D in Dallas Does Not Stand For Discipline

As a fan of the New York Football Giants, I couldn't be happier to see Dallas Cowboys lose. Especially in such a painful way.

I can't imagine how, with the ball 6 inches away from the goal line, how the Dallas defense could just stand up and not bother attacking, even with the Lions' QB Stafford feverishly giving the "spike ball" signal. The ball is 6 inches away from the game-winning touchdown! Dig in! Defend!

But that sort of sums up why the Cowboys haven't won it all these past few years. For all the focus on Dez Bryant's sideline theatrics, the whole team seems to go nuts whenever anything is on the line. Mental errors, costly penalties... apply a little pressure and the team goes haywire. That's on the players, yes, but its also a failure of leadership. I'm looking at you, Jason Garrett.

Of course, as a Giants' fan, I'm all too used to watching haywire football this season. If only there was someone to blame for an out-of-sync offense that continually feeds Peyton Hillis with carries while far more talented players are on the field... *cough Kevin Gilbride *cough.

Advice For The Giants Ticker Tape Parade

I unfortunately missed the deadline today to apply for City Hall seats to the Giants Super Bowl Champions Parade. That means, if I want to go, I'll have to vie with the masses for a glimpse of the glorious G-men somewhere along the parade route.

Here's a compendium of resources I put together in the past for the Yankees Ticker Tape Parade. The same rules still apply:

Let The Ticker Tape Parade Commence!

Then again, your experience will never be better than this: The Guy Who Became A Giant For A Day

Broken Gronk? Don't Believe It, Giants

Gronkowski wearing boot on lower left leg

Jan 23, 6:29 pm EST

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP)—New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is wearing a removable boot on his lower left leg after being injured in the AFC championship game.

Gronkowski wore the boot as he walked through the locker room and into the trainer’s area on Monday. He did not speak with reporters.

The second-year star, who set an NFL record for a tight end with 17 touchdown catches, was hurt in the final minute of the third quarter of Sunday’s 23-20 win when he was tackled after a 23-yard reception. He limped off the field but seemed to be walking better as he went to the locker room. Less than five minutes later, Gronkowski was back in the game.

He finished with five catches for 87 yards.

Hmm... the key to the Patriots offense in a walking boot prior to the Superbowl against the Giants. Where have I heard this before??

Oh yeah: Broken Brady? Don't Believe It, Giants.

Last time these two teams met in the Superbowl, it ended with my friends and I parading through the Manhattan streets, shouting "18-1" into well-known Boston fan bars.

I'm hoping for a repeat.

The 5 Worst Football Games Ever Played By The New York Giants

What happened yesterday? Anything interesting? I can't recall. Doesn't seem like yesterday ever happened.

Oh, who am I kidding. I can't forget. The New York Giants were up 31-10 with 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter, at home, against their hated rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, in a battle for division supremacy, a first round bye and home field playoff advantage... and they collapsed like the roof of the Minnesota Vikings' Metrodome.

I was at the game. You always want to be a part of history when you go a game at the stadium, so you can tell your friends you saw Osi Umenyora sack McNabb 6 times, or saw Tiki Barber ring up 276 yards from scrimmage in a close Giants win. You just don't want to witness the other team make history, like the Eagles scoring the most points in the fourth quarter that they ever have, ever.

To me, it was the worst Giants loss in franchise history. No, it wasn't a playoff game, but it made Philadelphia fans happy and rewarded a dog-murderer, at the expense of a possible first round bye and home field advantage. It got me to thinking about other terrible Giants' losses over the years...

5. The "Miracle" At The Meadowlands: This one was before my time, but every Giants fan knows about it. In 1978, the Giants were about to upset the Eagles 17-12, potentially knocking Philadelphia out of the playoffs. All the Giants had to do to win was run out the clock. As in, hike the ball, kneel down. The Eagles had no timeouts, the Giants were leading, and there were 31 seconds left. Kneel the ball, it's over. Instead, the Giants ran the ball. Or tried to. The handoff was botched, Herm Edwards (future Jets coach) picked the ball up and scooted to the game-winning touchdown. A heartbreaking loss, but only #5 on our list because the Giants back then were going nowhere.

