"Rodney?"Weir frowned when she didn't get a reply. "Rodney!" she called louder.
The scientist looked up from his laptop. "Sorry, wanted to get this down before I forgot it. What's going on?"
"Have you noticed Major Sheppard's been, well, moping about lately?" Weir eased herself onto one of the stools set around the lab.
Rodney blinked, then looked back at his laptop. "Tomorrow's February 6th, Elizabeth. At least on Earth, since Atlantis seems to have a different --"
Weir cut him off. "So?"
Rodney looked back up, a slightly exasperated look on his face. "According to Lieutenant Ford, February 6, 2005, is Super Bowl Sunday. Most of the men in the US contingent, and quite a few of the women, are upset that they are missing the, and I quote, 'biggest sporting event of the year'. Not that we even know what teams are playing, since we've been on Atlantis for the entire football season, but that doesn't seem to matter to Major Sheppard and the others."
Weir looked confused. "So. . .the Major and the others are upset over missing a football game. Not a family member's birthday or religious holiday or some other personal anniversary, but a football game."
Rodney nodded.
Weir shook her head. "I shouldn't be surprised, considering his one personal item was that Boston College football game, but," Weir shrugged. "Well, nothing I can do, anyway. Not unless you know of a way to capture the game broadcast from Earth," she asked with a smile.
"If I could, do you think I'd try to get something like the Super Bowl? Do you know how many scientific shows I've missed?"
Wier smiled again as she stood up. "I can only imagine, Rodney."
"I wouldn't worry about Major Sheppard, Elizabeth. I think Carson's planned some medical testing on the Major for tomorrow to keep his mind off it."
Weir raised her eyebrows. "Right," she said, a touch of sarcasm in her voice. Rodney looked up at her and shrugged. They both knew that the closest Major Sheppard and Doctor Beckett might get to a medical procedure was mouth to mouth.
"A football game," she muttered to herself as she left Rodney's lab. Before she made it to the end of the hallway, she stopped and laughed at herself. After all, when July rolled around, she knew she would be just as upset over missing Wimbledon.