Preseason, Week 1.
It is a gorgeous day at Soldier Field for a matchup ripped straight from the 1980s. The Chicago Bears against the Miami Dolphins, live on Sky Sports.
The live coverage may say more about the dearth of other sporting action available than the strength of the contest itself. The only other live sport I can find among the TV schedules is Colwyn Bay v Connah’s Quay in the Welsh Premier League on S4C.
It is perhaps fitting then that Tyson Bagent, the Bears quarterback of Welsh descent, takes the first snap. Colston Loveland, rookie tight end, makes the game’s first big pickup. But the ball is soon punted away and the Dolphins have it in their possession.
Onto the field trots Tua Tagovailoa to play the first series for the Dolphins, with De’Von Achane in the backfield. Hang on, this seems unfair…
The first week of preseason is great. Football is back on our TVs. And even if this is just prep for the real deal, we finally have competitive action to enjoy.
A brief interlude
My first-ever live NFL experience came at a preseason game, on my honeymoon no less. We had a day to kill in San Francisco and Niners tickets were going for $15 a pop. We snapped a couple up.
After listening to the hotel barmaid’s tale of how she survived the 1989 earthquake, we took the never-ending bus journey to Candlestick Park.
The Niners v Raiders clash was just that: pockets of fans breaking out into spontaneous fistfights. Like most preseason games, I cannot remember the score or any notable plays.
Yet I can remember the cab driver the following day asking us if we had witnessed the shooting in the parking lot after the game.
And we’re back
Back to Soldier Field, following a short interlude of ‘Celebrity Catchphrase’ while the Chinese takeaway was devoured, the wife perhaps still traumatised by preseason football.
I am following the game on NFL Network and rejoin during an advert for an anti-arthritis drug that may have side effects of ‘suicidal thoughts or tendencies’. I think I would just stick out the arthritis myself. And given the target audience is Bears fans, it is a brave advert to air.
The final quarter of the game is absolute cinema, and I find myself screaming at the TV as I would if this game actually meant something.
By the end, the Bears are onto their third QB of the game and none of them are named Williams. Both teams botch great field position in the final two minutes to potentially win the match and honours finish even at 24-24.
The rarity of a tied game… maybe this will be one I remember as vividly as that taxi ride to the airport in San Francisco.