4. The 1997 NFC Wild Card Game. In 1997, the Giants had the #1 defense and was riding a hot streak into the playoffs, not bad for a team that had gone 6-10 the previous season. Then they faced Minnesota in the first round.

The Giants took a 19-3 lead into the half. By 7:42 left, they were up 22-13, still a two-score game. With a minute and a half to go, Randall Cunningham, who had been unemployed earlier that season, completed a touchdown to bring the Vikings within 2. The Vikings kicked an onside kick... and recovered. Cunningham led the Vikings into field goal range and the winner sailed through the uprights with 10 seconds left.

3. The Trey Junkin Game: The Giants were up 38-14 with 18 minutes left in the NFC Wild Card game against the San Francisco 49ers. Then they forgot how to play football. They started fighting. They drew stupid penalty after stupid penalty. The Giants' long-snapper was injured, so they had recently signed 19-year veteran Trey Junkin for field goals and punts. On a 42-yard field goal that would have iced the game, he made a terrible snap, and Matt Bryant hooked it.

With 1:00 left, San Francisco quarterback Jeff Garcia gave the 49ers the lead on a 13-yard TD pass to Tai Streets. Even so, a personal foul penalty against the 49ers would have given the Giants excellent field position for the winning field goal. Instead, Shaun Williams decided to slug the guy back, and the penalties were offsetting.

Unfathomably, the Giants got into field goal range anyway. Bryant lined up for the kick. He never got the chance. The snap was laughably bad, and Giants' punter Matt Allen heaved a desperate pass into the end zone. The pass was incomplete, but a flag was down. Pass interference, on the 49ers. Giants ball at the 1 with no time. Except a Giants' lineman was illegally downfield. The refs said that penalty negated the pass interference, and the game was over.

2. Superbowl XXXV: The Giants were coming into Superbowl XXXV off a dominant performance (41-0) in the NFC Championship game against the Minnesota Vikings. Baltimore had Trent Dilfer as their QB, and their best defensive played had just been investigated for his role in a fatal shooting.

The Giants fell behind early, due to their quarterback, Kerry Collins, throwing interception after interception. But then the Giants' Ron Dixon returned a kickoff 97 yards, cutting the Ravens lead to 17-7.

Immediately afterward, the Ravens' Jermaine Lewis returned the ensuing kickoff 84 yards for a TD.

The rout was on. Kerry Collins threw 4 interceptions total. All 16 times the Giants had the ball, they either punted or turned it over. Final score, 34-7.

1. Eight Minutes Of Hell: That's what I'm dubbing this game. And it is the worst the Giants have ever played. No, this wasn't a playoff game, no this wasn't the Superbowl, but in only this loss did the entire Giants team screw up in ways big and small to throw away an important game. People can try to make punter Matt Dodge the scapegoat, but really, no one is blameless. I was there, and it truly was 8 minutes of hell.

Part of me must have known what the Giants were in for. I took this photo at the point in the game when I thought the Giants had put the nail in the coffin:



It didn't take long for everything to go wrong.

Michael Vick, Eagles QB and former Bad Newz Kennels CEO, ran away from pressure for a monster gain. Then he connected on a 65-yard TD to TE Brent Celek. Then everyone in the stadium expected the Eagles to onside kick the ball.

Except for the Giants, who expected the Eagles to replace their starters and call it quits.

The Giants made no attempt to field the onside kick, and a few plays later, Vick ran it into the end zone to pull the Eagles within a TD.

Eli Manning and Co. couldn't do anything to run down the clock or put more points on the board. Their drive stalled with a horrific false-start penalty.

With 1:16, Vick hit Jeremey Maclin on a TD pass to cap one of the easiest drives the Eagles have ever had.

Game tied, Giants got the ball back with just over a minute. The Giants came out throwing. Manning threw his first pass about a mile from the closest Giant. His second pass was nearly intercepted. The Giants went 3 and out. Giants punter Matt Dodge headed onto the field.

