Fooooootbaaaalll!

Now, with a title like “Fooooootbaaaalll!” you probably think I’m going to talk about soccer.  But nope, you’re wrong, I’m going to talk about good old American Gridiron!  Last Sunday, you see, the New England Patriots played a regular season game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium, one of the most expensive stadia ever built and the largest stadium in the world with every seat covered.  Needless to say, I attended.  At first I was hesitant since I was not able to convince anybody else to attend with me, and because tickets were awfully expensive, but in the end I decided that I didn’t want to miss out on any opportunities while I am living here.

I arrived at the Wembley Park tube station to find a rather spectacular walkway jammed with people on the way to the stadium, which loomed in the distance.  I purchased a ticket from a scalper on the way (after shuddering a bit at the price, which was expensive before the 20% markup – but remembering that it’s not every day one gets to see the Patriots play in England) and made my way to the stadium.  My seats were right behind the goal post and close to the field (so really not that great for watching the action) but I had a great view of the entire stadium. 

This, it turns out, was my first professional football game, and despite the foreign setting, I was not disappointed.  Tampa Bay was the “home” team, and they had everything you expect from an NFL extravaganza.  There were cheerleaders, a pre-game show, fireworks when Tampa Bay ran onto the field, and flags for all of us to wave to cheer them on.  In the end, I did not come away disappointed.

The only really “English” experiences were the national anthem and the waves.  As for the anthem, nobody sang along to Tony Braxton’s rendition of The Star Spangled Banner, which felt like a popular dance mix compared to God Save the Queen, which was sung very slowly and operatically, and had 90,000 people struggling for breath while still finishing each word before the singer.  Not really very good.  The waves, as in movements of standing people around the stadium, were fantastic because they were so much more energetic than the ones I have witnessed in the states.  As the wave would approach your quarter of the stadium you would start murmuring, growing into a very loud “oooooo” sound before you stood up and "oooo”ed at your loudest!  It was great fun because you could not only see the wave but also hear it make its way around the stadium.

As for the football game, I’m disappointed to say that I have seen better games played by Ivy League universities (who are awful at football).  The problem was that Tampa Bay didn’t really fight back.  The first interception was in the second play of the game, and resulted in a patriots touchdown!  No complaints about the victors, but it would have been nice to have an exciting game, not one that finished by running out the clock with the score an insurmountable 35-7.

A great experience nevertheless, and it furthered my resolve to show up to “novice” practice for a local American football team this Sunday. They claim that these practices are for people who have never played before, so I figure that if people who have never played the sport can join, than I, who have at least played some pick-up games, should be welcome to tag along.  I doubt they will ever let me play (they won the UK championships last year), but hopefully it will be a good way to get some exercise, make friends, and learn how to play football better!