Popping your NFL Cherry- Patriots @ Jets
Brits abroad grabbing their first taste of the NFL? Not only that but doing it in a MASSIVE AFC East clash. We salivated at the very thought. Welcome Stuart Fuller of The Ball is Round to AGSN.
It took most of the five hour flight from London Heathrow to New York’s JFK for Luge Pravda to explain the concepts behind the whole NFL experience. Despite being as English as crap train services, he is a bit of an expert of the game, often “tailgating” in the car park of the Medlife Stadium in East Rutherford. But he is a Giant, and we are due to see the Jets. It’s like saying you are a Ossett Town fan whilst visiting Ossett Albion for a game. It is not the done thing.
But I was adament that I wanted to get a game in. Sold the fact that there was a 3 million year waiting list, or that any resale tickets were essentially at the top of the Empire State Building and cost as much as a ticket to watch Arsenal at the Emirates (i.e three figures). We had to be there on Sunday night. A few phone calls, a swift exchange of favours and BANG we were in. East Rutherford would not know what hit them.
I was an NFL virgin. There I have said it. Just like a teenager boasting about their “conquests” I technically had been there before (American Football NOT East Rutherford). Back in 1990 I went into Threshers and bought a four-pack of Coca-Cola. ” Do you want a bag for that sir or four free tickets for the London Monarchs at Wembley sir?” It would have been rude not to say yes so an afternoon of tedium ensued. It was simply not American. Sterile.
But this was going to be different. The Jets versus The Patriots. One of the great rivalries in the NFL.Two teams who were tied at the top of their respective division but going in opposite directions on current form. The Jets on a three game winning streak, the Patriots on a two game losing one. And the fans really didn’t like each other as we saw and heard during the game.
A bus ride under the Hudson into a different state (yes – state. New York’s actual team is the Buffalo Bills, whilst the Jets and Giants play in New Jersey, home to Bruce Springsteen, Buzz Aldrin and Jon Bon Jovi) saw us decamp into the tailgate party zone. You have to see this to believe it. These people take the whole BBQ thing very seriously indeed, and some had arrived around midday to set up home in the car park.
After a legal raid on the Jets megastore where I picked up some *Official* Jets Shower Hooks it was time for the event. In the stadium early doors so that we wouldn’t miss the Flight Crew, the Jets cheerleading team although from our seats in the top tier we could have been watching Pans People – not the 70′s version of the young girls in hot pants, but the sixty year old withered by time version. We climbed up what seemed like the Empire State Building to find our seats. Foot-long Nathans’s Hot Dog in one hand, beer in the other (2% Bud Lite bought by jumping through numerous ID verification hoops) and a bowl of Killer Turkey Chilli in my lap I was as American as Tomato Ketchup.
I have to say that I was secretly hoping to see Tom Brady on fire. I knew a few things about quarterbacks. Marino, Ellway, Aikman. These were the men that pulled the strings in the team, the literal heartbeat. Brady had been the pulse behind the resurgence of the Patriots in the past decade, literally directing them to three Vince Lombardi trophies. But some would say his star is on the wane. He is now thirty four and a career of literally being smashed to pieces by Linebackers and Defensive Tacklers who weigh up to twenty stone has taken its toll on him and the reactions have slowed.
The Jets have all been about Plaxico Burress and Santonio Holmes this season who have contributed nine touchdowns to the cause, with Mark Sanchez pulling the strings behind them. Current form suggested a home win, but I had a sneaky feeling about this one as the Jets roared onto the pitch, almost covered in one of the biggest flags known to man.
The Jets have a fair smattering of celebrity fans who had come out on a chilly Autumnal night. Spike Lee, Ice-T, Cuba Gooding Junior and Donald Trump were all spotted on the big screen in the run up to the kick off, but most fans were transfixed on the Flight Crew, the Jets cheerleaders who kept popping up on the screens to tell us to behave. Trust me when those beauties pop up in front of your face you listen.
In the end it was the Tom Brady show. Despite the over the top abuse raining down on him from the height of Mount Everest he simply kept his bottle more than the Jet’s Mark Sanchez and inspired the Patriots to a win that halted their losing streak.
It was almost a perfect start for the Jets as they took the ball into the Patriots 10 yard line with their first set of “offense”. However, in a very rare incidence they missed a field goal from just twenty yards and came away without a score. In fact the first quarter was one of attrition as the only scoring chances came from the boot with the Patriots Gostkowski planting two over the Jets bar to give them a 6-0 lead. Time for another beer and round two of the Holy Trinity – the Killer Turkey Chilli. Unfortunately, despite walking around the whole of the upper tier we couldn’t find where it was being sold, so we had to make do with Chicken Tenders and fries coated in Ranch sauce.
In the second period, the Jets got on the score sheet as Brady was forced to touch down in his own end zone (sort of an own goal but only worth 2 points). They then kept up the pressure and eventually we got the first touchdown when quarterbank Sanchez easily ran in from close range to give the Jets the lead. That lasted just a few minutes before another Gostkowski planting another field goal over the Jets bar to make it 13-9.
The Patriots were in control with another Gostkowski field goal and then a Brady thrown Gronkowski touchdown giving them what appeared to be a unasailable 23-9 lead at the end of the third quarter. This wasn’t a game full of long passes and great runs, but it was captivating. Both quarter backs were being given far too much time with the football, although rarely they could find any distance or a free man. This was summed up in the fourth quarter when Branch and Ninkovich went over for the Patriots from close range.
In the end the win was comfortable. I would say that the Patriots won three of the four quarters in terms of possession, endeavour and intent. The stats do not lie. Brady threw for 10% more yards than Sanchez and reached three touchdowns to his one. Gronkowski’s two touchdowns as a receiver also saw him gain the most yards.
It was an experience. A long experience. Probably best not enjoyed with no sleep in the past twenty four hours. But it is something every sports fans should do at least once in their life.
There should have been some pictures dotted around, but our stupid site had issues, instead, check out all Stu’s snaps from the day here.
If you don’t already spend far too much time on Stuart’s excellent ‘The Ball is Round‘ then you’ve got the internet all wrong. You can also keep up to date with his travels on his superb twitter feed @theballisround.