NFL in London

National Football League in London

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London 2020 Games

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Damn you Covid 19 for taking away the London NFL games for 2020. Imagine, we could be basking in the glow of having these four games played on our soil right now. But alas, that damn virus has other plans.

The NFL will be back. We can’t guarantee this, but with the amount that the NFL has invested in the UK, coupled with the huge appetite for NFL tickets, it seems pretty dang likely.
Tottenham literally changed its stadium to accommodate the game, and tied in sponsors and partners to make the game happen here, so all signs point to the NFL returning to London, and potentially other places in the UK.
Liverpool and Manchester have all signalled moves that they would like to adapt their stadiums to host NFL games in the future.
The only real question is when.

Earlier in 2020, when everything was rosy and had the potential for an amazing year, we took a stab at which teams would be coming to London for the 4 games split at Tottenham and Wembley equally.
We used some maths, insider tips and our own gumption to determine which teams MIGHT be coming to the UK for this year.
We have no idea if they were right or wrong, but we did use some logical inference based on previous years.
Here are the games we THOUGHT would happen.

Broncos vs Falcons
Week 3-Sept 27/ 20
Tottenham Stadium

Arthur Blank had confirmed that the Falcons were going to be hosting a home game in London, although he didn’t know who they would be facing. Given that the Jags usually host the last 2 games of the London series, we assumed that Atlanta would be one of the first games up.
London gets very busy in the autumn, and their are traditional events like Diwali that are big draws in the centre of town.
The NFLUK usually dresses Oxford Circus in NFL garb at the beginning of the season to get the UK crowd hyped for the start of the season.
We looked at other events scheduled, keeping in mind the London games signify the start of bye weeks, to give teams a chance to rest when they get home.
Given all of this information, and prospecting on the Falcons schedule, we chose an AFC/ NFC matchup between the Falcons and Denver Broncos.
Were we right? We’ll never know

Patriots vs Dolphins
Week 4-Oct 4/ 20
Tottenham Stadium

Part of what determines who comes to London is home attendance. If your team is struggling to draw home fans, then the league will move you up to chuck across the pond. The Dolphins have seen attendance dwindle in recent years, so they would be at the top of the queue to come over. Add to this the mercurial hurricane weather in Florida up til November, and Miami made sense.
You also have to look at which teams HAVEN’T been here in a while, and the Patriots are a prime candidate. The Brady-less Pats and a scorned Robert Kraft might not have the gumption to say no to the league, so this AFC East matchup would make sense.
We also had an inside tip from Boston that this was on the cards, so we went with our gut.
Again, we will never know if we were right.

Colts vs Jaguars
Week 7-Oct 25
Wembley Stadium

One of the takeaways from previous NFL in London games, is that the NFLUK generally likes to schedule games around the time change. This makes the difference between the east coast only 4 hours, as the US time changes happen on different weekends. They have also made an effort to finish the UK games before America gets hit with November holidays.
Jacksonville Jaguars were due to play 2 games at Wembley, with a division rival being one of the prime targets. Since Indy hadn’t been to the UK in ages, and Phillip Rivers was at the helm, we assumed that this would be a logical bet.
Too bad, because this would have been a heck of a game.

Lions vs Jaguars
Week 8-November 1/20
Wembley Stadium

Detroit Lions were another team we were secretly told was on the chopping block for a trip to Blighty.
Their home attendance was at Covid levels even before the virus was discovered, and they hadn’t been to London in a few years.
These dates also branch over the time change, so week 7 and week 8 were the Jaguars weeks here we assumed with a great deal of certainty.
Ending the UK games by November 1st also allowed the teams to return to the chaotic November schedule, and the start of the REALLY rainy season in the UK.
Did we get this one right? We’ll never know.

Optimism is rampant for the 2021 games, as the MLB has confirmed that their 2020 games will be moved to 2021 in London. Will the NFLUK follow suit?
Hopefully, but it’s too hard to say at this point.
This damn virus is showing no signs of weakness, and adapts more than the Terminator.

Make sure you LIKE our Facebook page, as we often use this as a point of communication with our fans.
https://www.facebook.com/nflinlondon

 

 

 

Week 3 Upsets

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Which losers in waiting will become upset masters in Week 3 of the NFL? Wade McElwain puts his tips together to give you a few options for Sunday.

Week 2 was full of injuries, which means week 3 has the potential for some explosive upsets. Which ones does he like the most?

