Dolphins crush Raiders at Wembley

[joninliverton]

I watched the first half but not the second half because of conflicting TV. But hey, sell out crowed of 80k plus at London's Wembley stadium. Rumour has it that there will be a London team in the NFL by 2022.

[h=1]NFL: Miami Dolphins beat Oakland Raiders at sold-out Wembley[/h]
Miami Dolphins beat the Oakland Raiders 38-14 in their NFL regular season clash in front of a sell-out Wembley crowd.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill hit form and pulled the strings as the Dolphins scored five touchdowns to secure their second win in four games.
The struggling Raiders failed to spark both offensively and defensively in London and remain winless this season.
Sunday's game was the first of three NFL matches scheduled to be played at Wembley in 2014.
[TABLE="class: data-table, width: 464"]
[TR="class: heading"]
[TH="class: left first, colspan: 2"][h=2]NFL at Wembley[/h][/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: left first"]2007: New York Giants 13-10 Miami Dolphins
[/TD]
[TD="class: left"]2011: Chicago Bears 24-18 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: row2"]
[TD="class: left first"]2008: San Diego Chargers 32-37 New Orleans Saints
[/TD]
[TD="class: left"]2012: New England Patriots 45-7 St Louis Rams
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: left first"]2009: New England Patriots 35-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
[/TD]
[TD="class: left"]2013: Pittsburgh Steelers 27-34 Minnesota Vikings
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: row2"]
[TD="class: left first"]2010: Denver Broncos 16-24 San Francisco 49ers
[/TD]
[TD="class: left"]2013: San Francisco 49ers 42-10 Jacksonville Jaguars
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

The match was attended by 83,436 fans, and the two upcoming games are also sold out.
Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am and legendary Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino were among the famous names in attendance.
The NFL are attempting to ramp up interest in the UK with the long-term aim of establishing an NFL franchise in London by 2021.
The Atlanta Falcons take on Detroit Lions at Wembley on October 26 before the Jacksonville Jaguars meet Dallas Cowboys on November 9.

 

[Ambivalent]

Hey, Jon -

Since you seem to love American football - I hope you do get your own NFL (or NFL-style) team in the U.K., eventually.

I am pretty agnostic about sports, generally. My late Mother loved American-style football, because that was the big thing when she was in college. My Dear Old Dad loves BASEBALL, and I sort of think it is by far the more elegant sport.

American football has changed a lot, in the last decade or two, though. The players are much bigger, the hits are much harder, and it seems like more and more of the people who play the game, professionally, are getting severely injured - to the point that their life-spans are cut dreadfully short. Some people are even questioning whether it is MORAL, or ETHICAL, to watch and support, American football, anymore. Chief amongst these is a guy called Steve Almond, who has written a book called, Against Football.

I dunno, Jon - maybe his arguments are over-the-top. But I think there is some merit in them: especially the way the game has changed, and become so much more violent and intense, over the past few years. There have been a couple of specials on PBS' Frontline, this past year, about how high-school kids in Texas are dying of head injuries, and heat exhaustion and dehydration, because the game is becoming so ruthless, even at a collegiate level.

Here are a couple of Frontline documentaries that might interest you, and others:
*"Football High" ~ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/football-high/
*"League of Denial - the NFL's Concussion Crisis" ~ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/league-of-denial/

It would be interesting to know what you think. Here is an interview with Steve Almond, in which he suggests that watching American football today is almost IMMORAL: http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014...ndom-concussions-and-the-doritos-bliss-point/

I dunno, guys: maybe I am just being a squeamish little faggot, about all this. For sure, I am not a big sports fan. (My sisters and I used to like to watch figure-skating on Sunday afternoons after church - when Kurt Browning and Aleksei Urmanov were doing their 'quads' - that's about as sporty as I get - LOL!!! *And even figure-skating has its risks, now - if you are in the top ranks, it's just about guaranteed that your spine, and all your joints, will be WRECKED, by the time you get done.*)

However, I kind of sympathize with my DAD, who thinks baseball is not only the kinder and gentler sport, but also the more elegant one. (Hockey, the big Canadian deal - is sort of in the middle - and hockey is having huge problems with concussions, too - as players work out more, get bigger, skate faster, and hit harder.) But American football is in a league of its own - like Steve Almond says, high-impact collision is the POINT of the sport: it's become super-gladiatorial. And even high-school players are becoming super-heavy (upwards of 300 pounds) and super-strong, and the hits get harder and harder. And I am not sure whether someone smart shouldn't be pulling in on the reins, a little, right about now. . .

Would be interested to know what all of you think. I really don't think about (or care about) sports, all that much. (I am more interested in opera - I'm an old-school faggot ;-))) But, anyway, those are the questions about football that are flitting through my bald head, at the moment.

~ "A" XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

P.S. I know I have mentioned this before, but I have a friend who is a famous TV critic, who got me turned on to watching "Friday Night Lights", a drama about kids on a football team in rural Texas. I really got into this series when my legs were at their worst, and I had to keep them propped up for three hours a day. . . and I was just mesmerized. I went out and bought the whole series, and loved every second of it - it was so passionate, and so well-written. Probably the best straight TV drama ever done, outside (in a very different genre) The Sopranos.

"Friday Night Lights" is just heartbreakingly touching. (Of course, my TV critic friend's wife laughed, and said, "A, you just loved it because of all the cute guys on it!") And there are a lot of cute guys on it. But the series meant a whole lot more to me, than that. You should check it out. (I would for sure send season one to Jon, for his birthday, if he ever wanted!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG37AylK1_s

 

[joninliverton]

I understand your concerns Ambi however, one has to realise how big the sport has become in the UK. There are 3 NFL games in London this year and already they are sold out - last night's attendance was over 83 thousand - that's more than the English soccer team get. BTW the raiders already have 2 English guys on their books.

[h=1]NFL Draft makes Menelik Watson Oakland Raiders' second British player[/h]Manchester-born offensive tackle taken in second round to join defensive end Jack Watson, from London, in California

Menelik was interviewed on last night's TV programme last night.