By Karine Hains aka Pheebs888
There are plenty of great sporting traditions in England; the annual boat race between Oxford and Cambridge (rowing), the Grand National (horse racing), the Ashes (cricket), the Premier League and the FA Cup (Soccer) however these mean a lot less to me than what has become the newest tradition on this side of the pond; the NFL International Series. For the third year running, the NFL brought its “A-Game” to Wembley and this time, we were treated to none other than Tom Brady and the New England Patriots taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Once again, I managed to get myself some tickets for the game and for the first time ever, I was also lucky enough to receive some Tailgate Party tickets. This pre-game event included many attractions; a Hall of Fame display, a 3D cinema, a stand representing every NHL team with giveaways at most of them, a giant merchandise stand and of course, plenty of food and drinks. The Tailgate area opened at 11 AM and even though that was a good six hours prior to kick-off, fans descended on Wembley for the opening time.
Personally, I got there at 9.45 AM because I wanted to make sure to be one of the first one allowed in the Tailgate site to ensure I didn’t have to queue for too long for the best attractions. Upon arrival, a quick scan of the location allowed me to decide to head to the merchandise stands first as the prize draw tickets weren’t being handed out yet and the 3D cinema wasn’t open either. This year, the NFL really wanted to please the fans (and make a lot of money in the process) as there was plenty of merchandise of each and every NFL team. I opted for a Tom Brady jersey, an official game day program and scarf, a International Series ball (with the Series’ logo, the Pats’ and the Buccs’ colors on it) and of course, a Patriots mini-helmet.
Feeling I had spent enough money and had made some significant additions to my international memorabilia of North-American sporting events, I moved on to the Hall of Fame display. I must say it was rather impressive to see both the Vince Lombardi Trophy and the Pro Bowl MVP trophy. Amazing pieces of hardware, very classy looking and thumbs up to the NFL for giving us UK fans a chance to see those. If rumors are to be believed, the Superbowl could eventually be staged here. I know this is probably not a very popular idea States side but I must say I would absolutely love it! I probably would feel differently if the Superbowl was normally held at the home stadium of one of the two teams taking part in it but as it is not the case, it’s not like we would be taking the opportunity away from the home fans to see this amazing event!
After admiring those, I got to see a seven minute 3D highlight show of a match between the Chargers and the Ravens, while it was a cool experience, I did expect it to be more impressive. Nevertheless, I’m still happy I got a chance to see it. By then, it was already 12.00 PM and it felt like a great time to hit the hot dog and beer stands. After that was taken care of, I realized that the prize draw tickets were being handed out for the signed team items up for grabs at each team stands. My friend and I spent the next two hours filling up prize draw tickets and admiring what could be won…Check out the top three items (in my opinion) below:
Number 3: Gates autographed ball
Number 2: Carolina Panthers team autographed helmet
Number 1: Tom Brady autographed helmet
The draws will be taking place this week, you can be sure that I will check both my phone and my inbox for potential winning messages, it would be a dream come true to pocket one of those items! By then, it was time to make our way towards the stadium as the doors would shortly be opening, I took the time to pretend to be a Bills player for one picture on the way though.
When we got inside Wembley, it was still pretty early and most of the seats were still empty. We had the chance to check out both team’s practice and I must say, by the time Brady took to the field to practice, the stadium had filled up nicely and he got quite a nice reception! The Buccaneers were technically the home team however and every ticket holder had been given a Buccs flag on their seats. The Brits do tend to root for the underdog and yesterday was no exception, there were a lot of cheers when the Buccaneers took to the field for the start of the match and in true NFL fashion, it was a truly spectacular sight. Fireworks, flame-throwers, inflatable helmets the whole arsenal!
The match itself was quite an entertaining affair as well though! Right from the start, it took the Pats less than 3 minutes to intercept a pass and run it back in the end zone for the first touchdown of the game. It wasn’t the highest scoring match I have ever seen but there were plenty of great plays and enough twists and turns to make it very exciting, even Brady got intercepted twice! By thee end of the game though, things had slowed down dramatically and both quarterbacks had been subbed. When the final whistle blew, the score was 35-7 for the Pats and that concluded an absolutely memorable day for yours truly. So far I have been to all three international series and this one was without a doubt my favorite!
Time will tell who the 4th International Series will bring on our shores but one thing is for sure, I have already registered my interest for tickets!