At this point, I told my Dad, "Let's go."

"But Adam, the score's tied, don't you want to see overtime?"

"It's not going to overtime, Dad."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's go beat the crowd to the train."

"There's only 17 seconds left..."

"Dodge is going to shank the punt, it's going to take the Eagles one play to get into field goal range, and Akers will put it away. Let's go."

My Dad and I started shuffling down the aisle. We were almost out of our row when the snap almost went over Dodge's head. We were out of our row, onto the stairs as the punt hit Dodge's foot and made a beeline for DeShawn Jackson, the Eagles star punt returner. Jackson had crossed the 30 by the time we were two steps up the stairs to the exit. The last thing I saw, as we headed out of the stands and into the concourse, was DeShawn Jackson holding out the ball as he danced along the goal line, a few Giants halfheartedly chasing him. We missed the part where Jackson fired the ball into the stands and Giants Coach Tom Coughlin threw down his clipboard.

It was the worst loss in what is quickly becoming a frustrating season for the Giants. At one point, pundits said they were the best team in the NFL and a bonifide challenger for the Super Bowl. Now they look like they're lucky to still have a shot at the playoffs.

Matt Dodge should be let go. He's cost the Giants too much this year. But this game wasn't all his fault. How do you not prepare for an onside kick? How do you get a false start penalty with a chance to run out the game? How do you miss open receivers by so much on a pivotal drive?

I saw history. Maybe the moment when Tom Coughlin became history too.

Welcome, Giants Fans, To Nazi Stadium

Oy vey...

Nazi Insurance Company Bids To Name New Meadowlands Football Stadium

It should be said that, apparently, Allianz has apologized for their Nazi past and worked together with Jewish organizations to make amends.

Of course, according to their own website, it wasn't until 1997 that Allianz began addressing its past as a Nazi-supporting company. Coincidentally, that was the same year Allianz was sued for not paying the life insurance policies of Holocaust victims:

"After a lawsuit was filed in 1997, Allianz immediately responded by establishing a 24-hour, multilingual telephone helpline in the United States, Europe and Israel to enable potential claimants with life insurance policies, from the Holocaust-era, to have their inquiries answered. We have offered immediate payment for each legitimate claim of Holocaust victims or their heirs that was found to have been unsettled after the end of the war."

"Since 1997 Allianz has been intensively engaged in addressing its past between 1933 and 1945."

Interesting... you mean they didn't begin apologizing for their Nazi past until they were sued more than 50 years later?

Heil Giants!!!


[Update: Thanks entirely to my blog post, the Jets and Giants have canceled talks with Allianz.

Giant Ripoff


Giants' Ownership Has Some Explainin' To Do

By Guest Blogger Barry Klein

[The NYGiants announced that their new stadium will be partially funded by selling "Personal Seat Licenses"-- which can cost fans up to $20,000 to merely guarentee they'll have the chance to buy tickets to see the games, which would cost additional sums of money. Longtime Giants season ticket holder, and blog reader, Barry Klein shares his thoughts...]

Wow!!! The new Giants/Jets stadium sounds like it will be awesome. According to the owners there will be modern food service, restaurants, tailgate zones and (hold your hats) cutting edge scoreboards. Apparently, all this is being done to give the fans the “amenities they deserve.” Thanks a lot Mara and Tisch families, but if you didn’t have the money to pay for the stadium, you shouldn’t force the Giants fans to do it without consulting them beforehand.

The truth of the matter is that the old Giants stadium was fine. Not many fans had any complaints about the stadium. Traffic and parking could have been eased by adding a train, but not much to complain about inside the stadium. Because of the owners’ greed, fans now have to pay for the opportunity to keep seats they already have on top of the thousands a year they have to pay to actually attend the games. What a scam!

You hear owners around the NFL complaining about not being able to make money because of high player salaries…blah, blah, blah. Cry me a river. The owners bought the teams initially because they had more money than they knew what to do with and they wanted to have fun by actually owning and directing a franchise.

