Like myself, my Dad is a die hard 49ers fan and I’m envious of the fact that he was a fan during the glory years (he’s been a fan since the start of the ‘86 season after seeing the Bears beat the Cowboys in a preseason game in Croke Park). Which means he was also a fan in the 90s when the Cowboys became a dominant team. Watching, or rather hearing, how the Cowboys are doing now would be the equivalent of Manchester United floundering in the bottom half of the table every year. Not that my Dad would have a problem with that.
“23-7, they actually got a touchdown.”
“Good for them, still over though.”
“23-10 at the half Dad.”
“23-17, this could get interesting if it wasn’t for the fact that the comeback quarterback was Tony Romo.”
But as my interest at the possibility of the comeback grew, the patience of people waiting to be served plummeted. I definitely should not be working Sunday nights!
“The Cowboys are leading the game!” My Dad was momentarily in shock. Could this be the game that kickstarts their season? The game everyone expected the other NFC East team, the Philadelphia Eagles, to have against the Falcons. “Manning will respond, Giants will still win.” I didn’t know whether it was him being stubborn, hatred for the Cowboys or just faith in Eli who hadn’t put points on the board in nearly two quarters.
Fast forward to the final two minutes. Giants are leading 29-24. To my Dad, the game is over because Tony Romo is not going to win them the game much less a championship. I keep refreshing the browser on my blackberry as Dallas march down the field, almost rooting for them.
2nd and 1 on the New York 19. Ok, they’ll take a shot at the end zone and if they don’t get it then they’ll probably run the ball to get a fresh set of downs.
Incomplete Pass, 3rd and 1. Fully expecting them to run the ball, my Dad still defiant that the Cowboys are not going to make this comeback.
Incomplete Pass, 4th and 1. What the hell are they doing? I knew my Dad was going to be right at this moment and sure enough at what seemed like an eternity of refreshing the page and looking at my battered Blackberry, the page renewed to;
Interception, turnover on downs. “Interception Dad, Giants will probably just kneel now to end the game.” My Dad, a bit smug that he was right all along about the game and Tony Romo remarks, “If Tony Romo threw his helmet on the ground it’d probably be intercepted and returned for a touchdown.”
I put the phone back in my pocket to the delight of the customers. Lucky for them that the other game was Oakland-Kansas City. I do believe that is the only time “lucky” and an Oakland game being on have been used in that context.
The London game saw the New England Patriots dominate the St. Louis Rams in a sold out Wembley Stadium that was seemingly partial to the Pats even though the Rams were the “home” team.
I was surprised that during the week I read a few articles from journalists who came over from America for the game including one on Grantland, which is normally my go to source, on how football would never be big this side if the Atlantic. Huh? Didn’t Patriots owner Robert Kraft not shout out the London crowd that they deserve their own team? Has the Wembley game not got bigger each year, so much in fact that there will be two games over here next year?
A few of the criticisms was that random school kids didn’t know what a linebacker was (ask the same bunch to define a skipper or sweeper in soccer terms or flanker or hooker in rugby and they’ll probably give ya the same expression) or the fact that at a tailgate party, a few Brits couldn’t put a spiral on a football (didn’t know ya needed the skills to play the game to watch it. In that case, I can’t watch tennis because when I serve I’m like Michael Vick with the football; you never know where the ball is going to end up). Now I could take the points of the articles and rip them one by one but obviously I’m not going to do that.
I’ve been an American Football fan all my life but truly got into it in the 2002 season, the last year the 49ers were under Steve Mariucci. I've been hooked on the sport ever since. How teams were great one year and then eclipsed the next intrigued me. The Bucs won it that year and in 2003 the Carolina Panthers were in the Superbowl. Hard to fathom now, huh?
In 2005, I tried to organize a Superbowl Party for the pub that I still to this day work in. Gave the ticket money to the chef to cook American style food for during the game which we had on a massive projected screen. It was a success in terms of people buying tickets but, admittedly, they weren’t interested in the game. The pub would have been closed otherwise so, to them, it was like paying five euro for free food and a lock in. I left at half time and watched the game at home.
In my circle of friends around that time and in my “wrasslin” years that followed, only two others were American football fans that I could have conversations with. The idea that one day there would be a regular season game over here or even that much interest in the game never seemed possible. Over 30 lads at any one stage were at shows or training etc and only 3 followed the sport? Especially with NFL Europe folding, which we didn’t pay much attention to anyway.
