NFL in London

National Football League in London

2022 Giants Packers London

Giants-Packers London

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Wowza! What a heck of a game that was between the Saints and Vikings last Sunday, as the sun came out to bring London one beauty of a game!

And guess what? We do it all again this week, as it’s Giants-Packers London this weekend!

To help you figure out what to do, where to do, and all the latest news, we have a packed little diary of ‘to-do’s’ to make your trip extra special.

Here’s what you need to know for the weekend of October 7th to 9th.

Transit Strike

Get ready to go nowhere, as the transit union is once again using this weekend to try to shame a Tory Party Conference with stagnation, catching NFL fans in the crossfire.

A national rail strike is due to go ahead on Sat Oct 8th, meaning that trains into London, out of London and some of the national rail lines will be affected.
Tubes and buses should be fine, but you might experience a knockoff affect of noticeable gaps.

If you are planning on travelling this weekend, make sure you plan ahead, as it will be a slow start on Sunday before the trains are up and running again at full tilt.

Getting to the Game

There are quick a few ways to get to the game, with the tube, overground and parking nearby all being options.

Direct trains from Liverpool street will have you at Tottenham within 25 minutes, and the busy Victoria line will take you to Seven Sisters or Tottenham Hale where you have easy access to the stadium.

Some folks also like to park a few Overground stops away, and just zip south to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

UK vs USA

It’s America versus the United Kingdom in Women’s Football (soccer), with a high profile friendly game kicking off on Friday October 7th at Wembley stadium.

The last time these two teams played was in 2020, when America delivered a 2-0 victory over the Lionesses.

Kickoff will be at 8pm on Friday night, and coverage will be available on ITV.

The game is SOLD OUT, so if you are looking for tickets, make sure you find someone who isn’t going to steal from you.

Football (soccer)

If you’re looking to watch football (soccer) this weekend, you’re in luck!
If you’re looking to watch college football this weekend…you’re kind of SOL.

It’s another big weekend in the Premier League, with some massive London derbys to check out if you can find the time.

Saturday kicks of with some major matches, as posh club Chelsea host Wolverhampton at 15:00GMT, and if you fancy a trip to the coast-Brighton and Hove host Tottenham in the 17:30 match.

There are some great traditional pubs to watch the games in, so make sure you explore the neighbourhoods to find a lovely local boozer.

Sunday might be the NFL, but it’s also a major day in English football, with games on all day-but it’s the later games that might be a problem.

Arsenal host Liverpool in an exciting 16:00GMT match, that will be on most tvs in most pubs across the country.

Later, Everton play host to Manchester United in a 19:00 GMT corker than will also predominate TVs in pubs and bars across the capital.

Comedy

London loves to laugh, so why not check out some of the great comedy on this weekend to laugh it up?

The Backyard Comedy Club in Bethnal Green has a great line-up on this weekend, and it’s one of the places Dave Chappelle likes to warm up before destroying larger venues.
Get your tickets here.

https://backyardcomedyclub.co.uk/event/backyard-comedy-club-saturday-night-427/

American comedy fans will have no idea British comedy icon Stewart Lee is, but they can find out as Lee performs in a series of intimate London comedy dates.
There are still some tickets available, and American comedy fans will be pleasantly surprised at the different stylings of Lee.
Tickets here:

https://www.stewartlee.co.uk/live-dates/

Fair Time

The fall fair is a classic of Americana, with rides, fun games, and novelty foods sure to choke arteries.

South London is hosting its’ own, with Fairgame Funfair setting up in Canary Wharf.

Loads of games, digitally updated games from your past and plenty of booze to make this an all day fun day.

Tickets and info here:

https://www.wearefairgame.com/

Sundays

As we have mentioned in the past, London is not a late night city-and Sundays are the worst of the bunch.

Please be careful in areas like Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square, as they are very dangerous at night.

Areas like Shoreditch, Highbury & Islington, and Finsbury Park all have late night options.

Stay safe, and watch this space for more info!

 

 

Skoll London

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What a first day of the NFL in London, as the Minnesota Vikings pipped the New Orleans Saints just prior to OT to get their third London victory.
The hobbled down Saints made their best efforts, but couldn’t hold the Vikes off in the end, as it was a Skoll London victory.

Despite the slow start, both teams came alive in the second half, adding 33 points between them, and electrifying the London hometown crowd.

How did you enjoy the game between the Saints and Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?

Here are a few things we did notice that maybe you did, and some of the folks at home sure did.

Big Smoke

Pyrotechnics before kickoff is a rookie mistake, as the Tottenham crew soon found out with thick black smoke enveloping the centre of the field.