Bob Tisch paid $75 million for a 50% share in the Giants. According to a 2005 Forbes article, the franchise is now worth $800 million. If you are now worried about your investment, sell the team. Just please stop talking to the fans like we are idiots. We know this new stadium is not for us. It’s to pad your already enormous bank accounts (or if not your bank accounts, just your egos).

Are you serious? You are giving us the option to finance the seat licenses over time. Great idea!!! In such a great economic time when likely most of your fan base is having trouble paying off debts (mortgages, credit card bills, student loans, etc.), thanks for giving us the opportunity to take on more debt.

Don’t act of though you feel bad. If you truly felt bad, we’d either be keeping the old stadium or you’d be paying for this new stadium without your old, trusty ATMs…I mean the NY Giants and Jets fans. We can’t even boycott or we won’t get tickets to the team we love.

In closing, I’d like to thank the owners of the Giants for showing us the real Mara and Tisch families. We had thought the Maras, a family that has owned the team since its inception, cared about the people who helped make the team and the sport popular…the average middle-class fan. As for the Tisches, we see the charity you provide to the less affluent in the city of NY and elsewhere. However, with regard to how you treat the fans in New York, you disappoint us all.

Better Than Perfect



"They were feeling good. But we didn't treat them like an undefeated team. We didn't treat them like some Greek myth. There was no Godzilla out there.'' - New York Football Giants Wide Receiver David Tyree

Pandemonium in the streets. Chants of 18 and 1!! echoing from bars. New York City was celebrating last night, and it will be celebrating all month, if not all year, after watching the greatest upset in the history of professional football.

New York hasn't had much to celebrate recently. Since 2001, when the terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, New York sports hadn't had a good time of it. The Yankees lost to the Diamondbacks that year. Then the Marlins beat the Yanks (two recent expansion clubs! over the venerable Yankees!). Then came the infamous Red Sox disaster, when the Yankees held a 3-0 lead in the series and blew it, allowing Boston to win its first World Series since before electricity. Then came the bug game in Cleveland. Even the Mets decided to destroy the hearts of New Yorkers by seemingly locking in a playoff spot last season and then tanking it. I don't need to discuss other sports. The Knicks have been a joke for quite some while. The Rangers never played to their potential, and who knows about the Metrostars? Yes, the past few years have not been good to the Big Apple.

Last night changed all that. The Giants abused Patriots quarterback Tom Brady all night, treating him like the two-timing bastard he is. Not even Brady's dimpled chin could slow down the onslaught of the Giants' defensive line.



Brady fumbled that ball just like he fumbled his paternal responsibility for his child.

The Patriots took the lead late, but I still believed victory was possible. The Giants had time.

With a brilliant evasive move by Eli Manning, and a "how-the-hell-did-he-do-that?" catch by David Tyree, the Giants kept their hopes alive.



Chills, seriously.

For those of you who don't follow the Giants, or football... Eli Manning has been criticized his entire career for poor decision-making. And that guy who caught the pass, David Tyree? Well, Amani Toomer, the Giants' longtime wideout summed it up nicely: "He was dropping everything in practice Friday. " Toomer was being kind. Tyree's dropped everything for 20 weeks.

In that one play, they became legends.



And a few plays later, Plaxico Burress, who is missing one entire leg (and has been all year), completely faked out the Patriots defense and scored on a wide open pass play in the end zone. A few seconds later, that was all she wrote. I cried tears of joy. I wept like a baby.

The Patriots pursuit of perfection derailed. Boston fans everywhere hanging themselves. I went out to celebrate with friends, and Professor Thom's, a bar owned by Bostoners, wouldn't let us in, because we were chanting "18-1." Screw em. Let them have their shitty, empty, depressing bar. We'll take the greatest victory the NFL has ever seen (since the last time a New York team... the Jets... upset a heavily favored Goliath.)

Congrats to the Giants!! I may have badmouthed them at times this year, and at one point, even called for Tom Coughlin's firing. But that's all in the past. Life-time contract for Tom I say. And long-live Eli, the King of New York.

