Yeah, alright, I know what I said in my previous entry but that was a specific case. This a specific case against it.
Some of you know that I am a massive fan of the New York Jets American football team, and have been for more years than I care to remember. The Jets are not a great team; they've had their moments but stumble at the last. They've only been to the Super Bowl once and that was over 40 years ago; OK, they won, beating the supposedly more powerful Baltimore Colts in a game that Jets quarterback "Broadway" Joe Namath "guaranteed" they'd win. They are always seen as the poor cousins of the Giants, from whom they rented a stadium off of for home games, and in general always been seen as a second tier team.
However, I still love them to my core.
And they have been on the rise in the last few seasons. New players, new coach with new attitude means they're becoming a team to be reckoned with, and are becoming a popular team with football fans, too.
This weekend is the now annual NFL International game at Wembley stadium, when the National Football League bring two teams over to London to play a regular season game. This is a far cry from the old American Bowl pre-season games of the 1980s, when the stars would one querter of disinterested football before being withdrawn to let the third & fourth string players fight out for a couple of spots on the team.
Now it means something; its a competitive match between two teams fighting for glory. The NFL allocate game from one team's home schedule to be at Wembley & make a big event (as only they know how) of it. Stars playing for play-off position, cheerleaders, the NFL Experience roadshow, stars of yersterday, even the Commissioner, Roger Goodell, comes over to talk to other sports' federations about how the NFL is so successful & endorse the event. Its a great time for American football fans in the UK.
Until this year...
This year the Denver Broncos, with 2 wins & 5 losses, play against the San Francisco 49ers, who only have 1 win this year. Both teams are playing poorly too, so this could an awful game of football. And of course since its in the UK it'll be cold & wet too.
Both head coaches are under pressure to win (Josh Daniels of Denver has been given the dreaded "vote-of confidence"), but the teams are weak & just not very good, so I won't be watching. Oh yeah, its on TV here in the UK, both on satellite & also highlights on BBC later, so for some reason.
Sorry, I should have said, I won't be at the game either. I've never been to an NFL game in London, and I very probably won't, until the Jets come over.
I also don't want the often discussed NFL team based in London. I find that idea in the current economic climate incredible; teams will not want to loose a day's practise during the week when they fly to England, the players based here will not like living in a foreign country for over half the year & how long will support last if such a team is not successful. I'll just say London Monarchs and leave it at that.
I don't want the NFL in the UK or anywhere in Europe; its an American thing and I want that distance between me and the sport I love. We are a nation that loves proper football & rugby & cricket, and American football doesn't fit here.
One game a year is fine, it satisfies the fans and the media and the NFL's marketing machine for a while, but I hope it stays on the other side of the Atlantic where is makes sense.
We're not Americans, and I'm glad about that.
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