A big thank you to a Vikings fan who went to Miami from NFL Fan in England

My Super Bowl XLIV program was fresh from Miami !

Just wanted to say a big thank you to a Vikings fan who was hoping to see Favre and Co play in Super Bowl XLIV, and instead had to go to Miami minus his beloved Purple People Eaters.

Scott Olson is a dear friend who is in my Action PC Football leagues, and is also the man that kindly picked me up a copy of the Super Bowl XLIV program from Miami itself.

Despite the disappointment of having to watch the New Orleans Saints lift the Super Bowl for the NFC Scott remembered to purchase a program for me.

I know Scott ended up having a good time in Miami, trust me it is very hard not to, but I am grateful that he grabbed me a sparkly covered program.

It only arrived today so I have only had a quick flick, but I have already read a great article about Super Bowl memorabilia, and discovered that Santonio Holmes gloves he wore to catch the winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLIII fetched $70,000 at auction.

Scott also added some local Minnesota newspaper sports supplements – they will be a great read as I commute on the train over the next few days.

Thanks again Scott and I hope for your sake that Favre comes back for one more try at the object on the front of the program above.

Anyone else watching the Madden Challenge on Rush HD TV?

One way to combat the off-season blues - watching people play Madden

I recently upgraded to a bit of High Definition (HD) Sky TV, meaning better clarity for sports events, and stunning detail on some cool shows such as Lost and 24.

Whilst HD is not the greatest thing since sliced bread, getting it on Sky does mean a few extra channels that I had never watched (or even heard of).

One of the new HD channels I can now get is Rush HD (Sky Channel 452), a mix of extreme sports and computer game shows, including would you believe a whole 1 hour show a week devoted to the NFL Madden game.

Pubescent boys and young men looking like wannabe gangstas are pitted against each other to see who has the best XBOX 360 Madden skills.

The show airing at 11pm on a Friday night is certainly one for the Sky+ recording system, but as a fun thing to watch on a lazy Saturday morning/afternoon it can’t be beat.

The Madden Challenge is unfortunately using the Madden 2008 game, so most of the competitors, who had won regional heats across America to qualify for the televised stages, are either the New England Patriots (Randy Moss is scarily good on that version) or the San Diego Chargers (with a fully fit Ladanian Tomlinson and Cromartie at his career peak).

The host wears some pretty nasty shirts, which remind me of the ones Will Smith wore when he was in the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and the show has two fully grown men wearing those giant black headphones that commentators have when they are broadcasting live from a packed out stadium.

The young men competing are a mix of geeks and cocksure jocks, but watching the action is entertaining. The rules are not fully explained, but there is a mercy rule that if you have a lead of over 28 points I think you automatically win.

Above all it is a bit of a healthy break from the next two months worth of draft speculation, which even for the most avid fan, will get a bit tiresome by the time we hear analysis on Division II long snapper prospects.

As it says in the title of this post – anyone else watching this?

Some more pictures of Super Bowl rings

People seem to like searching for pictures of Super Bowl rings so I have searched my archives and added the four remaining pictures I took from the NFL Hall of Fame exhibition at the 2009 NFL International game held in London.

Enjoy……

The Kansas City Chiefs only Super Bowl win in 1969

The Bart Starr led Green Bay Packers won Superbowl II

The Cowboys won their second Super Bowl in the 1970s

This is Eli Mannings Super Bowl ring from the greatest upset in Super Bowl history

Super Bowl XXIV teams coming to Wembley in 2010

Broncos QB John Elway had a bad day at the office in Super Bowl XXIV

I was only 15 when the San Francisco 49ers pulled down the collective pants of the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV (1990).

I wasn’t legally allowed to bet, but I somehow convinced my mum to go into our local high-street bookmakers and put £5 on the 49ers winning the game by 35 points or more.

Made a small fortune that weekend, but more importantly the memory of Joe Montana clinically tearing apart the Broncos secondary was one I will never forget.

Anyone who witnessed the sub zero coolness of Montana in his previous three Super Bowl appearances would not have shown an iota of surprise as the team in orange were squashed like a bag of Jaffas in a juicer.

I’m sure this game in some small part influenced the decision to bring the Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers to London to play in the fourth annual NFL International game in England.

These were two teams that in the 1980s would have inspired people from across the UK to find a home in their heart for the NFL, either as glory supporters (like the sheep over here in England that started supporting the Patriots after 2000), or as fans of the eternal underdog.

Anyone becoming (and staying to this day) a Broncos fan after seeing the guts it took John Elway and his team mates to embark upon another NFL season after being slaughtered in three Super Bowls in a four-year stretch, deserved total respect in my book.

