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September 7th sees the big kick off of the 2017/18 NFL season when the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs. Fans from around the world will tune in (irrespective of time zones) as the sport’s popularity continues to boom, no more so than in the UK.

 

Drama, Turkey, Melting pots, Barbecues & Violence...

Thanks to the nail-biting drama of February’s showpiece Super Bowl when the Patriots overcame a record points deficit late in the game to sneak a thrilling overtime win, anticipation is higher than ever. There is nothing like a classic Super Bowl story to really stoke the fires and it certainly has! Many of us who stayed up until 5am, bleary-eyed but gripped, have only just about got over it…

Since the 1970’s, NFL has been the most popular sport in the US, when it first began to overtake baseball as their ‘national game.’ Major league basketball and ice hockey are still huge, alongside soccer, boxing/MMA and athletics but it’s the NFL that means the most to our cousins across the pond. So much is tied up culturally in their obsession with the sport, from the Thanksgiving Day game ritual (almost revered like a religious occurrence as families watch as they feast on turkey) to Monday Night Football, which Sky Sports has tried to emulate in the UK with their Premier League post-weekend football coverage.

NFL games attract fans from a vast melting pot of cultures, religions and ethnic backgrounds. Typically a team’s fanbase naturally reflects the geographical and historical background of the club’s location, such as the Oakland Raiders and their huge hispanic following, New England Patriots rowdy Irish contingent and the New York Giants’ vast Italian-American support to name just a few. This adds colour, vibrancy and an immediately recognisable and unique sense of identity to each team.

Thousands of team flags and banners adorn the stadiums on game day and it really can be a sight to behold. And that’s just once the game has begun! Even more popular nowadays are the ‘tailgate parties’ that fans throw in stadium parking lots pre-game, usually involving some kind of barbecue (or ‘cook out’) and a makeshift bar emanating from their vehicle’s boot!

So what is it about this game that people love so much? Well one major reason is simply that, as awful as it sounds, people have traditionally always been excited by violence. A big hit, a ferocious sack or a vicious tackle sets off the crowd as much (if not more than) a touchdown or field goal that actually adds points to the scoreboard. This love of aggression is something primal, something akin to the reason many are drawn to ‘blood sports’ such as boxing, or more recently Mixed Martial Arts/UFC. There is something that appeals to many about almost tasting danger and injury but crucially, from the comfort of the sidelines or stands. Many fans talk of channelling their pent-up frustrations through watching others physically cause injury to each other...All of this may be true but let’s also not forget the sheer athleticism and skill that modern-day NFL players showcase. These are the cream of young American athletes, usually straight out of college where a large majority of them could have progressed into any one of the different professional sports. Watch the NFL games on any given weekend and you are enjoying athletes who are the almost certainly the great lost hopes of baseball, basketball, athletics and boxing...Lost because they chose to go the NFL route instead of to those sports. Wide receivers often display Olympic-standard speed, giant linebackers and defensive lineman show the strength and agility that would maybe see them challenge in the Olympics or as boxers and so on...But football seems to be the holy grail for current college athletes in the US. The ludicrous salaries on offer are not unrelated to this trend either...

The UK has long flirted with the NFL, having televised it to differing degrees of popularity since the late 1980’s...However this time, it really has stuck. Wembley has been playing host to a number of actual NFL regular season games, to great demand and success. Not meaningless exhibitions, real genuine mid-season games that matter. This popularity shows no sign of waning, as the BBC devotes more time and better time slots to highlight shows and Sky Sports show live games also. It really is onwards and upwards from here.

The first UK game at Wembley this season is on Sunday September 24th and sees the 2012/13 Super Bowl winners Baltimore Ravens face perennial strugglers the Jacksonville Jaguars. The much-maligned Jags may not be the strongest outfit but their status as Wembley’s unofficial ’home’ team means they will be vociferously cheered by hungry UK fans accordingly!

Sunday 1st October has the pride of Louisiana New Orleans Saints against the ever-popular Miami Dolphins. Sunday 22nd October sees the Arizona Cardinals play the Los Angeles Rams and the last UK game on Sunday 29 October will be the purple-clad Minnesota Vikings v the lowly Cleveland Browns. Tickets for all of these games are flying off the shelves, with sell-outs expected across the board

So surely you are tempted to get into the spirit and jump on the NFL bandwagon?

If none of the above teams float your boat then maybe you can state your affiliation with the Pittsburgh Steelers flag, Denver Broncos flag, Dallas Cowboys flag or with the twin 80’s legends of the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears?

Whoever your team, buy your flag now at The Flag Shop to join in on the fun…