After our excellent Basketball Game in Memphis, we were really excited to go to an American Football game in Florida. This was “College Football” level, not the National Football League, but it didn’t matter to us.
The atmosphere at the stadium was electric and it seemed like the whole town had turned out to watch, dressed in full team colours. That’s one thing I noticed in America – everyone seems to own jumpers, scarfs, and hats for the local American Football team, and it’s not unusual to see people wearing them at the local mall or in town. In the UK we don’t really do that, and if anyone does it will normally be the big teams like Manchester United, rather than the local University teams – no-one cares about them! 😉
We enjoyed watching the band and cheerleaders also – the band marched in cool formations on the field and the cheerleaders did pyramids and impressive stuff, not just dance-routines.
I felt sorry for the “away” team though as they had only brought a handful of cheerleaders with them, and even though they were enthusiastic they paled in comparison to the hoardes of band and cheerleaders of the “home” team.
I had been to an American Football game before in the UK at Uni and my only memory of it was that it was LONG, with constant and unlimited “time-out”s. So I advised my BF to buy lots of food and snacks. In retrospect we went too far – we bought hot dogs and popcorn, washed down with coke from a re-usable souvenir cup. In the end the game wasn’t as long as I remembered, probably as we spent so much time faffing with food! 🙂
Travel Tips:
- Be aware, you’re not allowed bags inside the stadium, and if you want to take any possessions you need to put them in a clear plastic bag like in an airport. This is probably something to think about beforehand and plan what to leave in the hotel etc. We only found out on the gate and had to go back to the car.
- The reusable cups are normally better value than buying a single drink each, as the games are long.
Next blog: Manatees and a Ray, Tampa, USA
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