Ten Tips For a Great NFL International Series

This week is the highlight of the sporting year for thousands of sports fans in the UK.  Given that we've had the Olympics, Paralympics, European Championships and Ryder Cup this year, that's a pretty bold claim.  But for the hoards of NFL fans in this country the International Series at Wembley is what they look forward to all year.
The International Series is so much more than a game of football, it's a fantastic day out, a chance to meet fellow fans and is supplemented by plenty of other great events like the Tailgate party and the Fan Rally.  I've been to 3 previous IS games and have gradually learnt how to make the most of my time at the NFL, so here's my Top Ten Tips to ensure you have a great day out at the 2012 International Series:

1.  Get There Early!
The game doesn't start until 5pm, but try to get to Wembley late morning. This ensures you've got as much time as possible to enjoy the Tailgates, the bars , the food outlets and to just generally soak up the superb pre match atmosphere.  It also gives you the best chance of beating the crowds at the official Tailgate and getting a decent chance to grab some merchandise without having to queue for ages.

2.  Try to Arrive at Wembley Park
Wembley has it's fair share of critics.  Yes, it was absurdly expensive, massively delayed and is situated in one of the less salubrious areas of London.  But, as you emerge from the bowels of Wembley Park tube station, you cannot fail to be impressed by the grandeur of the stadium. The arch in particular is a magnificent site.  What's more, you are looking at it with Wembley Way in the foreground. Well worth spending a few minutes for a photo sessions.

3. Have a Stroll Down Wembley Way
Please note - This is to be done pre match!  The 500 yards or so from Wembley Park to the Stadium is one of the most famous pedestrianised roads in the country (Phrases you never read in an NFL blog No1!) and is great to get the metaphorical juices flowing.  You'll encounter plenty of other fans, as well as an assortment of colourful characters (i.e. crooks) pedalling some knock off merchandise.  So, if you fancy wearing a "New Egnland Patroits" scarf or a "St Louis Rams" hat, this is the place to be.

4. Visit the Great British Tailgate Party
In truth, I'm not a massive fan of the official Tailgate organised by the NFL.  2008 was fun with the Mardi Gras, but the other occasions have been pretty dull.  Lots of overpriced merchandise and food, plus massive queues and some variable entertainment.  Last season, we discovered the GBTP at the Green Man pub near the stadium and had a great time on the Sunday afternoon.  Wembley isn't blessed with great pubs, it's not even blessed with average ones, but the Green Man turns into an NFL stronghold once a year.  The pub has a large beer garden that is home to a fair sized marquee with plenty of merchandise and food stalls (including a lovely spit roast (Phrases you never read in an NFL blog No2).  Plus, you'll be surrounded by hoards of friendly NFL fans, and if round ball football is your thing you can watch the afternoons Premier League action.  This was particularly good fun last year thanks to Man Utd 1 Man City 6!
The pub is only a 5-10 minute walk from the stadium and is open post match until 1am.

5.  Try to catch the Pre Match Entertainment
Even if the Prematch band aren't your thing  - and Train certainly aren't my thing! - it's well worth getting into the ground at least 30 minutes before kick off.  The NFL knows how to put on a show and the fireworks, dancing and general visual extravaganza are another great photo opportunity.  It's not exactly Danny Boyle and won't have you marvelling at the subtlety, but it certainly looks impressive!

6. Support the Rams
Probably best for Patriots fans to bypass this section!
If you support one of the other 31 franchises then I'd urge you to help make the occasion feel like a Rams home game.  There are usually flags provided on every seat, plus the obligatory PA propaganda.  They will be the underdogs, and it'll create a fantastic atmosphere if we all get behind them.  Plus, nobody likes the Patriots do they?  Also, a fervent "home" atmosphere will send a great message to other franchises and encourage them to want to play over here.

7. Don't start/join in with a Mexican Wave
In the unlikely event I get invited onto Room 101, I'll be sending the likes of Jeremy Clarkson, the Stereophonics and Swindon to the Orwellian nightmare.  I'd also be condemning the Mexican Wave and anyone who starts one.  For a start, it gives the impression that the game is dull and people are bored.  That may well be the case, but try and encourage the players rather than demonstrate how bored you are.  Even booing at least indicates you're watching!
It's also really irritating when everyone in front of you stands up every 30 seconds. Usually accompanied by feet stomping and a "whoooh" that sounds like you're at a boy band gig (So I'm told!).  Boycott the Wave!