In week 2 Wade said to bet on the Giants to upset the Bears (which they almost did)-so Wade decided not to bet on the Bears this week, even though he does like their chances versus the sloppy Falcons this week.

Week 2 Picks

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Wade & Ryan make their predictions for Week 2 in the NFL in the latest podcast. They also break down what happened in week 1, and how that will affect some of the scores this Sunday.
Wade had an impressive record of 10-5-1 last week, where Ryan was a more modest 4-11-1, what does this week hold?

The guys look at some of the key games, some of which they agree on and some that totally do not. Among these:

Falcons (0-1) vs Cowboys (0-1)
Dallas -5 +52.5

Both teams lost last week and will be looking for retribution in week 2. Matt Ryan was able to chuck up 400+ yards in week 1, and still takes an L, of course he was facing the Seahawks, but they will need to show more this week. The Cowboys looked flat in week 1, with Aaron Donald and the Rams beating them up and down the field. Will Zeke finally get his legs back?
Ryan likes a Cowboys beating of the Falcons here, predicting a 31-17 victory.
Wade isn’t so sure, and likes the Falcons to cover the 5 point spread, with a Dallas victory of 28-26.

Rams (1-0) vs Eagles (0-1)
Pick +46

This game is a pick, which means both team have an equally bad chance of losing in this one. Philly looked limp in week 1, with Miles Sanders out with an injury. He’s back this week, but will have a tough job against that fast LA front line. Can old man DeShaun Jackson come back to life and score some points at home?
Ryan predicts an LA beatdown of Philly, with a 24-13 drubbing.
Wade likes Philly to win at home, as their secondary should make some big plays off of Goff. He calls a Philly win 23-20.

Giants (0-1) vs Bears (1-0)
Chicago -5 +42.5

The Bears won a heavy fourth quarter battle with the Lions last week, thanks to the last minute antics of Mitch. Of course it helps when Detroit loses a key member of its D allowing Trubisky to find holes. How will the drama of Allen Robinson on social media affect the locker room?
As for the Giants, they were smacked around by the Steelers, but Jones had some great moments of play, and some great efforts from Darius Slayton.
Both Wade and Ryan like the Giants to upset here, as much as it breaks Wade’s Beary heart.
Ryan has the Giants winning 23-20, and Wade sees it as a 27-24 victory for the G-Men.

Make sure you listen to our podcast for all the NFL tips and news. We are hoping to start hosting NFL viewing parties in the city soon, just watch this space.

Fantasy Draft Party

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Like many at the start of September, we held our annual Fantasy Draft to commemorate the start of the season. Fantasy Draft’s are great ways to bond with fellow NFL fans to challenge each other in your game and playability knowledge of this great game. It’s also a good chance to emotionally bitch slap last year’s losers, bow to the finite rantings of last year’s winner, and plan for the future.

Our NFL in London Fantasy Pool is going on over a decade of play, with a melange of international fans who we have met in our hosting of NFL events across the city.
There are two leagues, the ‘Eh League’ which is comprised of the best of the best, and the ‘B League’, the relegation league where hopefuls can exchange a league win with that of the Eh loser. To be the best you have to beat the best.

We held this years draft at the Princess Alexandra Pub in Crouch End. It’s our lovely local run by our mate Nick Ford and his wife and 2 Alaskan Malmutes. With the crush of Covid, we opted for a nearby place that we could safely distance, as well as support an independent establishment. They have great burgers, Sunday roasts and stay open until 1am on Sundays so you can catch the second game, and be back in Kings Cross in 20 minutes.
https://princessalexandran8.co.uk/

We used the FanDraft software again this year, and cannot recommend this product enough. It is an easy and fun way to host your draft, and you can immediately export the results to input into your fantasy app. You can also make it fun with walk-on music, custom images and funny comments that I as the commissioner can input. We teamed it up with Facebook’s Messenger to create a private group that we could run for over 3 hours. Since we had folks in Dubai, New Zealand, Romania and Scotland, this was really a fun little addition.
https://fandraft.com/

It was nice to have a sense of ‘normal’ again, and hope that all of you also had a great one as well. It’s a messed up old world we live in, & a fantasy group is like a fraternity of sanity. No matter what shit people have to say about what on social media, NFL fantasy chat is all about the BS.
Let’s see what you have to say about it Monday morning.
Good luck everyone.

