
The crazy part is my old school mates are of the same age as myself and only a handful managed to make it through. I do not think it is an age thing and possibly they have had such a cushy life security has never been an issue or even a thought. The comments on my school WhatsApp group was they were watching the replay when they woke up.
I just thought they are missing out because I have so many fond memories of staying up late with friends and family watching these events and nothing beats a live event versus a replay. This was the weekend and not like other events that could mess up a work day which is understandable when you skip those. This was the weekend though and if you are a sports fan there is no excuse for missing out on live events.