8.  Don't Bother with the Food and Drink in the Stadium
Unless of course, you're a fan of microwave pizza slices and flat Carlsberg.  All at 2035 prices!  Luckily, there are more than enough food and drink options outside of the stadium for this not to be a problem.

9.  Stay til the End!
The Patriots will be favourites but in the last 2 weeks you've thrown away 10 point leads in the 4th Quarter.  Against the Seahawks, it lead to an inglorious defeat, but against the Jets it ended in an Overtime victory.  This isn't the Patriots we've come to know over the years and they are showing plenty of signs of vulnerability this season.
The Rams are a work in progress, but there are clear sign of progress. Finnegan and Jenkins are an excellent CB tandem, Jackson and Richardson give them a solid ground game and Sam Bradford is showing flashes of developing into a bonafide NFL QB.  St Louis needs a signature win to rubber stamp their improvement, and Wembley would be a great place to do it.

10.  Stick Around After the Game
If nothing else, it means you avoid the misery of Wembley Way!  If you're on a high post match, then standing around for an hour in the cold, whilst moving at a snails pace is a sure fire way of getting you back down to Earth.  In previous years, I've been part of this misery, and followed it up with a midnight train ride back to Birmingham.  This year we're opting for a few post match drinks before getting a taxi to our hotel. It means we can watch the Cowboys-Giants game, discuss the Wembley game and chat to even more NFL fans.  All of which sounds far more preferable to being herded around like cattle and will make an excellent end to a fantastic day.



There you have it, it's just what I'd recommend for a great day out, it's a once a year event (Although twice next year!) so make the most of it and if you see a man in an Eagles t-shirt in Block 509 or at the Green Man, come and say hello.  Just don't ask me to join in with the Mexican Wave!

PreSeason Blues & London 2012

Along with many people around the country, I've found the last 2 weeks of sport inspiring, emotional, exciting and full of memorable moments.  I've been lucky enough to have spent 4 days at the Olympics (Although I didn't do as well in the ticket ballot as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!) and have been blown away by the whole thing.  Behind the TV scenes, the organisation is impeccable, the Volunteers are immensely friendly and the atmosphere around the Park is better then anything I've experienced at any other sporting event.  But it's been in the arenas that I've been completely amazed at the desire to win, effort and sporting ability on show.  The dedication of the athletes is fantastic and I've enjoyed reading the back stories of some of the competitors.

Perhaps my favorite has been double Gold winning cyclist Laura Trott - her collapsed lung, asthmatic and vomit strewn story has been well documented.  The fact that she has been through so much and continues to put her body through such immensely difficult events has been one of the stories of the Games.  Add to that the fact she's always so happy and seemingly loving the whole experience and it perfectly encapsulates what I love about sport - desire to win, skill, effort and dedication.

Sankuru - She moved at a similar speed
during the race!

At the other end of the ability spectrum, I watched the first round of the women's 1500m. The second heat was won by GB's Lisa Dobriskey, so naturally enough the stadium was a cacophony of noise.  however, an even bigger cheer was reserved for an athlete from the Congo by the name of Chancel Ilunga Sankuru. She crossed the line a full 52 seconds after Dobriskey and had spent most of the race running round on her own at a pace that could loosely be described as a slow jog.  But as she crossed the line to a massive cheer, it flashed up on the screen that she had just ran a personal best for the event!  Without wishing to sound patronizing, she was doing her very best and had achieved something that had previously been beyond her.  In short, it encapsulated the oft mentioned "Olympic Spirit".

However, in spite of all that, I've got no desire to watch Trott or Sankuru train.  I don't want to watch them put in the endless hours of practice that helps them achieve their goals.  I just want to watch the end product.  Athletes performing to the best of their ability and doing amazing things in competitive events.

One of my "30 Things to Do" is to watch an Eagles PreSeason match in its entirety.  It's actually one of the easy tasks on my list, but in many ways it's one I'm really not looking forward to.  You see, PreSeasons are also one of my Pet Hates in sport.