US TV announcers were quick to inform viewers at home that the picture might look dark and  cloudy not because it’s London, but because all those fireworks were just set off and it’s going to take a while to clear.

Be interesting to see if they let off that many fireworks prior to the Giants and Packers.

Fan Noise

Yes, it’s a London game, and yes, the fans comprise the whole league, not just the two teams playing.

It’s always interesting to get the perspective of US based fans who couldn’t believe how quiet it was, whereas many UK fans were bloody hoarse today from screaming all day.

Sure, you don’t get people screaming as hard at third down conversions, but they’re just happy to be at the game.

It’s not as loud as an American game, and that’s ok.

London Prices

‘Welcome to London, three pints will be £20.70.’

For anyone who doesn’t live in London, getting a pint in the capital sometimes requires a guarantor to make sure you can afford the debt.

With prices for regular pints hitting £6.90 at the stadium, many fans found it easier to quaff as many as they could before hand, or pop into the Tesco for a cheeky 4 pack.

Thanks to the pond taking a massive dump earlier in the week, American tourists must have felt that they hit the lottery with an almost par exchange rate.

Please-spend your money Yankee Doodle Dandies! We have gas bills to pay this winter.

Transit Strike

Despite the big bad warnings from the RMT and transit unions, travel on Sunday wasn’t as bad as could be expected.

Londoners bemoan the frequency of our transit woes, and it might seem malarky to foreigners, until you get here and wonder ‘how the heck do I get home.’

Thankfully fans were aware that Saturday and early Sunday would be nonsense on national rail, and made plans to get to the stadium early.

Hey guess what? There’s another strike this weekend, and this one could be even more of a doozy!

Sounds lovely! Travel smart and plan ahead.

NFL on Southbank

Well that’s pretty nifty neat-o huh?

For the first time, the NFLUK has brought the fan experience to the banks of the river Thames, with the adjustment to Southbank from Regent Street.
The result is a more fresh and invigorating stroll through the NFL.

While Westminster was nice to play host to the NFL for a few decades, the rot of Soho and surrounding area made it feel like it was stuck on the street like a piece of gum, and that the stores all secretly hated everyone in jerseys who would never shop in their stores.

It’s a whole different vibe now, make sure that you head down to Southbank and check out all of the activities that they have on this week as well.

Giants vs Packers

We have another game here in London this week!

More info to follow on all the exciting things to do in London this week!

 

 

Week 2 Picks

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What a week that was in the NFL!

The Saints survive a sweaty one in Hot-lanta, The Fins toss around the Pats, Baker gets baked at home, and the Bears toss around the 49ers for fun.

If you thought Week 1 in the NFL was a tasty treat, wait til you see what the boys have cooked up for you in their Week 2 Picks!

Get all the info in lustrous form, by listening to our Week 2 Picks Podcast!

Among some of the games that the boys look at this week for your betting pleasure, includes:

Dolphins (1-0) vs Ravens (1-0) -3.5 +43.5

Miami and Tua made short work (get it?) of the Patriots last week, while Baltimore took out the Flacco trash quite easily in a beat down of the Jets.
Are the Ravens ready to roll over the fish on Sunday?
Lacking the sweaty balls heat of south Florida, the forecast for Sunday is a wet one, which could lead to more runs than passing.
Ryan likes Lamar and the boys to put Tua and co. on the shelf, as they chase win number two in week 2.
Wade thinks that the Dolphins will prove too much for Baltimore’s D, and that they will struggle to contain the slew of receivers ready to rock.
Ryan-Ravens 27 Dolphins 23
Wade-Dolphins 24 Ravens 21

Washington (1-0) vs Lions (0-1) -1.5 +45.5

Despite being fuelled by 300 litres of caffeine on Sunday, the Lions were unable to make it rain against Jalen Hurts and the Eagles.
This week the get Carson Wentz and the Commies, as the Lions head home to the dome.
Can Detroit motor boat this lack lustre Washington squad?
Ryan thinks that is a sweet payback game for Dan Campbell, to trash Dan Snyders’ team. With such a loaded squad, how can the Lions lose?
Wade agrees that Washington got lucky with some of the Jag-off mistakes last Sunday, and that Detroit has the superior squad to get the W on Sunday.
He also predicts a bucketload of points to make your fantasy heave.
Ryan-Lions 27 Washington 21
Wade-Lions 33 Washington 30

