Sports Mad

So much of my time gets eaten up by sports - reading about sports, thinking about sports, playing sports, training for sports, watching sports. Spending this much time on anything is made even greater if:
1) You can turn it into skill, or money
2) If you have someone to share/debate/watch the sport with

Now I haven't (yet!) been able to turn my sports watching into any money - not through lack of effort or time spent - damn you Sportsbook. Now while we were in Africa, Gobes arrived in London- woot! - now, anytime that I need someone to hit up the pub with to watch the soccer, or someone to keep me in the casino until 2.30am watching a fight he's the "Go-to Guy".

Recently we went to the NFL in London - and I must say, the expectation and build up was much better than the actual game. We bought 90 pound tickets to the sold out game about a week before the game from some random internet website. Waited nervously for 3 days for tix to arrive (called them up once to check on ticket delivery only to be told that they had NO IDEA about delivery - it was after business hours - only in London! Since then they've sent me 3 emails, after the event, to say that my tickets were on the way ...)

Got into the stadium (Wembley is a gorgeous stadium - beautifully designed in and out) after trudging through usual London crap weather, a mass of people trying to get souvenirs that had sold out 2 hours before kick off, a pack of American accents, and being asked for ID by the security staff that were body-searching people on the way into the stadium. When the guard asked me how old I was - I gave him a look like "are you for real?" and said that I was 15 and he said, "oh, you're too young to be searched ..." We promptly went off and bought beers. Ha!

Then with flames, fireworks and flashes from camera exploding across the stadium the players made a dramatic entrance onto the field - running through a tunnel of cheerleaders (thanks to the Miami Dolphins for bringing your cheerleaders! new york didn't :( how can you win without cheerleaders!?!) "How good is this?" we were saying to each other.

Unfortunately, that was as good as the game got. The game was ugly, messy and wet, with the field and ball so slippery that the exhibition of skills was sorely lacking. As mushie would say – “they call themselves professionals but they can’t even catch the ball!!!”. (She usually would add in something about how the best technique to win the game would be to just pull everyone’s pants down to stop them running … that’s why Gobbo came to the NFL not Mushie.)

Would I go again? Was it worth the 90 quid? Definitely and i guess, yeah. I must say I'm happy Mushie didn't come cause that would've meant 180 pounds to watch the game (that's a lot - not as much as a night in the ice hotel, but still), but it was quite a spectacle and nothing beats live competition - the sound of the crowd, the build up, the atmosphere. Just have to roll the dice and hope for a better game next time round! Bring on the NBA!