Wembley: a success? Sort of The Wembley game had been eagerly anticipated for many months and, now that it’s over, there are some mixed opinions as to whether the event was a success. Having missed out on the ticket ballots, I was fortunate that my Company has Club Wembley seats, so we joined the prawn sandwich brigade (actually, we had Cajun prawns on skewers and they were very nice, thanks) in corporate hospitality. This was my first visit to the new stadium and I thought that the facilities were, generally, superb. The Wembley staff seemed to be on some sort of charm offensive. A manageress in the restaurant came to our table and, pointing at my red Buccaneers shirt, observed “So, you’re a Giants fan?” Trying not to sound as though she’d questioned my parentage, I said that I wasn’t. “So, you must support……….the other team?” she said, somewhat flustered. Good effort, but do find out who is actually playing if you want to sound knowledgeable when you chat to the punters. The atmosphere inside the stadium was excellent, although it fell a bit flat during the first half as both teams struggled to put any sustained drives together. The arrival of the dreaded Mexican wave was a sure sign that sections of the crowd were becoming bored with what was happening on the field and they felt the need to create their own entertainment. Thankfully, the wave didn’t last long. Two Barbour-wearing, middle-aged women were sat next to me and they spent the entire first half chatting, largely oblivious what was happening out on the field. They didn’t even re-appear after half-time and I suspect that they stayed in the hospitality area quaffing Pinot Grigio. It shouldn’t surprise me that people like this turn up for events but, with the massive demand for tickets, it’s shameful that those with no real interest in the game get to go and so many genuine fans miss out. On the whole, though, I felt that the crowd was very knowledgeable. The “International Series” is designed to raise the global profile of the game, so the NFL must have been hopeful of generating interest among casual observers in the UK and I understand that they canvassed opinion among the fans in the stadium as to what their overall experience had been like. Hopefully, most responses would have been very positive. Unfortunately, the game itself was a let-down and it was a pity that the Dolphins came here at a time when they have such a poor team (did anyone else appreciate the irony of the constant stadium screen clips of the 1972 perfect Dolphins, when the current team is in danger of having a “perfect” 0-16 record?). That said, it was Miami’s “home” game and they were fantastically supported, so I felt that they had an obligation to try to put on more of a show for the fans. Admittedly, they were playing their back-up QB and they must have been low on confidence having arrived in London without a victory, but they were ultra-conservative in their play-calling for much of the game and only opened up right at the end when they were desperate. Surely they had nothing to lose by trying to be more entertaining? Obviously, the heavy rain wasn’t particularly conducive to a passing game (if the NFL is debating where to play the next “International” game, Mexico may have the advantage if weather is any consideration) and Cleo Lemon looked as though he was trying to throw a wet bar of soap. For their part, the Giants looked as though they’d been sent out with orders not to give Miami a shellacking and they obligingly dropped passes and scorned several scoring opportunities. Much has been made of the booing at the end of the game when the Giants took a knee – whilst some people may not have understood the subtleties of the game, I suspect that many others were just genuinely disappointed that the game had come to an end and that it fizzled out in this way when Miami very briefly threatened to pull off a shock. Like a footballer taking the ball to the corner flag in the dying seconds, it’s an accepted, ‘professional’ way to kill a game, but the paying customers don’t have to like it and are within their rights to voice their displeasure. I’d love to see us get another game next year, but I’m not too optimistic. Tom Coughlin obviously had some gripes with the upheaval of playing in Europe and he said that he’ll address these issues with the Commissioner. If Europe does get another game next year, I guess Germany must merit serious consideration. Where do the Bucs go from here? Having dropped two games which we probably should have won, we’ve missed a golden opportunity to get some separation from Carolina and, in particular, New Orleans. The Saints are no longer the shambolic team which rolled over at Raymond James in September and they are beginning to find some of the form which took them to the play-offs last year. The Bucs visit the Louisiana Superdome on December 2, a game which just might determine who wins the NFC South. But first, the outcome of this week’s game against Arizona could have a huge bearing on where we go the rest of this year. If we can squeeze out a victory before going into the bye week, the rest of our schedule is still relatively soft and we can look forward to the second half of the season with some optimism. However, another home defeat might undermine fragile confidence and leave us with a tough hill to climb. Brett Favre Several weeks ago, I wrote about the dearth of quality quarterbacks in the League, but I ought to qualify my comments and give a nod to the achievements of Brett Favre. It’s been well-documented that Favre broke Dan Marino’s Touchdown record recently and, while other QB’s have been going down like flies this year, Favre is on an unbroken a streak of more than 260 consecutive games - a testament to both his remarkable durability and his enduring quality. The guy has an arm like a cannon, as he showed once again on Monday Night Football this week against Denver, and he still looks as though he’s thoroughly enjoying it. Keep playing Brett, you’re a long-time retired. Mike Davidson, November 2007