Let’s all meet up in the year 2000.
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about how I became a fan of the NFL in the 1980s, but then fell out of love with the game as I hit secondary school.
My reintroduction to the NFL came through the medium of Sky Sports, and more specifically the promotions building up to Super Bowl XXXIV.
As a fan of the NFL at primary school, one thing I had never had the chance to do was watch the Super Bowl live. Now a 20-year-old at university, there was an excuse to do what all university students love to do – stay up until 4am and get blind drunk.
We watched Kurt Warner orchestrate a victory for the St Louis Rams over the Tennessee Titans, which culminated in a last play wonder stop, and all of a sudden I was hooked again.
Since that first Super Bowl in the year 2000, I have not missed a moment of a season finale until 2024, when I realised that alcohol can have a more anesthetic affect as we hit our forties.
Greatest show on turf
Despite my affinity to the Chicago Bears, I was now also a Kurt Warner fan, thus further cementing my glory supporting status from the 1980s.
‘The Greatest Show on Turf’ was a joy to watch for the next couple of seasons. My first ever jersey purchase was a Kurt Warner Reebok-era jersey which I still own to this day.
While maintaining my initial attachment to the Bears, the Rams became my second team, courtesy of the way they reignited my love for the sport in the early 2000s.
Now, rooting for two teams is sometimes frowned upon in NFL UK circles. Keith from Bristol can be apoplectically outraged, as loyalty to more than one team shows total disdain for NFL fandom.
All this before telling you picked his own unwavering allegiance to the Green Bay Packers due to the fact he likes cheese and the colour green.
Home comforts
I do sometimes wish I had a more concrete connection to the team I support, as this would make victory all the sweeter.
The soccer club I support is my hometown team of York, and although they are a lower league team, the wins – and mostly losses – mean much more as a resident of the city.
My favourite city in the US is Las Vegas, but they did not have an NFL team in the 80s. Furthermore I likely would not identify with the target demographic of the city at the age of six.
Duuuval!
I have travelled to New York, San Francisco and Florida and loved all those places. Plus the Jacksonville Jaguars have an obvious connection with UK fans as they have made these shores their second home.
If a new fan approaches me with no connection to any city in the US, I always tell them to look at the Jags. They come over every year!
It would be great to root for one of these teams who I have a more than arbitrary connection with, but I have made my bed and now need to lay in it.
My support for the Bears will always come first – although you may have to forgive me if you see me in that Kurt Warner top at Wembley this coming Sunday.