2 weeks ago I attended my first ever PreSeason football friendly. It was between Ebbsfleet and Gillingham.  I won't bore you with why I joined 914 other souls in the sun, but there I was inside a ground that hadn't been touched since World War 2.  In fairness it was an OK game, but the bottom line was that nobody (including the players) gave a toss who won.  Goals were greeted with polite applause from fans and half hearted high fives from players. Substitutes sat around sunbathing and I spent most of the second half in the bar watching the men's cycling road race.  I realise PreSeason is vital for players in building up fitness and fine tuning tactics, but personally, I just want to see the end product.

It's a similar story in the NFL. The 4 weeks of PreSeason are full of players being benched, half empty stadiums and a host of players just going through the motions.  Nobody cares who wins, the results have no bearing on the Regular Season and we will learn very little about team's plans for the year.  In short, it's not what I want from my sport watching experience.  It's the Regular Season that I'm excited about, when the best players in the world (and the Washington Redskins) do battle and play to the best of their abilities.
So, at some point over the next 4 weeks I'll be ticking my "Watch a PreSeason game" box (probably week 4) but I'd much rather be watching the likes of Trott and Sankuru.

In fact, I've been so inspired by the last 2 weeks that I want to "Get Involved", I had such admiration for all the "Games Makers" that I wished I'd put myself down as one.  So after I get back from holiday (St Petersburg if you're interested) I'm going to look into how I can do some voluntary work within UK sport. Who knows, it might even make for an interesting blog topic.

Of course, I'll still be writing about the Eagles and watching their run to the SuperBowl!  Starting with that vital PreSeason game with the Jets in 3 weeks time!

32 to 1

It's about time to tick off another of my "30 Things To Do", and what better way to do it then by talking about another aspect of the NFL that helps make it such a great League. I'm talking about parity, and how that's reflected in the betting markets for the upcoming season.  I'll also be making my selections for the season and placing a few quid on the Eagles winning the SuperBowl.  Feel free to mock, but when.....oh who am I kidding?

A look at the betting for the English Premier League shows that the 2 Manchester clubs are short odds favourites, with Chelsea (5-1) and Arsenal (11-1).  Then there's a big gap to Spurs and Liverpool at 25-1 and a monstrous gap to 7th favourites Newcastle at 175-1.  As for the rest, well let's just say that there's more chance of Bono becoming the next Pope!  Actually scratch that, Mr Hewson is currently 1000-1 to succeed Benedict XVI, which is the same odds as Aston Villa and Stoke have of Premier League glory, and they are only halfway down the betting list!  Teams such as Wigan and Southampton are as long as 5000-1 to win!  You get the idea, essentially around 75% of the league are playing for minor places and avoiding relegation.  I can understand how that's fun for a newly promoted team - Swansea fans will have had a great time last season, but it must be getting a bit dull for the likes of Everton, Stoke and Aston Villa.

It's not just the English Premier League that has this problem, it's a similar story in Spain, Italy, Portugal and other European leagues, whilst in Scotland the engraver has already etched in the name on the 2012-13 league trophy (No, not Falkirk!).

Meanwhile, in the NFL the joint favourites for the Superbowl next season are the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers who are both 13-2.  Behind them there are 11 more teams ranked at 20-1 or shorter.  Yes, there are a few also rans - 5 teams are 100 or 150-1, but even those teams won't have given up hope of at least making the play offs...well OK maybe the Browns have.

Pretty much every NFL fan will go into the season thinking their teams has a chance, and that's a great thing. Looking at the 16 fixtures for Week 1 of the season, it's very hard to pick a winner in all bar 3 of them.  I've previously discussed the reasons for this parity - Salary Caps, the Draft, the Schedule etc - and it's clear that the NFL is structured to give everyone a chance.

This doesn't help me much when it comes to placing wagers for the new season.  I'm committed to betting on the Eagles so get £10 of my money.  Although if I'm being honest I don't think the odds of 12-1 are particularly appealing.  As for other bets, here are my tips for the 2012 NFL season...

SuperBowl Winners
I've been saying all year that the Bears were a good bet for glory and I'm not going to change now.  They've actually drifted in from 25 to 20-1 but I still think this is good EW value. Forte, Cutler, Marshall is a formidable offensive trio.
If you're looking for an outsider, then the Titans at 50-1 could have some merit. They've got a relatively easy Division this season, only just missed out last year and once you're in the play off anything can happen.

