Have I ever told you that I absolutely adore the New England Patriots? It's true. I love them. And I love Tom Brady. And Randy Moss. And Wes Welker. Ok I'm done. Seriously though, one of the greatest times I have had here so far was seeing them play against the Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium here in London.
The stadium itself is massive...the kind that when you are walking around the outside, you can feel the crowd inside pulsating and alive with energy. And then when you get ready to walk in, your heart races and your breath is short because you can only imagine the spectacle you are about to behold! And then it takes your breath away a little when you look in and the space opens up because the sheer scale and splendor of the sight is incomprehensible. When we sat down, it took me a good 20 minutes to stop freaking out at how flippin amazing the seats were. We were about 37 rows up...and in a stadium that holds 90,000 people...let me tell you, that is pretty darn good! My roommate actually purchased the tickets online from a couple who had two extra tickets, and to our initial dismay, they were Bucc's fans. But later on they proved to be our biggest source of amusement and entertainment of the night, second only to the game of course.
So yes...the game. The game was awesome! I will admit, there were little expectations for the worst team in the NFL who are currently 0-7, but they threw in a couple surprises...two interceptions in the first quarter for instance. The stadium was actually hosting the Bucc's and had given away thousands of Bucc flags to the fans and every few minutes the crowd around the stadium turned into a sea of red and white flickering squares. My favorite Bucc's moment was when one of their wide receivers missed the most unbelievably easy pass. Our friend we got the tickets from (Neal) stood up and shouted with his face bright red and his eyes bulged "Oh come on!!! They pay you 9 million dollars a year to catch that f***ing ball!!! I coulda caught that ball!!! Jesus!" And there is me with a sly smile spread across my face and I just turn and curtly say "Yeah, considering your team is soon 0-7 you probably are better than any of their players". He shot me a look of unbridled contempt, but then broke into laughter. I could see the shoulders of the men in front of us rising and falling, chuckling at the despair of the poor Bucc's fan
.
Neal's girlfriend was adorable as well, although if she emasculated the sport I love one more time, me and her were going to have issues. Every time the Bucc's defense got in position to play, she would scream "SQUISH EM'!!!, SQUISH EM'!!!". I glanced at Shari with a look of disgust and said "did she just say the word "squish" in football???" I think at one point she said to Shari "Those Pats are naughty boys!" And all I could think was, "alright lady, you don't use words like 'naughty' or 'squish' in football...if you continue to make my big masculine men sound like little prancing ballerinas, these fans will be lookin at row 37 instead of the game!!!". Haha...it was all in good fun though.
The other time of note during the game, came about midway through the second half. Across the stadium, directly parallel to where we were sitting we noticed that the crowd all seemed to be moving together. No. It can't be. Tell me they're not trying...yep. The Wave. The crowd across from us was desperately trying to start the wave and one section kept failing to follow through and would kill it every time it got to them. It would get two or three sections down and then be dead in the same spot every time. And this is how it happened: So I would go back to diligently following my future husband, Tom, leading the team to victory. But again I was brought out of my trance of love when I hear someone yell "oh my God! They got it finally! They are doing the wave!!". And before I knew it the mass wall of hands was speeding closer and closer to our section and then "WOOO!!" up we went! All around the stadium, you could see all four tiers moving like dominoes across the field. And then again, it came around... up we go "WOOOO!". Yay for the wave! So glad they finally got it!! Ok...wait they are doing it again? Ok....and the crowd starts a unanimous crescendo-ing "OOHHHH" before it hits us again and the "WOOOO!"...up we went again. Ok, so yeah, how bout the game? Yeah! Alright! back to the game!...ok lets watch....Why aren't they playing? Oh no. Wait...it's still going? Really? AGAIN?? and wow, yup, ok ... "OOHHH!!!" "WWOOOO"!!!! No one wanted to get up anymore...but this wave was no ordinary wave...it was mystical...it had us all like puppets under its spell. We wanted to sit...we really did...but every time the resounding "OOOHHHH" started, we knew our legs would force us up and some external force would pull our arms up over our head!
Ladies and Gentleman...I was part of the longest running wave that ever graced American football...TWELVE MINUTES of the wave. A little inclining of how long this wave lasted.... the players on the field had to STOP playing. Literally stopped. They stood on the field just looking around for the damn wave to stop! It was out of control... I was shocked they didn't just sit down on the bench for how long it lasted. The only way it finally stopped was some genius started waving their damn white and red Bucc's flag and then the crowd decided they would rather wave their flags together at that point, rather than keeping standing up and down together. And finally the wave was dead. Finally over. And the game can resume...but I can't help but imagine that all of the players are laughing to themselves at something they have never witnessed in America...a uniquely English experience....pretty cool.
The game ended with a 35-7 win...woot woot! I was still desperately wanting some sort of merchandise to take home with me. We took our time leaving the stadium, and immediately regretted that decision when we look out towards the Tube Station and saw 80,000 people lined up for 1/2 a mile in a one-way road. Along the ominous and tortoise paced walk, there were only a couple stands still open and one place only had scarves left so I was sad that I wasn't going to be able to buy anything. Although, a man at one of the concession stands did yell to me and said since I was the most beautiful girl he had seen all night, I could have the scarf for free. Aww how sweet. *Runs away quickly with the scarf before man changes mind*.