I wonder how many other fans have booked tickets to see the 49ers v Broncos at Wembley Stadium on Halloween 2010 will dust down their NFL memory archive and remember the day Montana, Rice, Craig and Rathman looked like school bullies who had not only stolen the Broncos players lunch money, but had them marched the down to the bank one by one and ordered them at gunpoint to withdraw all their cash and give it to the team in red and gold.

Who else remembers Super Bowl XXIV so fondly?

Ozzie hires a convicted drunk driver – straw clutching or mark of genius?

Is Ozzie a genius for signing Stallworth?

I think Ozzie Newsome is one of the best general managers in the NFL.

He drafts wisely and knows how to find talent amongst the frozen sea of mediocrity, but I have to put into question his latest personnel decision.

Hiring convicted drunk driver Donte Stallworth could turn out to be a move typical of a Russian chess master, but equally it could backfire like a chav’s pimped up Ford Fiesta with neon strip lighting and tinted windows.

Here are a few facts about WR Stallworth that you may or may not know;

- He has never started all 16 games in a season

- He has never reached 1,000 receiving yards in a season

- He has 101 receptions in the last 4 NFL seasons

- His best receiving TD output was just 7 in 2005

- The Ravens is Stallworth’s 5th team

- Stallworth has over 30,000 Twitter followers

Stallworth has always promised a lot but delivered little.

The Ravens are not the Bengals or the Raiders, homes to the outcasts, the lost souls, the proverbial un-dead stuck in transit, so the fact they took a gamble on Stallworth means they have spotted something that a whole bunch of other teams have not.

I am surprised how quickly Stallworth has been snapped up just days after he was reinstated to the NFL (and then immediately released by the Cleveland Browns).

$900,000 and a 1 year deal is by no means the biggest risk in the world taken by the Ravens, but I feel it will all end in tears.

The Ravens do need to upgrade their receiving corps, but this move is a little early, and a little surprising.

DO you think Stallworth will make the final cut come August? Can he be reborn or is this a bit of straw clutching by Mr Newsome?

And thus the depression of the NFL offseason begins

I know how you feel Vince - its a bloody long NFL offseason

This picture of Vince Young (in his Texas Longhorn days) sums up my feeling right now.

It’s time for a case of the NFL offseason blues.

No games, no hits, no touchdowns, no pick six’s, no Vince Lombardi trophies being kissed, and no pigskins being thrust through the air like little brown missiles.

So what is there to do between now and August for a devoted NFL lover?

Here are some ideas to prevent the pain……

1) Buy Action PC Football (www.dksports.com) and join one of the many leagues that offer contemporary play or retro seasons. I am about to re-enact the 1983 season as the Washington Redskins.

2) Get bitten by the podcast bug. There are a whole load of NFL related podcasts available from iTunes. They include ESPN Around the Horn, ESPN Pardon the Interruption, ESPN Football Today (which has just gone from daily to weekly), The Audible and NFL Rants and Raves. A few weeks ago I also discovered the Tony Kornheiser radio show, Tony is much funnier, less shouty and talks about more than just football (topics such as his dying dog and snow !).

3) Play Goal Line Blitz – It is a free to join game where you create players and can eventually own your own team. Check this link to find out more; http://goallineblitz.com/game/signup.pl?ref=1622946

The Saints are Aints no more New Orleans win the Super Bowl

Super Bowl XLIV MVP Drew Brees 32 completions were all things of beauty

Say it loud and say it proud the New Orleans Saints are Super Bowl champions.

The Aints tag is gone forever, after the Saints scored 25 second half points against the favoured Indianapolis Colts.

Yes this is Louisiana’s time, and for owner Tom Benson it is a dream that has come true.

I loved Drew Brees coolness after going 10 points down in the first period, and I loved Tracey Porter’s pick six, but Sean Payton’s decision to go for that onside kick showed bigger balls than a man with a broken leg doing the Pamplona Bull Run.

Now Drew Brees will get the headlines but to me there was one guy who the New Orleans Saints owe a game ball to, special teams dynamo Chris Reis #39.

Reis recovered an early Courtney Roby kick return fumble and then was at the bottom of the Super Bowl’s biggest ever pile to recover that third quarter onside kick. He also got at least one special teams tackle that I can remember.

Chris Reis take a bow my friend you are a Super Bowl champion and you will soon be fitted for a ring with a Saints logo and probably the phrase ‘ Who dat’.

For the Saints the ‘Who dat’ tag is now gone forever – they are champions.

