Cheerleaders, a streaker and 1st down & how many?

While the onfield play didn't perhaps meet expectation, there was entertainment to be had watching history being made at Wembley yesterday. The New York Giants taking on the struggling Miami Dolphins, who were playing as the home team in this rain soaked stadium.

The pitch, no - not a field you guys, that's what a cow stands in - the pitch, still new and prone to cutting up, challenged the natural playing style of the two visitors, resulting in a game that would I'm sure, have seemed lacklustre to true fans of the sport.

To a Brit, more used to rugby than American football, sliding through mud is often an integral part of a game. Not apparently so for our visitors, who every now and then would stand up with a face guard full of turf, leaving a fella to wonder if there was a particularly American phrase to cover such an occassion. If there was I didn't hear it uttered last night, although every now and then, body posture suggested we Brits could stick our 'thin' grass, someplace where the Sun doesn't shine as brightly as Miami.

Still the teams battled on, enjoying an atmosphere that will, together with ticket sales, have left NFL executives in no doubt that their presence was a welcome one. Entertainment came in different forms; fireworks, music and just enough of the Miami Dolpin Cheerleaders to bring a touch of that Florida sunshine to an otherwise grey London evening .

As players, notably Lemon, struggled early on to find a purchase on the ball, American commentators lamented the English supporters habit of risking confusion by quite literally blowing their own whistles. Not all distractions though, were met with same level of concern, as witnessed by these same commentators, seemingly quite entertained by that most eccentric of British traditions, the streaker. In this case a serial streaker who'd run onto the pitch dressed in a fake referees uniform before stripping off, presumably to exhibit his own version of a tight end.

It was a shame there wasn't a couple more minutes play to be had, the Miami Dolphins had just put themselves in a position to threaten the New York Giants when the leaders dug in to kill the last minute of the game - attracting a chorus of boo's from a frustrated crowd. It was a temporary clash of cultures, quickly resolved as the final whistle sounded and both sides were applauded by the fans, amongst which shirts representing every team in the league could be seen.

I meanwhile, having used the Sky Sports onboard guide to American football to master the 1st down and 10 thing, had thought I was doing quite well for a novice viewer....until I took my eyes of for a second, only to look back up and see the display telling me 1st down and 22......... 22? ............. nobody mentioned anything about a number higher than 10........ Perhaps, I hadn't quite decoded everything.