Panthers (0-1) vs Giants (1-0) -2 +43.5

What the heck-a-money? The Giants are favoured in a game? Stop the presses.
Baker and the Panthers had a tough spot last week, facing his former team in his first game, that saw his old boys pretty much call every play he ran.
Things should be a bit easier this week, not having to face that Browns D again.
Wade is all over the Panthers this week, as the numbers in Week 1 don’t really bely the truth.
Look for Baker and Robbie A to light it up, with Christian grabbing at least 1 TD with this massive legs.
The Giants will not be able to compete.
Ryan agrees-and he thinks that New York being favoured with 1 win, is a sign of troubling times.
Some good fantasy value in this game as well.
Ryan-Panthers 20 Giants 17
Wade-Panthers 24 Giants 20

Falcons (0-1) vs LA Rams (0-1) -10.5 +43.5

The defending SuperBowl champs are crying in their rings, after taking a beating from the Buffalo Bills in week 1.
Limp, inept, and ineffective, and those are just the side effects of some of the American medication advertised!
Atlanta kept it close in a Mariota Moment game, which saw the eventually fall to Jameis and the sloppy D. This isn’t a sluggish Saints D that the Falcons are facing this week however, it’s a very angry, Super Bowl defending team.
Ryan likes the Rams to whoop the Falcons around on Sunday, with Allen Robinson finally paying off some fantasy points for some of his fans.
He doesn’t think that the Rams will be that dominant, and likes Mariota and Patterson to bring the points.
Wade too likes the Rams to win, and thinks that this 10 point spread is easy-peasy for a vengeful team.
LA lacked that killer spirit in week 1, and they will be uber focused this week against a sad sack bird team.
Yes, the Rams will win-and they won’t struggle
Ryan-Rams 30 Falcons 24
Wade-Rams 28 Falcons 10
That’s it for our Week 2 picks, let us know how you did.
Another great podcast up in a few days, enjoy week 2!

NFL London Viewings

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The 2022 NFL is officially underway, and the big football energy as palpable across the UK with the promise of 3 homes games, a German game, and no COVID!

As a group that has hosted NFL viewing parties across the UK for the past 15 years, we are often asked ‘where are the best places to watch the NFL in the UK’?

Normally we work with pubs, bars and venues to host wicked, weekly NFL parties across the city, however this year is a bit different.
While we will be promoting some great NFL events around the International games, we won’t be supporting weekly NFL London viewings for a few reasons this season.

Pub Chains

As you may have noticed living in Britain over the past decade, that the number of independent, local pubs has dropped substantially.

Even if an independent pub or small chain of them does well, it’s only a matter of time before the big boys buy them up, and rip apart the uniqueness of the pub to maximise operating efficiency.

We have always enjoyed working with independent pubs, as they are limited to do more for their customers and not laden down by corporate double-speak or ridiculous growth projections.

Making matters worse is that many of these large pub chains ‘promise’ to show the NFL, in many cases it’s up to a manager-who might decide to keep the 8-0 beating of Man City of Villa on the screen, because ‘4 lads in the corner are watching it’, ignoring the 70 NFL fans queuing for the 6pm game.

These large pub chains don’t care about your NFL viewing experience, and constantly drill at us the need to ‘increase foot traffic weekly to show corporate that this is working’, while at the same time serving football food that tastes like someone went dumpster-diving at Iceland.

These pubs have also jacked their prices up ‘in line with the cost of living’, which we’re sorry-no one should be paying over £7 for a pint.

The pub industry has been struggling heavily post Covid, with Sunday nights taking a particularly big hit.
Getting a pub to stay open late has been like…well, trying to get a London pub to stay open late on a Sunday.

We have also had to recently shy away from late night Sundays in Leicester Square, Soho and Piccadilly Circus areas due to the rise in robberies, stabbings and assaults.
If you are going to be out LATE at night in these areas, be very careful, do not travel alone, nor under the influence.
Last year was very bad for some of our NFL fans in that area-so caution is cool!

Cost of Living

Smell that? Things are getting expensive again-as the cost of living crisis is making things way more expensive.

People and pubs alike are struggling, with pubs having to jack their prices to afford their bills, while the eye-balls of the nation are trying to focus on the thermostat to combat the heating crisis.

With a ’round’ of pints doubling over the past 5 years, we thought it would be better to point out the value NFL places, rather than trying to funnel fans into a maelstrom of minimum spends, deposits, and set menus that fell out of the fryer.

World Cup

Did we mention that every pub we talked to also said that they would only play the NFL after the World Cup was done? No-well there’s that.

With the World Cup crossing over to the NFL for the first time ever, British pubs couldn’t give a toss about your American football fascination. The trophy is coming home! (spoiler alert-it isn’t).

World Cup games will feature heavily on Sundays as, as well as culminating in a final a week before Christmas, effectively choking the NFL into TV submission.