A special shout out to my roommate, who bought the tickets for me! Thank you so much! I needed that night so very badly...and it was a smashing good time! What a team. What a game. What a night! P.s...Toni Braxton sang the national anthem! Random!
The stadium itself is massive...the kind that when you are walking around the outside, you can feel the crowd inside pulsating and alive with energy. And then when you get ready to walk in, your heart races and your breath is short because you can only imagine the spectacle you are about to behold! And then it takes your breath away a little when you look in and the space opens up because the sheer scale and splendor of the sight is incomprehensible. When we sat down, it took me a good 20 minutes to stop freaking out at how flippin amazing the seats were. We were about 37 rows up...and in a stadium that holds 90,000 people...let me tell you, that is pretty darn good! My roommate actually purchased the tickets online from a couple who had two extra tickets, and to our initial dismay, they were Bucc's fans. But later on they proved to be our biggest source of amusement and entertainment of the night, second only to the game of course.
So yes...the game. The game was awesome! I will admit, there were little expectations for the worst team in the NFL who are currently 0-7, but they threw in a couple surprises...two interceptions in the first quarter for instance. The stadium was actually hosting the Bucc's and had given away thousands of Bucc flags to the fans and every few minutes the crowd around the stadium turned into a sea of red and white flickering squares. My favorite Bucc's moment was when one of their wide receivers missed the most unbelievably easy pass. Our friend we got the tickets from (Neal) stood up and shouted with his face bright red and his eyes bulged "Oh come on!!! They pay you 9 million dollars a year to catch that f***ing ball!!! I coulda caught that ball!!! Jesus!" And there is me with a sly smile spread across my face and I just turn and curtly say "Yeah, considering your team is soon 0-7 you probably are better than any of their players". He shot me a look of unbridled contempt, but then broke into laughter. I could see the shoulders of the men in front of us rising and falling, chuckling at the despair of the poor Bucc's fan
.Neal's girlfriend was adorable as well, although if she emasculated the sport I love one more time, me and her were going to have issues. Every time the Bucc's defense got in position to play, she would scream "SQUISH EM'!!!, SQUISH EM'!!!". I glanced at Shari with a look of disgust and said "did she just say the word "squish" in football???" I think at one point she said to Shari "Those Pats are naughty boys!" And all I could think was, "alright lady, you don't use words like 'naughty' or 'squish' in football...if you continue to make my big masculine men sound like little prancing ballerinas, these fans will be lookin at row 37 instead of the game!!!". Haha...it was all in good fun though.
The other time of note during the game, came about midway through the second half. Across the stadium, directly parallel to where we were sitting we noticed that the crowd all seemed to be moving together. No. It can't be. Tell me they're not trying...yep. The Wave. The crowd across from us was desperately trying to start the wave and one section kept failing to follow through and would kill it every time it got to them. It would get two or three sections down and then be dead in the same spot every time. And this is how it happened: So I would go back to diligently following my future husband, Tom, leading the team to victory. But again I was brought out of my trance of love when I hear someone yell "oh my God! They got it finally! They are doing the wave!!". And before I knew it the mass wall of hands was speeding closer and closer to our section and then "WOOO!!" up we went! All around the stadium, you could see all four tiers moving like dominoes across the field. And then again, it came around... up we go "WOOOO!". Yay for the wave! So glad they finally got it!! Ok...wait they are doing it again? Ok....and the crowd starts a unanimous crescendo-ing "OOHHHH" before it hits us again and the "WOOOO!"...up we went again. Ok, so yeah, how bout the game? Yeah! Alright! back to the game!...ok lets watch....Why aren't they playing? Oh no. Wait...it's still going? Really? AGAIN?? and wow, yup, ok ... "OOHHH!!!" "WWOOOO"!!!! No one wanted to get up anymore...but this wave was no ordinary wave...it was mystical...it had us all like puppets under its spell. We wanted to sit...we really did...but every time the resounding "OOOHHHH" started, we knew our legs would force us up and some external force would pull our arms up over our head!
Ladies and Gentleman...I was part of the longest running wave that ever graced American football...TWELVE MINUTES of the wave. A little inclining of how long this wave lasted.... the players on the field had to STOP playing. Literally stopped. They stood on the field just looking around for the damn wave to stop! It was out of control... I was shocked they didn't just sit down on the bench for how long it lasted. The only way it finally stopped was some genius started waving their damn white and red Bucc's flag and then the crowd decided they would rather wave their flags together at that point, rather than keeping standing up and down together. And finally the wave was dead. Finally over. And the game can resume...but I can't help but imagine that all of the players are laughing to themselves at something they have never witnessed in America...a uniquely English experience....pretty cool.
The game ended with a 35-7 win...woot woot! I was still desperately wanting some sort of merchandise to take home with me. We took our time leaving the stadium, and immediately regretted that decision when we look out towards the Tube Station and saw 80,000 people lined up for 1/2 a mile in a one-way road. Along the ominous and tortoise paced walk, there were only a couple stands still open and one place only had scarves left so I was sad that I wasn't going to be able to buy anything. Although, a man at one of the concession stands did yell to me and said since I was the most beautiful girl he had seen all night, I could have the scarf for free. Aww how sweet. *Runs away quickly with the scarf before man changes mind*.
A special shout out to my roommate, who bought the tickets for me! Thank you so much! I needed that night so very badly...and it was a smashing good time! What a team. What a game. What a night! P.s...Toni Braxton sang the national anthem! Random!
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