NFL in London

Okay, so I've gotten a few emails asking if I was attending this past weekend's event, the NFL game at Wembley: Miami Dolphins v. New York Giants.

To clarify, no, I didn't go to the game. Although, I seriously considered it. I was searching for tickets online and even considered joining a bunch of Americans to watch it in a pub, but at the end of it all, I didn't care and ended up staying home watching the Bears online.

Not that I didn't care about that the NFL was in London, but it was mainly my disinterest in the two particular teams.

A few thoughts:

1. English prefer rugby. Mainly because its nonstop and no one wears pads! Those are the two main complaints with American Football. The starting and stopping of each play, and all the protective gear all the players have to wear! And of course, it goes without saying, the strange name for the game, "Football."

2. I didn't feel the "hype" of the NFL visiting London. Perhaps because I live in East London and didn't venture off to the west end to see the 26 foot robot version of Jason Taylor. I did see 2 people with Giants jackets and 1 person in a Miami jacket. Yay.

3. I did enjoy explaining the whole concept of the NFL to a few colleagues today which was quite entertaining. They were interested in the process of how two teams could end up in the Superbowl. I described the AFC formally part of the AFL, and the NFC! I went into detail about the different divisions and wildcard teams. But I realised that I forgot to mention that the Chicago Bears were in the last Superbowl! (Far from it now, that's for sure)

In any case, I have no regrets missing the game at Wembley, nor did I buy into the hype. I do hope that the NFL come to visit again, perhaps with 2 teams I'd actually be interested in seeing!