Time for bed for me here in England as it has just gone 3.00am.

PS – I did predict a Saints win and Brees to be MVP !!!

Super Bowl half time update

Well it’s half-time and the Colts are just about leading the Saints 10-6.

Big incidents so far:

• Gary Brackett’s goal line tackle
• Dwight Freeney’s momentum killing sack
• The lone td from Manning to Garcon – picking on Usama Young
• The fact the Colts owned Q1 and the Saints owned Q2
• Garrett Hartley has been money on his 2 field goals – he has been ice cold
• Matt Stover becoming the oldest man ever to play and score in a Super Bowl

Boy do The Who suck – I have them on mute as I type. Just because Janet showed a bit of nipple we now have all these old bastards.

Lets hope the game gets some more points in the second half.

Still all to play for………………….

NFL FAN IN ENGLAND Super Bowl predictions – Saints by a heartbeat

This is a pick from the heart not the head.

Super Bowl Sunday – no feeling like it.

It’s history, it’s drama, it’s the personification of the American dream, and above all it’s only hours away.

I had predicted a Ravens v Eagles Super Bowl, and an Eagles win. I did predict the Colts making the final four, but then again I also predicted the Falcons to be playing in the NFC Championship too.

Now we have the most offensive Super Bowl in history, completely smashing into tiny pieces the old adage that ‘offense wins games and defense wins championships’.

The Indianapolis Colts are back in the Super Bowl just three years after they beat Da Bearz, complete with the NFL MVP at quarterback, and around half of the current team boasting a giant ring with a big blue horseshoe on it.

The New Orleans Saints are at the big dance for the first time in their history, having suffered many years of futility, embarrassment and playoff heartache.

Despite the recent history and the post season experiences of both teams this is not a David v Goliath battle, it is a match-up of the two highest octane offenses in the NFL.

Just about the only thing that may slow down the Colts and the Saints from scoring 50 points on each other is the fact the game is being played outside in grass, and not on the speedy artificial surface that the two finalists are accustomed to.

Both teams are equally capable of falling behind by 14 points and then scoring two touchdowns in under three minutes to tie it back up, without even breaking into a sweat.

Both Drew Brees and Peyton Manning can win this game, and both can be ruthlessly efficient. Both have big arms, big hearts and their internal computers are faster than the ones in that room Matthew Broderick broke into in ‘War Games’.

Peyton has a ring and knows what it takes. I don’t think I can recall a Super Bowl with this many game breaking wideouts on both teams (deep breath) Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Lance Moore, Robert Meachem (Saints) and Reggie Wayne, Austin Collie, Pierre Garcon (Colts). We then move onto TEs, and this is where Dallas Clark does outdo Jeremy Shockey.

Joseph Addai was a rookie in 2007 and he was part of a two-headed rushing monster (with Dominic Rhodes) that won the Colts the Superbowl. Addai has not stepped up much further, but that is because he is not asked to do any more than be part of the offense, not the focus.

His support act is rookie Donald Brown, who could surprise today. The Saints have a troop of backs that are built for every situation. Reggie Bush has the hands and the speed, Mike Bell has the nose for a first down, Lynell Hamilton could be a fantasy td thief and we cannot forget Pierre Thomas, who when given bigger responsibility is nothing but business like.

Its gonna be a fun game for sure, and it comes down to two key factors – which defense will cause the most turnovers and who can get a running game to step up and keep the clock running on long drives.

My head says the Colts, but my heart says the Saints. I just have a feeling that the Saints defense will play the game of their lives, with Jonathan Vilma all over the field and Darren Sharper showing his true talent.

My Super Bowl prediction is Saints 33-28 Colts – MVP Drew Brees 3 td passes and 311 yards passing.

Super Bowl Sunday is a Grimm day

It's gonna be hog day here in Birmingham - Congratulations Russ

Seeing the joy on the faces of the Colts and Saints fans two weeks ago made being a Redskins fan even harder.

I was forced to cast my mind back to the 1980s when the Redskins were good, and led by a bunch of men who were affectionately known as ‘The Hogs’.

Some hardcore fans called ‘The Hogettes’ still turn up to Fed Ex Field every season, donning dresses and pig noses, paying respect to this legendary offensive line.

Whilst the Redskins are light years away from a return to glory it is fantastic news that Superbowl Sunday 2010 is going to have a small part of the festivities devoted to Russ Grimm, one of ‘The Hogs’.

Grimm was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1981 draft, and by the end of his career he had played in four Super Bowls, winning three.

Well done Mr Grimm – you deserve your bust in Canton very close to Art Monk’s.