"Forget that parade in Boston. We're having one in New York City.'' -Giants Defensive End Michael Strahan



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PLUS: Bill Simmons, Boston fan, is a very gracious loser. He also points out that the miracle play has yet to have a name. Adam's Life will be taking suggestions. Post them in the comments below.

Here's my suggestions:

The Perfect Play
The Impossible Play
The Drunken Kangaroo Play (that's the best I can describe the "look" of the play)
The Desert Mirage (because i still can't believe it was real)
The E.T. Play (because the Eli to Tyree play seemed extraterrestrial... and resembled Elliot's flight silhouetted by the moon)
Supernatural (that's what David Tyree called it)

eh... help me out here.

Broken Brady? Don't Believe It, Giants



The news today, on its surface, should make New York Giants fans cheer: New Endland Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was seen wearing a cast on his leg. But Big Blue Boosters shouldn't get too excited... I have a feeling this is all an elaborate ploy by coaching mastermind Bill Belichik.

Suddenly finding his team about to face a red-hot, determined Giants squad, Bill needed to find a way to lull the Giants into a false sense of security. By making Brady look injured, he's hoping the Giants won't prepare as hard to face him.

What evidence to I have for this?

Curt Schilling's "Bloody Sock."



A sports journalist reported that Red Sox cather Doug Mirabelli told him that Schilling's bloody sock was faked. Of course, Mirabelli denied it, and the sports journalist recanted. But I still don't trust those Bostoners. If Schilling can fake a bloody ankle to lull the Yankees to sleep, then is it so far-fetched to think Brady, another chowda-head, wouldn't do the same thing?

After all, Brady is far from a stand-up guy. As we all recall, he left:



for



Need more evidence? He was spotted LAST NIGHT without the walking cast. Shenanigans!!



So my advice to the Giants? Practice as if Brady is perfectly fine. Actually, practice as if he just got a robot super arm installed. And 4-wheel-drive. And laser beams for eyes. Because if it's two things we know, its that we can't trust Bill Belicheat's injury report and we can't trust New England sports stars.

Let's Go Blue!!

The NFL in London: A Multimedia Essay

I went to London for the Giants-Dolphins NFL game (You may remember the problems me and my friend had getting tickets). Here's a few impressions of the first NFL regular season game to ever be played overseas...

Giant Jason Taylor


Godzilla? Or Questionable Marketing Strategy?

I know the NFL was trying to hype up the game... but a giant Jason Taylor robot? That's what they came up with?? The NFL's bizarre choice made limited appearances across London, and ended its reign of terror in a cordoned off section of the parking lot reserved for people who paid big money to sit in the rain for a soggy tailgate party. Could the money have been better spent on multiple, simultaneous events around the city, to better capture the attention of the locals? Perhaps a dozen NFL-themed tea parties? I think so.



Wembley Stadium


Otherwise Known As The "Mud Bowl"

Wembley is a great stadium. Although it was pouring outside, I was covered by the roof that extends over the seats. Down by the field, the first few rows are exposed, and these emptied quickly when the rain really started dumping down. But the rest of us were nice and dry (except for the Dolphins fan in front of me, whom I accidentally spilled beer on).


He Didn't Even Notice

However, the field isn't covered in Wembley. And that caused problems with the game, which I'll get to in a moment.

I found the concession stands pretty easy to navigate, although some complained about long lines. I guess I was lucky. I got myself some beers and a pot pie (they love pot pies in England).


Nothing Like A Spot Of Ale And Pie

The Pre-Game Show



Whoa boy. The NFL went all out on this one. Continuing the theme of oversized NFL players, the field was graced by two giant football jerseys, rotating in time with the music, "I Love It When You Call," provided by British pop group The Feeling. The song is actually really catchy, by which I mean it will annoyingly stick in your head until the end of time. You've been warned. Check it out here.

The Cheerleaders


Cheer Girls, I Salute You

These girls were the real stars of the show. If it's anything that brings the NFL back to London again after this slop fest, its the beauty, grace, and very soaked breasts of Miami's 40 or so cheerleaders, who braved the rain jacketless for nearly three quarters, and did it all with a smile on their faces. It's a shame they didn't have much to root for.