Regular Season MVP
The bookies seem convinced it will be a QB and I agree with them. Rodgers, Brees and Brady are the obvious favourites and I think Aaron Rodgers will take some beating in this category, but at 11-2 he's not great value.
Looking a bit further down the list, I like the look of Cam Newton at 33-1.  Yes, he might have a 2nd year slump, but if he doesn't and if he continues his current rate of progress he'll be virtually unplayable.  If the Panthers are play off contenders then Newton could well be in the MVP running

Most Receiving Yards
This is a non event as far as the bookies are concerned. Calvin Johnson is a very short 3-1 to win this, whilst his namesake Andre is a distant second at 17-2.  Given the regularity of injuries in the NFL, I think 3-1 is far too short to be of interest.  Johnson (C) may well scoop the honours, but at 3-1 he's not going to make me rich!
A better value EW bet may be Miles Austin at 25-1.  He's  a regular downfield receiver and should be Tony Romo's number one target, especially given Dez Bryant's off field problems.  Overall though, this is probably a category best left alone.

Most Passing Yards
A similar race to the MVP one, but this way have a couple of additional contenders.  I can see Matt Stafford  putting up huge numbers again in Detroit. He's relatively short at 7-1 but I definitely think he'll be in the top 3.
It's tough to look past the usual suspects in this section, perhaps Matt Schaub at 16-1 could be a reasonable outside dabble, but it's tough to find much value here.

Most Rushing Yards
Finally a decent Eagles bet, at 10-1 LeSean McCoy is excellent value for this category.  He's rate of improvement is superb and he will be playing behind a strong O line and a (hopefully) more mature, less flamboyant QB.
Further down the list, injuries have seen Adrian Peterson drift out to 20-1, but if the Vikings star starts the season fit, he could be a major threat.  I can also see Fred Jackson (25-1) having a very strong season.


There we have it then, a quick guide on how to lose some money!  I accept no responsibly for any debt incurred and I would encourage you not to visit any "pay day lenders" to fund your bets!

I'm off to the Olympics next week, so I may throw in a report of how that goes.  It'll be the only chance I'll ever get to write a blog on Amateur Boxing and Hockey.
My next NFL piece, will be a look ahead to the preseason matches and why I'm not a fan of preseason matches!

Video Games

I've never been a great exponent of video games.

When I was 11, I used to go round friends' houses to be routinely beating to a pulp whilst playing Streetfighter II.  When I got my first computer (an Amiga 500!) I was more interested in sports games like Championship Manager and Brian Lara Cricket, than trying to kill aliens or rip someone's head off.
I did occasionally play an early version of John Madden Football at a mate's house, but my knowledge of the NFL was so limited that I opted for the QB run pretty much every play!

The Madden franchise is as synonymous with the NFL, as the Tiger Woods series is with golf or the FIFA franchise is with football.  Most people wouldn't even be able to name another American Football based video game.  The first Madden game was released in 1991 and whilst it was basic compared to today's efforts, it was pretty cutting edge at the time.  You controlled the players, you could pick plays and even call audibles.  It also featured some brilliant images such as this:

An early version of "parking the bus"

Through the years the game has evolved, but it has always been considered the beat NFL video game around.  Features such as create your own player, franchise mode and playing games online have added to the brand, whilst it's graphics, playbooks and player accuracy have evolved significantly.

My own Madden experience is limited, so this won't be a detailed look at the game.  However, due to the Grand Final of my Search for a Team, I possess a 2nd hand copy of the 2007 version of the game and due to my 30 Things to Do I need to win a Superbowl for the Eagles on it!

Well, I haven't achieved that as of yet.  However, I have started the journey.  After a few practice games to get me up to scratch with the game play, I set the Difficulty Level to it's highest rung and started my quest.
I decided to play as the Eagles, but have a fantasy draft.  I consider drafting players to be part of the art of the game, so wanted to include this in my quest.  Draft strategy is an interesting topic and I could talk all day about how I went through all my picks.  But for the purposes of keeping you awake I'll be brief.

