Who cares about the Gnats and the Fish

[BadgerKing]

So fed up! Every news/sports station is talking about the American Football game in London this week. They are also doing all the old 'I don't get this game joke' like 'A tight end...phnarr' or 'There is nothing called a flea-flicker' AAAAARGH some of us in the UK have been watching this great sport for twenty plus years!!! SAVE ME!!

I have phoned as many as I can and vented my spleen but on each occassion I have stated firmly that I love this game but I am not interested in this match-up because its the Gnats and the Fish...who the hell cares

Feel better now!

[UK Skins Fan]

Well, I don't give a hoot about either of the two teams in the game, but I'll be there. Despite having been let down by the NFL before re NFL Europe/World League, I consider it my duty as a UK NFL fan to be at the game. I'll be cheering for the fish as best I can.

As for the coverage - well, it's hardly been saturation coverage this week on TV and radio. I suspect that the UK press is running out of novelty stories to run. I still wanted to throw up when I saw a photo of William Perry in the newspaper last week - ha ha, a fat man in pads and a helmet. Very funny. And so true, of course, because that's what football is all about.

Of course, the weather forecast calls for rain and wind tomorrow evening, so our American friends will continue to believe that it rains every single day over here.

[Fios]

Of course, the weather forecast calls for rain and wind tomorrow evening, so our American friends will continue to believe that it rains every single day over here.

Dude, I had a jacket when I was in middle school made by London Fog. Hello? Obviously clothing lines are sources of knowledge, therefore it always rains in London.

[Deadskins]

I still wanted to throw up when I saw a photo of William Perry in the newspaper last week

They had to go back to the '85 Bears to find a picture of a football player to promote this game? They might as well have used this one:

[UK Skins Fan]

To be fair, Mr Perry also played for the London Monarchs, hence the continued fascination with him.

[BadgerKing]

UK you show loyalty to the game that shames me. However I could not bring myself to even apply for a ticket involving those to teams. Sorry, in fact I hate all other teams, supporters and anything in fact that isn't Redskins

[UK Skins Fan]

No shame at all in having no interest in yesterday's game, BK. I just felt that this was an opportunity to see something potentially unique in this country, and it might just be an investment in the future. If crazy NFL addicted nutters like me can't get along to Wembley for the game, then why would the NFL ever consider bringing more games here, or bringing back the World League?

The game itself was poor, and the weather was as advertised, the atmosphere was typical of the kind of politely confused manner in which we British watch the game, but the day out was terrific. If you have't been to Wembley stadium, my friend, then go. Go now. It cost £800m, and that's way too much. But my God, what a place! Fedex is nothing compared to Wembley. And the toilets are clean. And the food is good (and so it should be for that money).

I have now had the pleasure (?) of seeing the Dolphins twice this season, and they are poor. They aren't helped by having a noodle armed QB and losing their running back and star linebacker, but they are just poor. But they didn't quit in the game, and I have to say that the Giants don't look much better. 6 in a row? Give me a break.

[BeeGee]

No shame at all in having no interest in yesterday's game, BK. I just felt that this was an opportunity to see something potentially unique in this country, and it might just be an investment in the future. If crazy NFL addicted nutters like me can't get along to Wembley for the game, then why would the NFL ever consider bringing more games here, or bringing back the World League?

The game itself was poor, and the weather was as advertised, the atmosphere was typical of the kind of politely confused manner in which we British watch the game, but the day out was terrific. If you have't been to Wembley stadium, my friend, then go. Go now. It cost £800m, and that's way too much. But my God, what a place! Fedex is nothing compared to Wembley. And the toilets are clean. And the food is good (and so it should be for that money).

I have now had the pleasure (?) of seeing the Dolphins twice this season, and they are poor. They aren't helped by having a noodle armed QB and losing their running back and star linebacker, but they are just poor. But they didn't quit in the game, and I have to say that the Giants don't look much better. 6 in a row? Give me a break.

It just seems like a waste to me. The league should've showcased two of it's best teams for a game like this. I lived in the UK for 5 years and it's very hard to bore the English fans. Giants and Dolphins seemed to have solved the puzzle on that one, especially with the kneel down at the end.

[Steve Spurrier III]

The game itself was poor, and the weather was as advertised, the atmosphere was typical of the kind of politely confused manner in which we British watch the game, but the day out was terrific.

Did you get the sense people were disappointed in what they saw? Or did people have a good time? And what was up with the streaker?

Out of curiosity, do you think that London could support a franchise? If the team was lousy at the outset - like the Texans have been in Houston - do you think the fans will keep showing up? Or does the popularity in the game still need to grow?

Thanks for the insight. I know American fans don't really like it, but Europe is going to be a big part of the NFL's future.

[hailskins666]

if they do another game in europe, everyone entering the game should be searched for whistles. damn, that was anoying as hell.

[UK Skins Fan]

if they do another game in europe, everyone entering the game should be searched for whistles. damn, that was anoying as hell.

I would cheerfully have clubbed the guy to death with his own whistle, if I could have found him. Fortunately, he was some distance from me. The fact that he continued blowing the whistle after the ball had been snapped just demonstrated that he was a know-nothing cretin.

