Chicago Bears vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers Thread

[Pr4wn]

Afternoon All,

So who is making their way to Wembley? I certainly am....

Just to let you all know, I'm heading out to dinner on the Saturday night with the UK Bucs Fan Club (www.bucpower.com) and there will hopefully be some coaching staff and former players present. I'll buy a dictaphone and try and get some questions in there.

Also, on the Sunday afternoon, the Bucs UK Fan Club will be playing the Bears equivalent in a flag football game close to Wembley. The Sky Sports team will be there along with Jimmy Giles, Shelton Quarles, Terell Owens, Brad Johnson and Cuba Gooding Jr (no idea why he's going...) Again, I'll do my best to get some material for our site. Also, for anyone that is watching the game on Sky, the flag football game will be recorded and highlights will be shown during the game show. I'll be a slim bloke of (soon to be) 25 with dark brown hair wearing a red Ronde Barber jersey for anyone who is interested.

If you have any special requests for the above, please let me know and I'll see what I can do.

[Thomond]

Gutted I didn't join the Bucs UK fan club, it sounds like I'm missing out on a lot. I'm heading over from Ireland. You see a guy with black hair around 5"10 in a white Earnest Graham jerse it's me. Nervous about the game but really looking forward to flying over.

[BamBam]

Be interesting to put a face to our all mighty administrator Pr4wn! The flag football game sounds a laugh, you do realise that if you are rubbish we won't be letting you forget it!

As to the game itself, not going but will be watching on tv

[crazy_dave23]

Going to the game Sunday and to Roger Goddell's Q&A thing on the Saturday, which means I'll probably swing over to the Trafalgar Square thing as well to have a quick look

[Pr4wn]

Dave and Thomond, fancy meeting for a pint somewhere?

[Derbyblue]

Could I have chose a worse day to ask my girlfriend out on? She's coming up to celebrate our anniversary, but I'll try my best to talk her into going to the pub and socialising with my teammates while I try my best to spot you on the tv, or could someone with sky+ record the game and if they spot Pr4wn put it on the net?

Sounds like you've got a great weekend ahead Pr4wn, do you know what position you will be playing yet? I think Cuba Gooding Jr is there as I'm pretty sure I read a title about a special screening of Jerry Maguire.

[crazy_dave23]

Dave and Thomond, fancy meeting for a pint somewhere?

Only in and around the fan rally thing on the Saturday would suit as I will be with my Dad on the Sunday, and aside from the fact he cant really have a drink and we'd likely be getting in relatively late he'd cramp my 23 year old style!

[Thomond]

Sorry, Pr4wn won't be able to. RWC final is on Sunday so watching that first, won't be heading to Wembley until around 2/2.30. With my Dad aswell.

[dancingweeman]

I'll be heading up with one of my mates at some point during the early afternoon.

Where abouts is the flag football game Pr4wn? Spectators welcome?

[Grizzly]

Anyone that goes hope you have a great time.
Enjoy

[El Capitan]

man I can't wait. Always take the monday off work as it turns into one long beer/nfl day. Will have redzone recorded for when I get home.

Rugby WC Final & Man City v United as well. What a day!!!

[Marky]

I'll be honest. I'm only going because I was lucky enough to win 2 tickets on TalkSport on Tuesday evening.

But i'm looking forward to it, I have watched plenty of matches in the past although I haven't picked "my team" yet. Will just see how it goes on the day before picking a side out of Chicago and Tampa Bay, probably depends on the atmosphere around me!

Getting the train and changing at Clapham Junction for Wembley Central, makes far more sense than squeezing onto the Underground before and after the game, and Wembley Central is a lot closer to the pubs and food outlets than walking back from the Stadium. There's my tip of the day

[El Capitan]

yeah I never quite understand those that choose get the tube from central London to the game when there is a chiltern railways service from Marylebone that takes 10 minutes and is infinitely more comfortable

[Skyforger]

If you have any special requests for the above, please let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Any chance of photos and an interview with some of the cheerleaders?

[Pr4wn]

Will try my best!

[Thomond]

Sky, they do have a calendar if you care that much...

[Bull]

Come on Bears we need to win this one!

[Skyforger]

Sky, they do have a calendar if you care that much...

I'm currently gazing at Alyssa, Miss October on the Patriots cheerleader calendar...

[Number-25]

I've only ever been to the Wembley game once - living in Scotland, Wembley isn't so handy but it does at least mean you get to make a weekend of it when you do go! I had a great time - was a really cracking weekend, so I'm very jealous of all those that will be there this weekend. I'm still excited to watch it on the telly even though neither the Bucs or the Bears are my team.

Best wishes to all those that are going along - have a great day!! Even if you're not a fan of either team it's great just being in amongst other fans of this great game.

[The_Essence_of_Excellence]

Good ending to a game that looked very 1 sided in the first half.

I must say as a Cowboys fan I enjoyed Barber rumbling into the endzone...but where the hell did Williams learn to ball like that? Personally I think the ball caught him

With no disrespect to anyone's team I think the International Series needs a real blockbuster game...perhaps a divisional rivalry or a game with real meaning per say. Would love to see Steelers, Ravens, Eagles or Packers play!