I had pick 11 in the First Round, so remembering my penchant for QB running I plumped for Michael Vick!  By the time the 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounds came along, there were no elite running backs left, so I opted for Ed Reed, Brian Urlacher and Champ Bailey to give me a high class Defence. I then picked up Reggie Bush and Andre Johnson to add to my offense.  Due to my lack of Madden expertise and knowledge of NFL players pre 2008, I generally went for players I'd heard off in the later rounds.  This policy saw me land players such as Asante Samuel, Nate Burleson, Antonio Gates and Nmandi Asomugha.  I ended up pretty happy with my team, but as good as they were, they'd still have me controlling them!  A heavy burden for even the strongest team to overcome.

I can't be bothered with Training Camps or Pre Season so I skipped that nonsense and went straight into my first game, away at the Texans.  What Vick has in speed, he lacks in pass accuracy.  This led to lots of runs from both himself and Bush, but a pretty dull outing for my receivers.  I was 14-6 down at half time, but thanks to a QB sneak from Vick and a couple of FG from my kicker (Janikowski) I was soon ahead.  My so called elite Defense weren't making many plays and the Texans were scoring very easily.
It all came down to a bizarre last minute that included a muffed punt return from my late round wild card Devin Hester (not a patch on the real life Hester), a FG from the Texans and a last ditch TD from Burelson after a defender deflected a wayward effort from Vick.
Into Overtime and an Asante Samuel interception plus another Sea Bass kick left me 1-0 for my season.  More through luck than skill, but hey, that's how the real thing works!

So I'm on my way to ticking off the next item on my list, but don't be surprised if it takes me more than a season to complete.  I won't be providing game-by-game reports (largely because it's pretty dull) of my season, but I'll keep you posted on how I'm getting on.

Next up, I'll be looking at the various NFL competitions out there, as I start my quest to "Win an NFL related prize".  Hmm, that could also take a bit of time!

An Open Invitation to support the Eagles

If you're reading this, then you fall into 1 of 4 categories:

1. You're an NFL fan and support a team.
2. You're an NFL fan, but don't support a team
3. You're an NFL fan who casual follows a team, but has no real passion for them.
4. You don't follow the NFL, and are reading this because either you stumbled upon it, you're a friend/family member, you read any old crap on the net or you're my stalker.

If you're in category 2 or 3, then I think your NFL viewing experience would be enhanced by throwing your support fully behind a team.  Going through the highs and lows of being a fan is the best aspect of following a sport.  To be a neutral, is to miss out on this excitement.

I support the Philadelphia Eagles, and if you're in the market for a team to support, I think they could be the team for you as well.
But why the Eagles? There are 31 other perfectly good franchises int he NFL, what's so special about Philadelphia?  Luckily, that's a very easy question to answer and there are many reasons why you should support the Eagles:

The best place to start is with the actual team.  The Eagles are in a great position, currently 4th favourites with the bookies for next season's Superbowl.  They have built a highly competitive team, full of star names and young, exciting talent.

On offence, they have one of the most dynamic QB's in the league in Michael Vick.  Vick is a reformed man after a spell behind bars, and everybody loves a good redemption story.  Alongside Vick, there's Lesean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Macklin and Brent Celek amongst others. Plus Vick has one of the best Offensive lines in the league to protect him.  Expect the Eagles to rack up plenty of points this season.

On the other side of the ball, you've got a formidable front 4 in Trent Cole, Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins and 1st round Draft pick Fletcher Cox.  Opposing QBs won't be looking forward to playing the Eagles this season. Behind them, is the Eagles big off season signing DeMeco Ryans.  Ryans is a Pro Bowl calibre Linebacker acquired from the Texans and will shore up a problematic area for Philadelphia.
At secondary, the Eagles have 2 elite performers in Nmandi Asumugha and Dominic Rogers-Cromartie, both are fast and aggressive Cornerbacks who are capable of making big plays on a regular basis.

The team won their final 4 games of the 2011 season, and if they can carry on that form they will be very hard to beat this season.

Away from the pitch, there are plenty more reasons to be an Eagles fan. Not least, there are the fans. The Eagles home stadium (the Linc) is always a sell out and reverberates to the noise created by the passionate fans.  The atmosphere can be extremely intimidating for the away team.  The fans are also quick to let the Eagles know when they are under-performing, so win or lose you can be guaranteed a fervent atmosphere.

