ESPN International Fantasy League: Week 9

Colombia is cooler (and higher) than where you live.

Courtesy Jonathon Aledda

Yes, they watch the NFL here, too.

Team Chile's manager, Jonathon Aledda, took off from Miami last week to visit family in Colombia, and he agreed to send us some dispatches from South America's second-most populous nation to highlight some differences between there and here. To wit:

• They do have American football on Colombian TV, despite it being vastly less popular than futbol. Aledda notes that football games, broadcast live, have Spanish-language commentators; he adds, "the commentary is more about strategy than game play, which is important to new fans of the game." The ESPN network he's been watching in Bogota spotlights soccer, auto racing and other sports that people in the U.S. don't follow.



• It's fitting that Aledda, who puts gregarious ex-defensive lineman and current NFL Network commentator Warren Sapp as one of his role models, notes that, in Bogota, couch potatoes are few and far between. "Everyone goes out!" he says. "Unlike in the U.S where people stay in and watch TV on holidays and Sundays, here everyone goes out (walking, jogging, biking, hiking). They close public streets from 7am-2pm so people can explore the city with their friends and family. This is partly the reason that you rarely see obese people around the city."


• The 8,600-foot altitude of Bogota, Colombia's capital city (and the third-highest major city in the world) took Aledda, a fit 23-year-old, two days to acclimate to.


• "Politically, [Colombians] are worried about the price of gas," Aledda says. "They are also happy that Bush is coming out of office (he is public enemy No. 1 around South America); but they love JFK." He's seen "Kennedy" attached to Colombian schools and street names.


• An aversion to high gas prices apparently doesn't keep Bogota's 12 million people off the road. "Traffic is crazy," Aledda says. One result of the chaos on Bogota's streets is a law that requires motorcycle riders to wear both helmets and vests, each of which must have the operator's license number on them.

WEEK 9 SUMMARY

The Saudi Arabian juggernaut faltered a bit this week (Drew Brees was on a bye.), but Prince Abdullah still looks strong. He could very well be greeting himself in Riyadh as champion of the International League. (The grand prize for the team that takes the title in the ESPN International League is a trip to meet the prince at his home in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.) His loss this week came at the hands of Team Japan, my early favorite to win the league and a recent victim of Marion Barber, whose point tallies are sputtering along with the Cowboys' entire offense. Team Japan is managed by James Balthis, a U.S. Marine stationed in Okinawa.

What's that they say about blind squirrels? Team USA avenged Team India's Week 3 demolition—when we managed 37 points. Despite being horrible, Team USA prevailed over a much stronger Team India on the strength of the Cardinals D/ST (18 points) and David Akers (15). Defense and kicking. That's how the USA rolls.

Team Lebanon won this week against Team Poland, scoring a league-high 93 points with the help of Chad Johnson and Peyton Manning.

Team Chile has been cruising on the arm of Matt Schaub. We'll see how Jonathon Aledda, holder of a 7-2 record, which leads the International League, navigates the month-long benching of his starting QB from the mountains of Colombia. Jonathon, I've got some good QBs. Let's talk.

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