[UK Skins Fan]

]It just seems like a waste to me. The league should've showcased two of it's best teams for a game like this. I lived in the UK for 5 years and it's very hard to bore the English fans. Giants and Dolphins seemed to have solved the puzzle on that one, especially with the kneel down at the end.

No way was the NFL going to send two top teams to London. But the Dolphins are tradionally one of the more popular teams over here because they were one of the leading teams when the game hit the TV screens over here in the early 80's, and also because of the huge number of Brits who spend their holidays in Florida. The choice of the Giants was more puzzling - they don't really have a big following. They're certainly the 3rd or 4th most popular team in the NFC East over here!

The game was not a good one, and the weather had a lot to do with that. The kneel downs certainly got the fans booing, but nobody seriously expected the Giants to do anything else.

[UK Skins Fan]

Did you get the sense people were disappointed in what they saw? Or did people have a good time? And what was up with the streaker?

Out of curiosity, do you think that London could support a franchise? If the team was lousy at the outset - like the Texans have been in Houston - do you think the fans will keep showing up? Or does the popularity in the game still need to grow?

Thanks for the insight. I know American fans don't really like it, but Europe is going to be a big part of the NFL's future.

You know, this is where the classic reserved British personality really becomes a problem! How the heck do you tell whether people are having a good time, when our single most emotional outburst seems to be a shrug of the shoulders, or a quiet and very wimpish "Go Dolphins"?! In my opinion, there is still a curiosity factor in this for a lot of people, but there were a lot of long time and knowledgeable fans in the crowd yesterday - maybe 60-70% of the crowd knew what they were looking at out on the field. I still enjoy listening to people trying to explain the nuances of the game to their girlfriends/boyfriends and parents, but the general level of insight that is shown in these discussions now is far higher than 15 years ago.

The bottom line is that the hardcore like me enjoyed themselves, but anybody who had preconceptions about substanceless American hoopla probably weren't convinced.As the NFL's UK director said, it's not about this game - it's about what happens after 4, 5 or 6 games like this - will the crowds still be there? The World League was a huge sporting success (but not a commercial one) in the first year back in '91, but soon faded when the Monarchs started losing. And that's why I don't think that London could ever sustain a franchise at this level. If the team was winning, we'd all be there, and the atmospehere would be staggering. But once the losses started piling up, it would be left to me and the popcorn salesman to create an atmosphere...

The game still has a very long way to go over here, but we'll always turn out and support this kind of event. Now, bring me a Redskins road game!

And as for the streaker, why oh why oh why do people think this crap is funny? I'll give the streaker credit for being well organised, with the quick release trousers and a half decent routine to perform when he got out there, but I just don't get the mentality.

And the final lesson? Well, in the name of all that's holy, please put a roof on Fedex, or build a new stadium! I'm only talking about covering the fans here, not a full-on dome. A roof keeps the crowd noise in, and that makes a heck of a difference. Wembley Stadium is ten times the sporting experience for the fans that Fedex is.

[Deadskins]

And the final lesson? Well, in the name of all that's holy, please put a roof on Fedex, or build a new stadium! I'm only talking about covering the fans here, not a full-on dome.

Wouldn't that be a little too much like Texas Stadium?

[Fios]

And the final lesson? Well, in the name of all that's holy, please put a roof on Fedex, or build a new stadium! I'm only talking about covering the fans here, not a full-on dome.

Wouldn't that be a little too much like Texas Stadium?

I'm actually in favor of that idea, I think it was UK who observed that the sheer impact of having 90,000 plus fans tends to get lost sans an overhang.

[langleyparkjoe]

Well, let me just say this, and yes I do know that they pulled quite a crowd for that game, I hated the fact we have a regular season game over there. "IF" the Dolphins were a contender this year and the fans actually did go to the games, they had a home game in the UK. I personally think that sux!!! If Our Skins had a home game over there, isn't that taking away from us who would go to Fedex Field? I'm all for the NFL going worldwide but I think it would have been better to do a preseason game over there (if there must be a game over there but I still think it would be horrible). It just doesn't seem fair to me and from what I heard on sports radio, they are planning on doing this every year. No disrespect intended to Our UK buddies, I just don't feel its right.

[UK Skins Fan]

And the final lesson? Well, in the name of all that's holy, please put a roof on Fedex, or build a new stadium! I'm only talking about covering the fans here, not a full-on dome.

Wouldn't that be a little too much like Texas Stadium?

I'm actually in favor of that idea, I think it was UK who observed that the sheer impact of having 90,000 plus fans tends to get lost sans an overhang.

It's a simple scientific truth that sound is reflected by solid objects, like the roof on a stadium. Fedex allegedly has 90,000 people in it for every home game, and from what I know of Redskins fans, that place should be hell for opponents to play in. I swear that at certain times on Sunday there was as much noise inside Wembley as I heard at any time when I was at Fedex in September. It wasn't sustained noise, but when the crowd knew what they were supposed to be doing, the noise was great. A great potential home field advantage is literally being blown out of the stadium. If Redskins fans truly are the "greatest bloody fans in the National Football League" (as I believe Jack Kent Cooke once said), then it's time to use that to the team's advantage, and not just for cashflow purposes.

[Fios]

It's a simple scientific truth

You are talking to a product of Texas public schools, ain't nothin' simple about science