• 25 Oct 2026, 10:44 p.m.

    They did have the #1 pick but they haven't been playing him (Fernando Mendoza), they picked up Kirk Cousins to be a vet starter while Mendoza bedded in and he started the season looking good. And they have some excellent players such as Maxx Crosby, they just seem to have lost their mojo a bit at the moment. I confess I don't watch them religiously but I still feel their trajectory is good, I'm a big Mendoza believer and I think they're doing the right thing by resisting the temptation to throw him in too early because of short term results.

  • 25 Oct 2026, 11:15 p.m.

    Sat in a Boston bar watching the Packers game. Enjoying it without really having much clue of the rules.

    Not dissimilar to watching a Forest match these days...

  • 25 Oct 2026, 11:43 p.m.

    It doesn't really help my historically vague passing interest that Raiders games are generally west coast so very late here. Though I've definitely heard of Maxx Crosby. Then again it doesn't seem that long since Derek Carr was throwing to Amari Cooper. Though I guess it is.
    The other thing I remember from vague Raiders following is '3rd and Renfrow'. Just looked him up. Seems Hunter Renfrow was released 3 years ago.
    Oh well. I blame Channel 4's Sunday Nicky Horne presented program for introducing my school generation to American Football. Sunday teatime, with fuck all else on apart from Songs Of Praise (with Return Of The Saint finishing just in time).
    We all picked a team. I can't remember why I picked the Raiders 40 years ago. Maybe they were 1st team showcased on the program. Maybe I liked Silver and Black. Most other kids picked The Dolphins, probably because of Miami Vice. There was a SF 49ers fan, but he also supported Aberdeen so was largely dismissed.

  • 26 Oct 2026, 1:53 a.m.

    I picked the Pats purely because I saw a player with the same last name as me. They were promptly annihilated by the Bears and then utterly shit for several more years. Then uh some other stuff happened.

    I haven’t watched a full game in at least ten years* as it’s almost unwatchable on TV here now between broadcast rights and the amount of ads and stoppages.

    *Other than this year’s Super Bowl and that was because I was invited to a watch party. I remember nothing about the game but it did give me a lesson for my students based around the halftime show.

    It’s weird as I used to really love the game and played for a few years. Now I couldn’t give less of a shit. I think the bar I worked at had a lot to do with it. I barely watch any sport if it’s not Forest.

  • 26 Oct 2026, 1:56 a.m.

    I feel like the Dolphins were a really big deal back then as I knew a lot of fans. After that, probably the Steelers and the Raiders.

  • 26 Oct 2026, 6:01 a.m.

    It got big because of the year the football league didn’t make a tv deal with bbc or itv, so there was a gap in our collective attention spans. And the Super Bowl that year was Dolphins v 49ers, hence why lots of people defaulted to supporting one of those two.

  • 26 Oct 2026, 12:26 p.m.

    I watched the Channel 4 show and the first game I ever saw was the Giants vs the then Redskins. I took an instant dislike to the Redskins and picked the Giants as my team. Five superbowls later I think I made the right choice. Sure, they have been pants for a while but like Forest it's ace when they win. Yesterday's win as 10.5 point underdogs to the Houston Texans being the case in point.

    This could be our year to not be totally rubbish. JJ McCarthy a former first round pick from The Vikings was traded to the Giants because Jaxson Dart injured himself in a mormon orgy of bodies in L.A. Everyone thought that McCarthy (Chicago boy from the number one swingers suburb in the United States) was going to be rubbish. So far he has been the absolute opposite. John Harbaugh the coach is a discipline monster. Anyone who complains it out. He already Cut Odell Beckham and Nadje Harris (both established stars in the league for years) for whining about playing time.

    This dude is ruthless. It is currently working. Of course The Giants are running our of bodies but so far so good in the NFC least.

    I enjoy watching American Football as I have sunday ticket and all the games are automatically taped. I never watch them totally live so I can skip thorugh the adverts and get the full game experience without too much interruption. Watching the games live in a stadium is a different experience and certainly not as complete as the Television but I think it is also Like Forest who you go with...

    Anyway, I like American sports generally. Ice Hockey is definitely better live than the telly as is Baseball but some things were made for the goggle box.

    Chicago: Assimilated.

  • 1 Nov 2026, 9:07 p.m.

    It appears that despite conceding scores on each of the first 6 drives (no idea if that is a record) and conceding 30+ points 6 games running (think that is a record) Bunglecunts AFC - AKA The Raiders - beat Russ' The Jetsons in a 38-33 knicker-gripper.
    Which is nice. For me. I guess. After a weekend of Forest / Bayern Bunglecuntery.

  • 1 Nov 2026, 11:24 p.m.

    The Bucs are the first team since 1974 to win a game without completing a pass. One for the purists, I imagine.

  • 1 Nov 2026, 11:43 p.m.

    I know I didn't, but I'm sure I saw this game in the eighties. A lot of them felt like it. Some teams were very running game heavy, with not a lot of throwing.

    'merican football has gone the opposite way to the real thing, in terms of the run/skill balance. I suppose it helps only having to find one who can kick....err throw.

  • 3 Nov 2026, 2:35 a.m.

    This may be my fault for (very, very, deliberately) not keeping up with the pop culture zeitgeist, but why the fuck is Robbie Williams still an opening act at sporting events? Last one I remember was the World Cup, now the Melbourne Cup today?