Smashing.

Halftime Show



Was this a joke? A marching band? A small marching band? Playing Rocky?? The crowd that hadn't headed to the concession stands laughed them off the field.

The Real Halftime Show


Now That's Halftime Entertainment

Just before the kickoff to start the second half, a referee, heading towards midfield, stripped off his clothes. He wasn't a ref. He was a streaker. He ran to the middle of the field, stark naked, as everyone else watched. First, he did a jig. Then, he began doing push-ups.


Oh, Those Crazy Brits

It took a good minute before security even acknowledged something was happening. Perhaps they realized this was more of a halftime show than the actual halftime show. I heard that on TV, they refused to say what was going on. Well, my friends, it was quite entertaining. Watch the video here... if you want to see what you missed on TV.

The Game


Drops, Flops and Mud-slops Defined London's First NFL Game

Well. You probably watched it on TV, and saw for yourself. The field was a bloody mess (bloody in the British sense of the word). The passing game never got going for either team, with drops galore.

One odd thing was that the stadium atmosphere was very subdued at points. While the crowd did start "the wave," and chanted "That's Another Dolphins FIRST DOWN" with the announcer, the stadium lacked the sort of "pump up the crowd" devices we're so used to in the states. No Jumbotron prompt for De-Fense!! De-Fence!! No blaring rock anthems during timeouts and instant replay reviews. No "Charge" or things like that. After Dolphins scores, they did play an annoying Dolphins song, but that was about it. Since this was a British crowd not familiar with traditional football cheers, you'd think the NFL would do more to get them involved.

The most exciting plays were Eli Manning's touchdown run, and Cleo Lemon's touchdown pass to Ted Ginn Jr. The crowd actually got back into the game after that touchdown pass... but booed lustily when the Giants ran out the clock to end the game.

Eli's TD Run, As Captured By My Cell Phone Camera:



High quality, I know. The running white smudge is Eli.


He Looks Better In This Reuters Photo

Leaving Wembley


Wembley At Night

The crowd was huge, but moved along quickly. We were back to the hostel in a little more than half an hour. Better than Giants Stadium transportation, that's for sure.


Tube 'n It Up

All in all, an unforgettable experience. I'm glad I got to go. We met a lot of die hard football fans from across the pond... people who had loved the Giants and Dolphins for years but never seen them in person. For them, this game was evidence that the NFL cares about their dedication. Despite a few missteps, I think the NFL showed it has potential to expand beyond American borders.

I had a great time. And I miss the tea and crumpets already.


Goodbye To London, For Now

"One more thing the British just couldn't get right…"


Don't Get Between Jay And His Giants Tickets

by Jay Klein

I had set my cell phone alarm for 4:50AM. The beer and pretzels were right near my laptop (where I had already practiced logging on to the ticketmaster website the night before). I was ready for anything…or so I thought. As tickets went on sale at 10am in Britain, I was set to log on at 5AM from my hotel room, coincidentally in Miami, the NY Giants opponent for the first ever regular season NFL game outside of the States.

The moment had come. Ticketmaster and nfllondon.com had been preparing for this ticket sale for months, so I thought it would go smoothly. As I logged in with my assigned password, the first roadblock was clearly printed on the website: due to "technical difficulties," the online sale would begin an hour late. Luckily, it was 5AM and time was probably my least concern.

The technical issues were fixed and the online sale began. After sitting in a queue for about another hour they had finally offered me tickets. My friend and I had the brilliant idea of buying 6 tickets. We could keep two of them and make a nice profit on the other four. Maybe this could take care of our ticket costs, a few pints, maybe even our cover at the Ministry of Sound…

I typed in my email address and my credit card information and only one column remained - shipping. If anyone could fill out the shipping information, it was me. When I was younger I dreamed about being a UPS man some day. It's not a coincidence that my favorite color was brown. My brother's wife's brother even works for Fed Ex. Ok, you get the point…But something was wrong. One question remained. Ship to: UK or Ireland. Hmm, fish and chips or Guiness? The Pound or the Euro? Then, it hit me. Maybe I should ship the tickets to the USA, as I don't live in the UK nor Ireland. But of course, that wasn't an option. I scrambled back and forth. Oh, Bloody Hell! Did I have any friends over in London? Could I mail it to my company's office in London and then try to track it down? I couldn’t figure out a solution. As time ticked away, I saw my tickets go from the lower tier 20 yard line, then to the corner of the end zone, then slowly move into the upper tier. Would I even get a seat in the stadium?