So if you’re making plans to watch the NFL in November/ December-make sure to check that it hasn’t been given a yellow card.

Places to Go

Just because we aren’t working with venues, doesn’t mean that there aren’t places that will show the games.

It is highly unlikely that venues will show the 9pm game in its entirety, and no way that you are able to watch the 1:30am game in public.

That being said, there are casinos in Mayfair and Stratford that are open 24 hrs, and you might be able to get them to throw on Sky sports for a laugh.

We have also been informed by many venues that NFL Gamepass is no longer available for commercial sale, meaning that for many venues-the NFL just isn’t worth it.

There are NO pubs in London that show all the games every week anymore.
Sorry-the times they are a changing.

Social NFL

That being said, many of us have taken the pub online-preferring to stay at home, or a friend’s and shit-talk their fantasy fans from the safety of their phone.

If you’re looking to join some of our group chats across NFL, and Betting, just get in touch!

We’ll also let you know about events that we have on for the London games, Thanksgiving and the playoffs.

It’s great to have the NFL back everyone!

If you do have a venue that is showing the NFL every Sunday, please let us know!

 

 

Week 1 Review

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Well that was a bit of a surprise wasn’t it?
Week 1 came in like a rainbow, and left like a sloppy wet storm as the 2022 NFL season is officially under way.

If you’ve just awoken from a coma, or have been inconsolable over the death of Queen Elizabeth, we’re here to give you a recap, in our Week 1 Review.

Bills Hype

At the start of the season, everyone was talking Josh Allen and the Bills, and how they were primed for a SuperBowl run this year.
Well after their dismantling of the LA Rams on TNF, it certainly looks like the Bills are ready to shuffle off to the post season.
Sure, there were loads of mistakes in the game, but by the second quarter we saw a Buffalo squad that moved the ball wherever Josh wanted it to be, not to mention stifling Matt Stafford and a Rams team who looked like they didn’t even know who they were playing.
Get yourself to Witness Protection-because the Bills Mafia are looking for victims.

NFC North

Bears win, and Aaron Rodgers gets choked out by the Vikes. Yes, you heard that correctly.
Rodgers looked incredibly pissed in a big L to the division challenging Vikings.
Flipping channels to watch Davante Adams snagging oodles of Carr’s balls, while Rodgers limp balls found no hands.
While it’s too early to ‘count out’ any team-it certainly seems that the Packers need some sort of Viagra to get the blood pumping.

The Bears were able to smother Trey Lance on a wet Sunday, but it was the Bears D who was the real star here-making it tough for the 49ers move the ball.

Detroit lost in a nail biter against a tough Philly squad-causing Dan Campbell to double his caffeine intake.

Minnesota is looking good.

What the Mahomes

Who said Patrick Mahomes was too old, past his prime and would never be back to the big game? (no one hopefully).
We did say that Jackson Mahomes needs to STFU and get his grown ass a job…

Patty Mahomes was incredible on Sunday night, ripping the Cardinals a new one with 5 TDs and 360 yards passing. Sure, the Cardinals are dealing with loads of injuries already, but it’s clear that ‘Tyreek Who?’, isn’t an issue any more.

Now if only Jackson and JuJu could make a super Tik Tok that destroyed them both…

Dak It

Just when you were getting ready to roast the Cowboys for another feckless season, Dan goes out and hurts his hand again.

Dem Boyz took a hefty beating from TB12 and the Bucs on SNF-not as much as Dak’s hand, but a beating nonetheless.

Many Vegas bookies have already written Dallas off as a playoff team.

Back to the back up QB once again.

Kicking It

What the heck was with the kickers in week 1?

The Steelers-Bengals game was painful to watch, as each kicker took the worst of the early games, and dragged it into the second set of games to torture us all.

After that many misses, surely they could just bring a fan in and try to give it a go?

Koo was on fire…the east of you…practice!

Justin Jefferson

If we ever run out of solutions for the energy crisis, we should just hire Justin Jefferson to ‘light it up’ for us every week.

The much vaunted Packers D was no match for Jefferson, who was so open-he was offering free shopping carts to anyone who wanted a ride.

Jefferson proved he is well worth the fantasy splurge after humbling Green Bay.

Imagine what he’ll do against a really BAD defence?

Patriotical

Could the New England Patriots be the worst team in the AFC East this year? Sure looks like it after getting dick-punched by the Dolphins on Sunday.

Sure, it was a sweltering day in south Florida, but Billy B and the boys went down there early to prepare for the game.

Eesh. Mac Jones took a few tough hits, but even tougher on the Pats is that it looks like scoring is going to be REALLY hard for them this year.

Oh well…off to Week 2.

Who do you like?