Lady’s NFL Football in London Guide

Today I want to share my guide to going to the NFL football in London. Seeing American football at Wembley Stadium is a great experience.

NFL Football in London

Yesterday afternoon I got a text asking if I wanted to go to a football game. I already had plans and I wasn’t very excited about the prospect of watching two soccer teams I’d probably never heard of, so I declined.

But just out of curiosity, I asked who was playing. The response was this: “NFL football in London, Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Chicago Bears”. I changed my mind.

Every fall the US’s National Football League sends teams to Britain to play in London’s Wembley Stadium. Americans from all over the UK flock to north London to watch the game and get a little taste of home. Brits come, too.

Every summer I intend to get tickets for said game, but every year I forget until it’s too late. This year I was lucky a friend had an extra ticket at the last minute.

I grabbed my things, hopped on the tube, and made my way to the stadium with 76,981 other NFL football fans.

American Football at Wembley Stadium

On the way I was pleased to see a large number of American football jerseys and lots of face paint, hats, and other signs of NFL football patriotism.

There were street vendors selling soccer-style Buccaneers and Bears scarves, and some were even offering American flags. It was a strange sight in London. My worlds were colliding.

Once at Wembley Stadium, I saw huge posters for the game. The NFL certainly spared no expense in bringing American football to London.

I met my friends outside and went in with them. There we faced concession stands selling everything from hot dogs to fish n’ chips in another bizarre cultural mix of sporting event traditions.

The one consistent concession was beer. We each grabbed a bottle and found our seats.

NFL Pre-Game Show

We were just in time to see the pre-game show for the NFL football in London. Like the posters, the show proved that fanfare and over-the-top production were just as good in the UK as they were in the US.

I loved it. The festive atmosphere was a far cry from the serious ambiance at the Carling Cup Final on my last visit to Wembley Stadium.

First we heard the Goo Goo Dolls play live, then there was a fireworks show complete with cheerleaders running around the field.

That was followed by the American national anthem, which was in turn followed by the British national anthem.

The latter struck me as funny, not least because far more people sang it than the American one. I suppose there were more British NFL football fans at the game than I thought.

NFL Football at Wembley

After the singing, the players stormed the field and the official NFL football in London commenced.

It was an exciting game from the beginning, complete with multiple interceptions, a safety, touchdowns, field goals, sacks, and fumbles. In the end, the Bears prevailed, winning 24 to 18.

Throughout the game, the cheerleaders entertained us from the sidelines and the mascots got up to their usual antics.

At one point the Chicago Bear and the Tampa Bay Buccaneer looked like they were about to make their peace, but it wasn’t to be.

The evening was so perfectly American that I almost forgot I was watching American football in the UK and not in the US.

Every detail was replicated, right down to the Tampa Bay announcers, who had flown over to make sure we only heard American accents over the loudspeakers.

NFL Football Game in London

By the end of the game I was so homesick I was ready to pack my bags and move back to San Francisco. Or maybe I’ll just wait until next fall to see NFL football in London again. I hope you can, too.

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