Soccer? Cricket? They'll Take the Redskins

Unfortunately, he can't. Nega was recently jailed in a government crackdown on opposition groups and faces charges punishable by death.

That thought has cast a pall over Dama's mounting joy with the Redskins' success.

Dhiran Patel's family took a different route to Redskins mania. The 28-year-old IBM consultant moved to Gaithersburg from India with his parents when he was 5. Although Patel's father kept up with the cricket matches that are the rage in India, the son was hooked on the Redskins before he graduated from elementary school.

"I guess it was just that it was the local team. It was the first team I ever saw on TV," Patel said.

The same is true of most in his circle of Indian-descended friends, he said.

One couple are so committed that they decided to turn the anniversary party they'd planned for today into a Redskins-fest.

"Well, actually, it's more the husband," Patel said. "His wife puts up with it."

Patel doesn't have that issue with his girlfriend. Born in Maryland to Indian parents, she is a "hard-core" fan.

"I think it's nice that we both get upset when they don't do well," he said.

Meanwhile, Patel's devotion to the team has slowly begun to rub off on his father. Now he's almost as pumped up over the Super Bowl prospects as Patel.

Gustavo Cherquis is also feeling the excitement -- to his immense surprise.

After all, Cherquis, 40, is from Argentina, home to some of soccer's best players and most obsessive fans.

As a sports anchor on Telemundo Channel 64, Cherquis has always followed American football. But he said the anxiety he's feeling over today's game, the Redskins' first playoff appearance since 2000, transcends professional interest.

"I'm suffering like this was a soccer match," he said. "The idea that they could get to the Super Bowl after six years -- it's given me the fever."

Cherquis's Latino audience hasn't quite caught it. Although plenty of Mexicans and other Latin Americans living in the Washington area adore the Redskins, Central American immigrants generally reserve their ardor for D.C. United or even the Washington Wizards.

At El Cuzco, a restaurant and bar serving Salvadoran specialties in Langley Park, few customers bothered to watch Washington beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Saturday.

"They don't know this game. They are bored by it," said the manager, Lorena Ruiz.

Still, local Spanish-language television, radio and newspapers have been abuzz over the Redskins.

Ernesto Clavijo, news director for Univision in Washington, estimated that the TV station has devoted up to 30 percent of its sports segments to Redskins news. That's less than what a soccer team approaching a similar victory might warrant, but still substantial, he noted.

All the media talk has piqued the interest of Central Americans.

Elmer Arias, owner of La Hacienda, a sports bar in Springfield, said he is expecting a crowd for the game, "just to join in the fun."

Miguel Guilarte, sports editor of El Tiempo Latino newspaper, which is owned by The Washington Post Co., agreed.

"Look, we Latinos are very passionate," he said with a laugh.

"If there's a reason for a gathering to share with friends, then people will come to watch this game -- even if they barely understand it."