[Grizzly]

Essence - if 5 years we've have the Giants, Saints and Pats who have all won superbowls in recent seasons, Dolphins, Bears and Buccs have also been over all of whom have a big following here, I don't think the organisers could have done any more.
If you're waiting for a Steelers/Ravens match up then I think you'll be disappointed, huge rivalry/divisional games will not get played here.
My own view is that the NFL went one step further than I ever imagined they would in bringing over regular season games, I expected them to play pre-season or maybe alternate pro-bowl games, so I'm of the view that we should be grateful for what we get....

[The_Essence_of_Excellence]

I get what you are saying and I am grateful...but if they are serious about a whole London franchise then it has to be the next logical sense in the process surely? Especially as they are considering adding an extra fixture to the calendar apparently to make it 2 a year.

[TM Moot]

Agree with Grizzly, lets appreicate what we have here. AFAIK the only other non-US regular season game is Buffalo playing in Toronto, so i reckon the UK does fairly well as it is.

Saying that, I would love to see the Pack as the away team..Green Bay @ Tampa Bay, just like in the old NFC Central!!

[Grizzly]

Of course if the talk of a London franchise is serious then I would expect all 32 teams to be begging to play here so they get the experience, and I hate to sound like the proverbial killjoy but I really wish the talk of a franchise would stop, it really is so unworkable.
I remember the fateful Monarchs, one season of sell out crowds at Wembley whilst winning a World Bowl then playing at athletics stadiums and 3rd div football grounds in front of 5000 people a year or two later.
I know the game has moved on but if the new Monarchs were 0-10 and faced the 1-9 Colts/Seahawks or whoevers, does anyone seriously think 80,000 would turn up ?
It's America's game lets leave it there, doesn't mean we can't enjoy watching it...

ps - hope everyone that went yesterday had a great time

[The_Essence_of_Excellence]

Lol I actual own a pair of Monarch's official game pants for training in at the O's...found them in the lock up at Crystal Palace.

I'd like to think that whilst training in a crappy potholed pitch that they were once worn in front of 80,000 people haha.

Oh how the mighty have fallen.

I agree thought the London Franchise is a silly idea and the talk of it being based out out Cardiff is insane.

[skins4ever]

OK, whilst I am not too hopeful of an NFL franchise, is it that far fetched? Imagine you generate enough interest across Europe (considering the semi-pro leagues in Germany and Italy) you could look at a 4 team European division (2 in Germany, 1 in UK and 1 in Italy) that at some point in the future would be sustainable. Factor in that's 6 of those teams games taken care of, then you are talking about 5 home and 5 away non-division games to manage over the rest of the season for each team (unless they do actually go ahead with an 18 game season by then). That also reduces the impact on stateside teams - instead of 8 teams traveling over, you have 5, and with the right scheduling, you could turn it into a European tour for them, thus reducing the travel impact.

Yeah it is pie in the sky, but also consider that technology is advancing and ramjet travel may not be too far away. If they could travel from SF to London in 3 hours, does the distance cease to be a factor?

[crazy_dave23]

Of course if the talk of a London franchise is serious then I would expect all 32 teams to be begging to play here so they get the experience, and I hate to sound like the proverbial killjoy but I really wish the talk of a franchise would stop, it really is so unworkable.
I remember the fateful Monarchs, one season of sell out crowds at Wembley whilst winning a World Bowl then playing at athletics stadiums and 3rd div football grounds in front of 5000 people a year or two later.
I know the game has moved on but if the new Monarchs were 0-10 and faced the 1-9 Colts/Seahawks or whoevers, does anyone seriously think 80,000 would turn up ?
It's America's game lets leave it there, doesn't mean we can't enjoy watching it...

ps - hope everyone that went yesterday had a great time

To be honest I agree with you Grizz. I certainly hope we dont get a franchise here for a very long time as its set up to fail miserably. I've been to every UK game so far and will continue to do so, but if you put a franchise here and I'm looking at 8 games it is just not going to happen because its not that easy to get to Wembley and basically necessitates me taking 8 days of my holiday to cover off the Monday mornings

[Pr4wn]

Bah, I grab a pick six in the flag football and all they show is goofy Neil Reynolds scoring on a pre-designed play that was set up.

[Thomond]

An enjoyable game. Disappointing the Bucs lost particularly after playing so well last week. Graham and T-Jack are a big loss a new back will need to be signed anyway. Also losing the faith a bit in Freeman. His passing was simplay dire.

[Pr4wn]

It was an awful performance.

Still, I got to meet Brad Johnson, Jimmy Giles and Shelton Quarles.

Got a photo of me and Shelton and got to wear his Superbowl ring!

[crazy_dave23]

It was an awful performance.

Still, I got to meet Brad Johnson, Jimmy Giles and Shelton Quarles.

Got a photo of me and Shelton and got to wear his Superbowl ring!

Were like the pair with the Superbowl ring pictures this week!

[Jammy31]

For me this was my first NFL game, and I must admit...I LOVED IT!

I'm a Buccs fan, and was disappointed when they lost, but was still great to experience everything

I saw this on YouTube, and didn't know if anyone knew where to get a clearer version of it: https://youtu.be/LjY2Na3wyxY

[Derbyblue]

"Sound FX: Bears and Buccaneers at Wembley" http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-films-sound-efx/09000d5d8238053a/Sound-FX-Bears-and-Buccaneers-at-Wembley?module=HP11_content_stream

[crazy_dave23]

Thanks for the tip Derby

[Grizzly]

Forte - Does terrible impersonations ! ! !

I do love these sections, incredibel how close to the game you feel just by listening to the hits/chat

[crazy_dave23]

yeah Forte's interpretation of the English accent was interesting!

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