Over the last month, three NFL American Football matches have been played at our very own Twickenham stadium. In the hope of establishing a permanent presence in the form of an entire NFL franchise based here in the UK, such matches have been played on a yearly basis over the last ten years. This year, it was the turn of the New Orleans Saints to face the Miami Dolphins, then the Arizona Cardinals pit up against the Los Angeles Rams and finally, last weekend the Minnesota Vikings versus the Cleveland Browns.
The final match of the three was held last weekend under a very typical overcast sky. The atmosphere was a fresh change to the usual rugby match with many locals very much seizing the opportunity, deciding to hold barbecue and other various food stalls to welcome travelling fans from across the pond and other NFL fans from across the UK. A crowd of 75,000 turned out for the event: the biggest of all three October London matches.
With so much going on in the build up to the match, the result could almost be overlooked. However, after a strong performance from the Minnesota Vikings to hold out a lead gained from the end of the first half, the Vikings managed to gain victory with the final score at a convincing 33-16.
Behind the scenes, many people are working very hard to try and make the ‘NFL in the U.K. dream’ a reality, with Brit-born NFL executive and international chief Mark Waller saying that the idea of having an entire NFL team based from the U.K. is no longer merely a dream but that the plans are now already in motion. This is certainly a very exciting prospect to all NFL fans across the U.K. and across the US too. "When we started (with the series in 2007), I reckoned it'd take 15 years to do it," said Waller. "That was what I expected, and we're still on course. We're at the midpoint now."
Farhan Hussain, Hampton School