 

Lady QBs-1

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Lockdown has led to lunacy! Have you noticed?
One of the triggering elements that I have noticed is that the more bored people get, the more they play around with apps and memes to occupy the darkness that envelopes our everyday life.
Case in point-NFL QBs as ladies.

FaceApp is one of those hokey apps that allows you to cross the gender barrier to see what you would look like as a member of the opposite sex. This self-serving digital switch not only allows you to revel in your curious side, but also gives your mates the opportunity to rank how they would ‘do you.’
Nothing creepy about this at all.

It was only a matter of time then that someone would take a look at some of the biggest names in the NFL and think, ‘yep, it’s your time.’
As if racism wasn’t a hot enough issue, let’s toss a little misogyny in for good measure.
Of course I kid, but it seems like everyone has their knickers in such a knot these days it’s hard to be able to joke about anything.

As a comedian however, I reserve the right to be able to throw around some playful banter.
Therefore I have decided to look at some of the best QB face-swaps and measurements their potential as a girlfriend.
No lady bashing here, just equating their dateability with some of their on and off the field misadventures.
A lampoon of all their foibles and fuck-ups.
If this offends you…seriously…just go away.

Here we go.

Thomasina Brady

First off she’s a cheater. You’ve heard it from everyone, and even worse there’s a rumour she might deflate your balls. Don’t get me wrong she’s a stone cold stunner, and can turn any bad situation into a good one at the last minute.
Don’t worry about her wanting to share her food with you, as she’s on some weird diet where she only eats odd plants and nuts. The burger and fries are all yours.
While Thomasina is a trophy wife who you can see staying with forever, chances are she’s going to fuck off to Florida with her big friend Roberta Gronk to see out there retirement.
Doubtful she will let you keep any of her fancy rings when you split either.

Drew Brees

No need to change the first name, as Drew swings both ways in this scenario. If you want to date this one, you better have deep pockets, as Drew loves the bling. This ‘Diamond Lady’ is known to blow half her wad on the sparkly trinkets, but don’t worry-she couldn’t spot a fake if jumped on her finger.
Drew does have a big weakness when it comes to social media postings, as she often will post something without thinking. Most people know her intentions are good, but you might want to wear a helmet on this ride, as she is known to backpedal.

Erin Rodgers

Whatever you do, don’t bring up her family. The Rodgers clan love to make money off Erin’s success and her sister even made an appearance on a reality show to capitalise off of her fame.
If you’re looking for a drama-free relationship, don’t stop here.
Erin is known for her fiery personality & competitiveness. She is more likely to beat you at beer-chugging, wing eating and arm-wrestling then lose it on you for being a ‘loser.’
She’s the kind of girl to get you through the end of the night, but will probably end up dumping you behind you back and moving on quickly.

Lamara Jackson

Imagine a girl who can do everything better than you, but is too humble to make you feel about it.
She’s the kind of girl your friends would ask ‘what is she doing with him’ while secretly making fantasies about her and what life would be like if she was theirs.
Young, hot, and full of energy, Lamara is most likely to get tired of you, but when she dumps you, you will feel like it is totally your fault.
She has a bit of a chip on her shoulder from last year, which is only going to make her hotter in the future.
When you think of Lamara, you will always ask ‘what if’?

Michelle Trubisky

Michelle is what happens when you meet someone online, but they turn out to be nothing like what you were promised.
The relationship starts out fast and exciting, until you realise that she has serious spatial awareness.
She is the Mr. Magoo of girlfriends.
The kind that leaves the car in drive when she gets out, constantly loses her phone, her keys, and trips over her own feet. When you get frustrated she cries, then you feel even worse.
As soon as you started dating her you realise that it was a mistake, so you keep doing things so that she’ll dump you.


Jody Burrow

‘She’s way too young!’ That’s what all your friends say as soon as they meet her.
You try to explain that she’s out of college and was so hot and smart there, and you can’t wait to move her back to your shitty hometown so that everyone can be blown away by her talents.
Deep down however, you’re not sure yourself and every time you go out in public you wonder what people are saying about you.
Will she stay with you forever, turn out to be a bust, or end up leaving you once she gets bored of this town.
She’s too young…wait a few years.

Of course, what do I know…I’m single and have a horrible track record with dating women. I have enough crazies in my back pocket to form a new ‘Suicide Squad’.

I’ll be back with another edition of Lady QBs. Who would be your ideal QB to date.
No judgement, no gender bias, just a fun look at the world we live in.
Stay safe, stay sane, bring back the NFL.