The Eagles play in the NFC East, one of the strongest Divisions in football. However, the 2 other members of the Divisions are very dislikeable.  You've got the New York Giants  - support them and you'll be labelled a glory hunter.  The Dallas Cowboys - self proclaimed "America's Team", but in reality everybody else thinks they're annoying and self-important.  Finally, there are the Washington Redskins, who are just terrible.

If you're planning a trip top the US, then they are few places better tan the city of brotherly love. You can see the famous Liberty Bell or the Dead Sea Scrolls. Plus, how can you revisit a chance to run up the steps at the front of the Museum of Art - made famous by the Rocky films.

Of course, if you're reading this in the UK, you'll be supporting the Eagles from a long distance.  but don't worry, the Eagles have one of the best UK Fan Clubs (http://britisheagles.co.uk/) .  The British Eagles have grown at a rapid rate since they were founded last year.  Since becoming an Eagles fan, I have found the BE to be a great source of information and they are doing some great things to promote the Eagles in the UK.


There are a few other, some would say less important, factors to consider as well:
- The Eagles have one of the best jerseys in the NFL, Midnight Green is a great name for a colour.
- Their mascot is Swoop, he rides a quad bike.  Err, that's about all I can say about him.
- Celebrity fans include Will Smith, Matthew Fox (He was in Lost and a few rubbish films) and Ryan Phillippe (He was in Cruel Intentions and a few other rubbish films).
- Finally, I'm willing to buy a pint for any new Eagles fans!  I will dip into my pocket for a drink for anybody who becomes an Eagles fan after reading this.  You may have to wait until the international series to cash in your prize but i will honour my end of the bargain!

That's right, unashamed bribery.  That's how keen I am to recruit a new fan.  If you are considering becoming a new Eagles fan then let me know either in the comments below, via nfluk or on twitter.

Merchandise of Doom - Part 2

I thought I'd put together a pretty comprehensive look at the bizarre merchandise available to NFL fans.  I was proved completely wrong, as I've subsequently received an array of pictures showing all manner of weird stuff that can be purchased.  It was whilst going through some of these items that I had a flash of inspiration and decided what my first NFL merchandise purchase was going to be.
Before I get to that, here are the 5 most absurd pieces of NFL merchandise I've come across....

5. The Miami Dolphins Baby Bedding Set

Firstly, nice garden!  Secondly, I'm not show the baby will sleep comfortably surrounded by bright orange and pictures of Dolphins.  Imagine the look on mum and dad's faces when you arrive with this present at the Christening.


4.  An Arm Sticker for the car door  (best explanation I could think of!)

Dear God, this is horrific.  Although I am a bit surprised that I've never seen this, or something similar.  Given the awful items people decorate their cars with, this isn't a great leap.


3.   The Cleveland Browns Clock

Yes, it's rather gaudy and a horrible colour (see all Browns merchandise!), but the real crime here is the layout....the Browns will be losing every time the minutes go past 12!  In fact, at just before one in the morning the Browns will be 0-59 down! Actually, that may help young Browns fans prepare for the disappointments coming their way.


2.   Mr Potato Head

What young Bengals fan wouldn't want to have this in their bedroom? Actually, don't answer that.
Potato Head seems to have a very unorthodox throwing motion, that looks more like he's answering the phone than throwing downfield. At least he's happy though.



1.  All rise please for the most absurd piece of merchandise ever created....The Oakland Raiders Forest Face!

The "Forest Face" is designed to be hung on tree trunks to show your support for the Raiders. It comes with a handy hook and is just over a foot high.  Here's the face in action...

The sales pitch suggests you buy a job lot of them to decorate a large number of trees. Thus confirming your eternal love for the Raiders.
I've encountered man many items of merchandise over the last week, but this is by far the most ridiculous, useless, leftfield and ugly creation I've ever seen.  But if you are interested, they retail at a very reasonable $25 each and are available from most NFL stockists.  That's right, the "Forest Face" is an official piece of NFL merchandise.


You'll be amazed to know that I haven't purchased any of the above items. However, I have made my first NFL purchase, and it's a present for somebody else!
After stumbling through pages and pages of largely rubbish NFL items, I couldn't decide what to get myself. I am yet to have a favourite player, so I didn't want to get a jersey.  Besides, I can almost guarantee that the player whose name I have on my back will get traded/injured/arrested within a week of the purchase.