Finally, at about 7:45am, almost three hours after signing on the website to get tickets, the website offered a will-call option. Of course! Will-Call what a brilliant idea. Only if they British had though of that about three hours earlier!!

Then I realized that the British probably had thought about this weeks earlier, but probably just didn't care. Maybe they wanted revenge on Americans trying to buy tickets for a game in their homeland. Maybe they had put up with us long enough (refer to 93% of American History). Maybe Giants v. Dolphins is a chance for the British to stick it to the proverbial man (US Man that is) and what better way to start than to screw them out of tickets. You think it’s a coincidence that the two teams they picked to play in this game are probably the two most pathetic teams in the league. The NFL has been built on strength and power. Yet, they choose a team with a dolphin as their mascot and another team with Eli Manning as their quarterback. I'm not trying to create any issues that aren't there, but do you really think a team like the Patriots from Boston (refer to Tea Party) or technically from NEW england, would ever be chosen to play in this game?

At the end of the day, I got my tickets and I'm certainly gonna enjoy a game played at one of the most famous stadiums on Earth, Wembley. But I'll be damned if I'm gonna be drinking any of that English tea while I'm over there…

NFL Screws Its Fans



The NFL's first international regular season football game has already hit a huge snag, pissing off football fans in the United States and abroad.

Nearly 600,000 football fans from around the world applied online for the opportunity to buy tickets to the New York Giants-Miami Dolphins game at Wembley Stadium in London (capacity 90,000). Through a lottery system, a small percentage were lucky enough to receive a password to use on Ticketmaster. Thousands woke up early this morning as tickets went on sale at 11:00 AM British Standard Time (6 am NY time). My friend Jay and I included.

That's when everyone realized the NFL screwed up big time.

At 11:00 AM, tickets were only made available to residents of the UK. Without a UK mailing address, you couldn't buy a ticket. Jay called everyone he knew to see if anybody had relatives in the UK. We even emailed people we met on our Peru trip.

We weren't the only ones panicking. Within minutes of the sale time, complaints began pouring in to the NFLUK.com website.

"The biggest Farce is, that only persons from the UK, Ireland and Northern Ireland were able to buy tickets. Why didn't they say so from the beginning? Why did they send codes to all other countries? It's unbelievable!!!"

"I am so mad for this, they never told us. It is a game for Europe, not for UK only... god damn it. I waited for this for so long, even called work that I was going to be late because of the 1 hour delay and now this, I AM SO MAD."

"This sucks bigtime. Was i blind or was it obvious that this release was for UK residents only? Thats 2 hours spent of my life i'll never get back. Plus the heart rate isn't down yet."

"Hope this will be the last game played in the UK!!! It's unbelievable they shut out other fans!!!"

International shipping options and a will call option weren't added to the Ticketmaster site until nearly two hours later. By that time, the best seats were already gone-- and many people had already given up.

"Credit to the Brits for screwing the rest of the world out of buying tickets for the first 2 hours. International my butt. Nice play limiting the shipping options to local residents only."

Initially, tickets were supposed to go on sale at 10 am British time, but unspecified technical difficulties delayed the sale by an hour. When the tickets finally did go on sale, shocked fans discovered they couldn't order them unless they lived in Great Britain, Ireland or Scotland.

Germany was added as an option an hour and a half later. A will call option and other countries followed.

Jay and I got tickets for the game, eventually, but they weren't the 50 yard line seats we got when Jay logged in at 6 am. They were section 549 in the upper tier.

Kudos to the NFL for spreading its brand to England, but it owes its American fans, and others, a big apology.

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PLUS: International Regular-Season Games Are Stupid Anyway
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