People just didn’t understand the game and had no patience to learn. As much as I tried convincing my other friends to give it a chance, they wouldn’t listen. But once it was announced that Giants were playing the Dolphins in Wembley, everything slowly changed.
The Superbowl kicks off over here after 11 pm. For the fourth year in a row I went to a Superbowl party in town. I arrived well before 9. You’d think I’d have a chance of even getting a seat? Not a hope, barely even walking room. And it’s not like there’s only one venue for the game in Dublin. Places throughout the city are packed for the big game and the people arrive in their NFL jerseys from all different teams and know their stuff. They are certainly not there just for a lock in.
The game is getting bigger by the year, coverage of it is growing too. More and more people are coming up to me in the bar asking about it. “What’s the deal with the replacement refs?”, “Who’s the favorite this year?” and “Why would anyone follow Cleveland?” (Ed's Note: I constantly ask Andy the same thing about Aston Villa...)
Every Sunday, whether I’m there or not, you’ll find most of my friends in my house watching the football. We have our own fantasy league set up and the boys are learning more and more about the game. I’m not that know it all go to guy when it comes to football around my mates anymore without them forming their own opinion. I even have friends now playing in the IAFL (Irish American Football League) who would not have even watched the sport 5 years ago. The IAFL it's self is growing by the year.
My version of events doesn’t even come close in telling how the Cowboys-Giants game went. Even on the plays I expected them to run, they had a wide open receiver on each one. The play calling was good, execution not so much. I didn’t know that the Cowboys got the ball back and were mere finger tips from winning the game with a touchdown pass taken off the board that has to been seen to believe! I didn’t experience one of the most exciting games this year and therefore missed the whole point by seeing it from a distance, only seeing a few drives and bullet points on paper.
See what happens when you don’t experience something from start to finish as it’s happening?
Onto this weeks picks:
(HOME TEAM in Caps):
Broncos (-3.5) over BENGALS
Peyton Manning’s return was suppose to resemble Michael Schumacher’s return to F1, great in their day but being out passed by the young guns. After Peyton missed last season and younger brother, Eli, won the Superbowl, this was the year that Eli established himself as the better brother. However, Peyton didn’t get the memo. After a struggling week 2 against the Falcons, Peyton has been nothing short of incredible going 14TDs with only one INT. With a passer rating of 109.0 ( Falcons QB Matt Ryan has 103.0 and Eli has 89.1) he is currently my pick to win this fifth MVP award if the Broncos top their division. And the Bengals (3-4) are not going to stop him from doing that.
Ravens (-3.5) over BROWNS
The last time I had this pick (off memory, Ravens were (-5.5) and it finished 9-6 to the Ravens. So why go for it again? Baltimore had their worst offensive display against the Texans two weeks ago and went into a much needed by week. They’ve had two weeks to prepare for the Browns and the team, especially that offensive unit, has a thing or two to prove. The Ravens are going to do to the Browns what the Texans did to them!
Lions (-3.5) over JAGS
Lions need this victory to keep their playoff hopes alive. If they can’t beat the 1-6 Jags then forget about it. With the Packers hitting their stride and Bears still winning on top of the division, it is definitely not too early to call this a must win game for Detroit. The line is just about low enough for me to pick them.
Bears (-3.0) over TITANS
The Titans have a terrible defense which should allow the Bears offense to put some points on the board. The Bears D will get it done like they always do, providing they contain Chris Johnson who has returned to form. Bears should make this 6 wins in a row.
Vikings (+4.5) over SEAHAWKS
Well after the Seahawks beating the Niners and Cardinals this year . . . Oh wait, I’m sorry, that was the Vikings. Seattle lost to those teams. Everyone predicted the slip up game for Minnesota against the Redskins and they followed that with a Thursday night loss to the the Bucs. That’s Thursday night folks, the sloppy game that should be abolished in my book (Tell me you sat through the Chargers-Chiefs game and we might have a discussion on it). Vikings have had 10 days to recover form that loss and get back to form. Seattle lost to Detroit last week after having the same rest period between the Thursday night loss to the 49ers. Their ship is sinking fast. They are already at .500. The NFC West doesn’t look as tough as it did a few weeks ago
+7.5 seconds after kickoff for the first games that I wish the Niners were playing this week
I’m off Sunday evening for a night of Football so the line is too high on this one. Happy Football people!
Last Week: 4-2
Season: 22-25
Accumulator: 0-8
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