NYG vs. Miami – NFL in Europe – 28 October 2007

My love of the New York Giants is an inherited passion. My Dad first bought season tickets to the NYG about 500 years ago. Just kidding, but it was over forty years ago! The autumns of my childhood were filled with Sunday tailgating at the Meadowlands with my immediate family (Mom, Dad, and brother) and my aunt and uncle. We had lunch in the parking lot before heading inside to the swirling winds of Giants Stadium. (Anyone who has ever been there knows the wind is ridiculous, especially during a mid-December game). We knew every person in row 22, section 107 of Giants Stadium. When I think about my love of the G-men, part of it is certainly about the game of football. I love watching great football on TV or live. The other part of my Giants love is certainly due to my childhood and the memories. There is a happy piece of my life as a child, teenager, and now adult that is wrapped up in the Sunday experience of cold weather/tailgating/game watching/cheering for Big Blue. I have a special place in my heart for the experience of going to a Giants game.

My brother has inherited our family’s season tickets now and attends every home game, rain or shine. (Solid work, Big Brother). If Phil and I ever end up living in the NY/NJ area, we’d be right there every fall. Instead, our life has taken us to other places like Charlottesville and now Prague, and attending a Giants game has become a once a year activity if we are lucky. Nostalgia aside, when I heard that the Giants were going to be playing in London the same time Phil and I were living in Prague, I thought to myself, “Obviously, this is a sign. We must go.” The game sold out extraordinarily quickly even though Wembley Stadium seats over 90,000 people. Thanks to our extraordinarily resourceful friend Tia, (a Tarheel living in London), we got tickets and we made it to the game (T, you are the best!)

The entire day was fun-filled from beginning to end. Let me just go ahead and say it: the best part was the Giants win. The fan in me that is so excited about the Giants six game winning streak and 6-2 record. Even if the football was ugly (which it was) and the game stats were less than ideal (which they were), a win is a win. Here are a few pictures I snapped during the game:

Just some of my thoughts on our experience of NFL football in London:

1) Giants Fans on the Tube: While heading to Wembley on the tube, we encountered a family from Garfield, NJ heading to the game. They were season ticket holders (section 308) who had booked hotel and plane reservations the day the NFL announced the Giants were going to play in London. It was incredible: three generations of Big Blue fans (I talked to grandma for awhile), complete with heavy Jerz accents and decked out head to toe in Giants gear –and one Slippery When Wet-era acid washed black jean jacket. I felt like I was back in the parking lot at the Meadowlands…

2) God Save the Queen: The Star Spangled Banner was followed by the British national anthem, God Save the Queen. Impressively, everyone in the crowd was belting out the song and I captured the last few moments of the song on video. Though the quality of the picture isn’t great, I do love how fired up the crowd was. As a mortifying “I love Americans” side note, I heard more than one story about Americans in the crowd wondering why England stole the tune of America the Beautiful for God Save the Queen…yikes.

3) Unusual booing: Proof that the game was being played in London and being watched by people who didn’t really understand the game:

• During the coin toss, one of the honorary captains was John Terry, captain of Chelsea (and English national) soccer team. Chelsea is seriously underachieving right now and London is not happy about it. When his name was announced, the crowd booed so loudly that you could barely hear anything during the coin toss. Love it.
• At the end of the game, it was 13-10 Giants. After the onsides kick attempt by the Dolphins failed (Jay Feely kicked it out of bounds – which didn’t surprise any Giants’ fans), Eli and the G-men knelt down for three plays to run out the clock. You could not believe how much booing ensued! The Brits wanted more football and were mad they weren’t getting anymore.

4) Streaking: A man dressed up as a referee streaked the field at the start of the second half. The security response was pretty apathetic – perhaps they thought this was typical in American football? Enough said.

5) Public Drinking: consuming beer seems to be encouraged in public places in England, especially on public transportation. 90,000 fans + no laws about beer + long lines = one heck of a game day atmosphere.

6) Outdated Jerseys: I know that ridiculous throwbacks are gaining in notoriety these days (for proof, see the “Straight Cash, Homey” section on ESPN.com), but we saw some sweet ones in London. I really liked the Culpepper and R. Williams Miami jerseys, and was surprised that they were more popular than the jersey of the actual starting quarterback for the Dolphins (Cleo Lemon??!!). Here is a photo of a quality Ron "No Gain" Dayne " jersey. What is with the Eagles helmet on his head? Obviously, not a real Giants fan...

7) Cheerleaders: I guess they don’t have them across the pond, so pretty much all we heard about from the English dudes was their…ummm…"appreciation" for the cheerleaders from the Dolphins. Some of the guys might have seen some of the game, but I doubt it.

8) Wembley Stadium – fantastic but underprepared: I loved the “Wembley arch” which is visible as soon as you exit the tube station. The stadium is enormous, seating 90,000, and an excellent place to watch a game. Our seats were near the end zone on the Giants sideline and our view was top notch. The only problems with Wembley were how unprepared they were to deal with the rush of consumerism. First, the lines at the souvenir stands were outrageous. Londoners love to queue up (stand in line), but throw a bunch of American NFL fans into the mix, and the queue ceases to exist. Not a pretty scene. Secondly, there were two ATMs in the entire stadium and one ran out of cash halfway through the game. Come on people. Didn’t you expect people to spend their money?? Favorite items at the stands: “match day scarves,” which are a soccer staple, and “the rugby balls you play with,” as Tia’s friend from New Zealand described the balls. He stood in line for twenty minutes to buy one, but they sold out just as he got to front of the queue/line/mob.

All in all, this was a day to remember. Good friends, fun times, and the NY Giants.