Morning chaps, from a drizzly London.
Just curious, how does a chap from London end up getting so into American sports like football and baseball? Have things changed much with the TV coverage? I remember when I lived in Aberdeen trying to get some NHL games, the best I found was a weekly highlight reel on Sky sports, or something like that. Of course it was 1998, so the internet has changed things since.
It's not so much the internet, it's more the satellite platform. The NFL has always had presence, since I was a kid, which is why I'm into it, as well as seeing live games. The NFL series in London are constant sell-outs at 90,000 a time and they shut Regent St for a tailgate. Its almost an accepted truth that a London franchise is in the medium term, and most likely the Jaguars. Most of my mates have a NFL team they follow, for a multitude of reasons. Which is why the London franchise will be interesting. It's a big ask to switch your team that you have been following for 30 odd years to another, just because they moved into the back yard, so until the team that comes builds it own fan base, it's almost going to be like playing on the road. I have noticed in the last couple of years the crowd getting more like a home one (especially around 3rd and short plays) and the appreciation or calling out stuff like pass interference, holding, whereas when we first went, a lot of people has a limited understanding of the rules.
Sky (owned by Fox) carry 3 live games every Sunday night and MNF. They also do the NFL Red Zone live, so I'm sure not to miss teams scoring against the Bears. They also show NBA about 4 or 5 times a week. BT Sport has a tie up with ESPN, one of the channels is basically ESPN HD unfiltered, so we get Baseball, College Football, CFL, March Madness as well as PTU and most of the other talk shows.
Sorry, long answer to a short question.
Hope everyone is well and has a great week. Now I'm back to trying to achieve reentry to the real world
Welcome back outside the bubble, it was fun to watch your updates....