They have sports channels over here, in Hong Kong. You get the basic cable package, and you get a half-dozen channels. Star Sports, Eurosport, a couple of channels labeled ESPN.

But college football?

Nope. Not live. Never. Not in the nearly two months I’ve been here and not seen this or that college football Game of the Year. Once in a while, a stray game will pop up on tape in the middle of the night, but I’ve just heard about this. I haven’t actually seen it. Cuz it’s in the middle of the night.

No college football. It’s been my single biggest sports-on-Hong Kong-TV disappointment so far.

The funny/weird part of this is … the NFL gets some exposure, over here. The Sunday night and Monday night NFL games are shown live. Every week. I see them early on Monday and Tuesday mornings, respectively.

So, let’s try to figure this out. The people who run these stations believe there is an audience for the NFL, but not for college football, the more colorful and more fun version of American football? Well, yes.

Check out this list of things that are on, right this minute — while I am NOT watching Texas Tech and Oklahoma:

–Now Sports 1: Badminton. I am not kidding. Men’s badminton. Doubles.

–Now Sports 2: English soccer. Fulham and Liverpool. On tape, because it’s about 4 a.m. in Europe right now.

–Now Sports 3: Italian soccer. Juventus and Inter Milan. Also on tape. (See above.)

–Now Sports 4: Nothing. (Why not slap TT and OU right in there?)

–Now Sports 5: Nothing. (How about Arizona State and Oregon State?)

–Now Sports 6: Rugby. Australia and New Zealand. On tape.

–Now Sports 7: The freakin’ National Hockey League. True story. No snow or standing ice within a thousand miles of here, and they have on ice hockey? The Flyers and Sabres on the Armed Services Network. I am sure, certain, that our gallant lads in uniform would much much rather watch college football.

–ESPN: Beach soccer. Honest. Five on five. This is nuts.

–Star Sports: Men’s tennis. From Russia. Unless they’ve got a tourney going in St. Petersburg, Fla. Two guys I can’t identify.

–ESPN Plus: Nothing. (Speak to me, Lee Corso!)

–Star Sports Plus: Nothing.

–ESPN Star Sports Cricket Live: Nothing. Not even cricket on tape.

–Eurosport: Some sort of stupid Euro motor racing. Porsches going around a soggy track. (NASCAR is absolutely invisible over here, too, but I don’t give a crap.)

–Eurosport News: Clips of everything except American college football. Right this second, I’m looking at tape of the geriatric John McEnroe playing the ancient Bjorn Borg in some sort of bogus event in Macau.

–The Golf Channel: Instructional golf.

–The Golf Tour Channel. Something that appears to be the LPGA.

And, finally, I’m out of sports stations. That was, what, 16 (!) sports stations, including 13 NOT dedicated solely to cricket or golf … and not a single college football game.

Anyway, just sayin’. College football does not translate over here. Much to my chagrin.