Super Bowl Sunday

It's Sunday 7th February and we interrupt our normally scheduled programme for the yearly sports event that is Super Bowl LV.

For the first time in a long time I've managed to take the Monday off work so there's no risk of falling asleep at work although I'm sure some friends would say my work output would be the same.

I'm not a big sports person and my support for a team is usually linked to a happy memory or experience. Also, it's rare I watch sport on TV, I would much rather be there, soaking up the atmosphere. With American sports though I don't really get much choice but that's not to say I haven't seen Baseball in America (New York and Tampa Bay) and I've had the fun of watching an Ice Hockey game in Ottawa.

As I've said, my support is usually linked to a happy memory or experience so this brings me onto why American Football and why the Buccaneers.

In the 1980s, in the UK you could buy NFL American Football mini shirts / keyring. They were originally purchased individually in packs of bubblegum/gumballs. Each "shirt" was made from balsa wood (or a similar material) with a glossy printed paper detail on each side of numerous teams. My friend Lee and I used to collect these as many kids did and so this introduced me to American Football even though I knew nothing about the sport, there was no Internet, it wasn't on mainstream TV and there were no books on the library about it. The shirts did look cool though and that's all that mattered.

Then in 1991 I bought John Madden 1992 on the Megadrive (Genesis). I'm pretty sure there were previous releases but this was the one I bought. It wasn't actually officially licensed so the teams were just called Dallas or Miami and did have the correct team colours. There was no proper team player names either but for a kid in the UK who didn't have a clue it really wasn't important but over time I learnt the game was played even if dad just punted every bloody time.

At the time the Buccaneers looked nothing like they do now. The colours were orange and white and the logo was different too. I can't remember why I chose them, it may have been because of their stats or I won my first game with them. I also remember choosing to play against Green Bay Packers a lot.

We now go to 2004. Me and a few friends had gone to Orlando the year before but for 2004 it was decided we'd start in Chicago, Memphis and then Orlando. The big things we had planned included Sundown Records, Graceland, seeing the restoration of the Memphis Belle and having a tour of the Buccaneers ground.

The ground was amazing, it has a full size pirate ship in it! The tour was really good, got shown around everywhere. Wish I'd taken more photographs though. The place definitely made an impression and although we didn't get to see a game there it was still a great experience.

Next stop is Wembley Stadium, London 2011. Buccaneers vs Bears. The NFL International series had started in 2007 and we went to see New York Giants vs Miami Dolphins. It was a great day out so we planned to try and do it every year. This sadly never happened but as a Buccaneers fan and a big fan of Chicago my loyalties were torn but I stood by the Buccanneers....... who lost. At Wembley they tried to recreate a tailgate party with a lot of things going on outside before the event which was fun but I'd still love to go see an NFL game in America.

So, we come back to tonight. Buffalo wings, BBQ wings, Nachos with Guacamole and of course, Angry Orchard all ready for the big game.

I just better not fall asleep before it starts......