Britain loves American football..off-season gentlemen!
Posted by Sport.co.uk on: 20 February 2009 - 16:00
Author: Chris O'Leary
It was a long time coming, but Britain has finally realised that American Football isn’t just an inferior form of rugby with pads and helmets. Granted it may be plagued by annoying game-stopping whistles, but the British have even managed to overlook this oddity in favour of the excitement and displays of world-class athleticism and toughness that the NFL brings each season.
2007 was a big year for American Football in the U.K. Ironically the much-anticipated game between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium was, by all accounts, one of the worst games in recent memory. But it was the first regular season game ever played outside of North America, and just bringing the NFL to London was enough to excite the sport-loving nation of Britain.
This year’s Wembley match between the San Diego Chargers and the New Orleans Saints proved to be the kind of thrilling, high scoring shootout British fans deserved – and thanks to the Coors Light’s American-style ‘tail-gate’ party, Britain got an authentic taste for how ‘colonials’ do sport.
The off-season has begun…
But, alas, after a tremendous Super Bowl, the 2008 season is over. But that doesn’t mean that the NFL has stopped. The 2009 off-season has begun, an action-packed time where all 32 teams get their stories straight and rosters organised for the next season.
There have already been some exciting moves around the league, including the Patriots franchising of Matt Cassel to a 1-year tender worth $14.65m – it has emerged also that the Tennessee Titans will franchise tight end Bo Scaife for $4.46m.
The Combine
This week we are in the midst of one of the NFL’s most exciting annual: the NFL Scouting Combine. It’s obviously not the Super Bowl, but if you follow American University Football, or if you fancy learning the names of NFL’s future stars, following the Combine is worth your while.