The NFL in London

"Last year was a launch, this year is about the Xs and Os of converting people to being lifelong NFL fans," Alistair Kirkwood, managing director of the NFL in Britain.

The BBC has a Sport Page that explains American Football to British Football fans. American football is not a game that makes a lot of sense, but I do enjoy watching it. The National Football League hopes that people in London will like watching it as well. On Sunday 26th October 2008, the NFL is coming back to Wembley Stadium as part of the National Football League’s International Series. This year's game will see the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers take to the Wembley Stadium turf. Tickets ranged from £45 through to £100.

The NFL London website has the story of the NFL's plans for world domination. I must say that I have mixed feelings about the whole NFL in London thing. The Dallas Cowboys are about the only sports team that I follow and outside of Manchester United, I haven't heard of any other British sport teams. So why should London sports fans want to see American Football?

London has a lot of American touches, from Krispy Kreme donuts to Kentucky Fried Chicken to the ever present McDonalds. London is an ever changing city and that is a good thing. I don't expect that the NFL International Series will turn London into Dallas or Pittsburgh, but I do wonder why the NFl wants more world wide fans. Is there going to be London NFL team? A Mexico City NFL team? Or do the plans call for whole new leagues to be created around the world? Will we see an NFL with Edinburgh vs London and the winner gets to play in The Superbowl? I can't keep up with the Teams in the NFL now, let alone a whole new world full of NFL teams.

Vast hordes of new NFL Franchises are off in the future-for now we just have the Football game being played in Wembley on Sunday. I am not a fan of the Chargers or the Saints-but I do like the idea of the Saint's Cheerleaders riding around in the London Eye.

Wimbledon, London

In the 1870s, at the bottom of the hill on land between the railway line and Worple Road, the All-England Croquet Club had begun to hold its annual championships. Wimbledon matches that had no tennis, what a concept.

But the popularity of croquet was waning as the new sport of lawn tennis began to spread. After initially setting aside just one of its lawns for tennis, the club decided to hold its first Lawn Tennis Championship in July 1877. I wonder if there was a long wait for tickets to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships cost back then?

By 1922, the popularity of tennis had grown to the extent that the club's small ground could no longer cope with the numbers of spectators and the renamed All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club moved to new grounds close to Wimbledon Park.

Wimbledon historian Richard Milward recounts how King George V opened the new courts. "He gave three blows on a gong, the tarpaulins were removed, the first match started - and the rain came down..." The club's old grounds continue to be used as the sports ground for Wimbledon High School.

There's more to Wimbledon, London than lawn tennis, but for of the world-it only exists for a few days during the Wimbledon Championships. Then everyone wants to buy Wimbledon tickets, and make them cheap Wimbledon tickets, please. The news is that there will be yet another tennis match between the Williams Sister for the Wimbledon Championship. Well, I like them both and it doesn't really matter which one wins the Wimbledon Trophy. Seems they always win the Wimbledon Womens rounds.

I wasn't there at the right time to be looking for tickets for Wimbledon, and would not have been that interested in seeing a Wimbledon match anyway. But if I was there at the right time for the Wimbledon Finals, it would have been a bit tempting to try and get a couple of Wimbledon tickets. I couldn't have afforded to watch the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, but it would have been fun to say-Oy, do you know how much they want for Wimbledon tennis tickets? £91 doesn't sound all that bad, does it?

Well, Wimbledon, London would be a neat place to visit anyway.