Instead, I decided to buy a present for my new nephew! And what 2 day old baby doesn't want this...

It's a Baby Gift set - consisting of dummy, bib and feeding bottle!
It could be argued that I'm trying to corrupt a tiny babies mind and lead them on a path of misery and despair.  I prefer to think that I'm sowing the seeds for a fulfilling life as a fan of the NFL's top team.

I'll leave you to decide which is more accurate!

And so ends my look at NFL merchandise.  It allows me to tick off another of the "30 Things to Do" and who knows, it may eventually help me tick off the task of converting somebody into an Eagles fan.  Although that could be a very long term project!

Apparently, there's a minor NFL event taking place on Thursday night.  After much umming and arring I've decided that I won't be staying up all night to watch the Draft.  Instead, I'll be writing a "non live" commentary of the Draft, as I look at the immediate reaction to the event and how the media are reporting it.

Merchandise of Doom

I knew that sooner or later, a topic would crop up that would require 2 articles to fully cover. I thought it might be the Draft, or possibly Free Agency or even the recently announced Schedule for 2012.

As it turned out, it was none of these.  In fact, my first 2 part blog is on the important issue of NFL merchandise and a trawl through the weird, wonderful and just plain awful items that are out there for fans to purchase.

Of course, bad merchandise isn't an NFL only phenomenon.  At the age of 16 (16...not 5!), my mum bought me a Gillingham FC jumper for Christmas.  Nothing wrong with that, except that the jumper was a bright sky blue and had a massive print of some goalposts with the word Gills in large letters across the middle.  Wearing it with my equally bad GFC cap made me look like cross between a local radio DJ and a terminally ill out patient.  Being the polite child that I was, I agreed to wear the item, but made sure it was only on very cold days when I'd have a thick coat protecting my shame.

As an adult, I've only really purchased the occasional item - a t-shirt with a Gills badge or sometimes a home shirt.  Now, I'm an Eagles fan I need to find a suitable piece of merchandise to solidify my love of the team...and man alive, there are a lot of options out there! Here is just a small selection of some of the oddities available:

If you're a fan of draughts (checkers) you may be interested in:

A slight drawback is that the Jags can only play the Titans, so fans of other teams may not get invited to the party. Or they could just stay outside and hang out by the Arizona Cardinals portable bar ($500)..

If Derek Trotter was
an NFL fan!

The above item is intended for Tailgating parties. Franchises have all manor of items available to enhance the tailgating experience - beer fridges, barbecues etc.  This next item isn't the most absurd, but at $200(!) most be the most overpriced:

That's right, $200 for a bit of wood with a hole in and 2 small beanbags.  Surely you can buy something like this at Poundland. The official name for the item is "Buffalo Bills Tailgate Toss", which is a very accurate description.

As upset as I was with my Gillingham jumper, it could have been worse:

This is actually a Bucs golf shirt! I'm not sure even John Daly would fork out $70 for it.  I was thinking that an Eagles t-shirt may be the way to go, although I probably won't go for this one:

The worrying thing is that there's a man out there who designed this.  Clearly, he saw John Squire's Stone Roses artwork and thought he'd have a go.  Luckily for me, there are plenty of more tasteful alternatives out there. I'm currently having a shop round a few sites to see which shirt takes my fancy. I want to get a proper Eagles jersey in time for the start of the season, but I haven't got a favourite player yet, so not sure which name to have on the back.  Of course, I could opt to get a non clothing item instead, perhaps something for the house...

It rotates!!!

I'm sure my other half would be delighted to see that on the bedside table.  I guess I could appease her by getting her something for the kitchen.  Who wouldn't want to serve soup in this:

A set of 4 sets you back a mere $40 and guarantees your dinner party goes down a storm.

Finally, for this first half of my hunt for a suitable piece of merchandise, here's an item that's not for the faint hearted...

That's right, it's a Cleveland Browns "ghost".  The sales pitch for this states that "Halloween is right in the middle of football season, so why not embrace both at the same time? " I'm not entirely sure how the above is "embracing" either, but at least I can be confident that the only way is up as I search for my NFL merchandise.