BRITISH FOOTBALL or AMERICAN

FOOTBALL?

This is a strange weekend for American expatriates living in the United Kingdom. In the United States the NFL playoffs are beginning. In England we are in the third round of the FA Cup, which is roughly the equivalent. I will probably catch the first American football game which is offered at 9.30 pm tonight on Sky Sports. But since tomorrow is a workday, I'll have to pass on the second. I don't know who is playing in either game. Shows how disconnected I have become.

The fascinating thing about British Football is that The FA Cup is open to all of the teams throughout the UK. For instance, even though the initial two rounds are over, there are still some small teams left in the mix. For instance, today Tamworth is playing Norwich City. Tamworth is five leagues down from the Premiership, Norwich City is in the Champions League, which is one below the Premiership. So, today's match would be roughly equivalent (in US terms) to the Indianapolis Indians playing one of those old semi-pro teams. In fact, Tamworth's players all have day jobs and only play on the football team as a second income (and a rather scrawny one, at that.)

I think a better comparison would be the old Indiana High School Basketball tournament -where every team played in the same tournament to determine an ultimate champion. Tamworth is a few steps below Milan (or Hickory if you are a fan of the film, Hoosiers.)

But, Tamworth has home field advantage, an amazingly their pitch is slanted six feet end to end. In other words, half of the match you are going to be running uphill. I like the David vs. Goliath aspect of the FA cup. They also only have a capacity of 4000 in their 'stadium'. And much of that is only reserved for standing.

As the weeks continue I'll become more and more interested in American football and will probably be willing to stay up most of the night to watch the Super Bowl. The FA Cup has significant breaks between rounds, and so, it won't be concluded until the spring when the final game is played in Cardiff before returning to the new Wembley Stadium in 2008.

As I write this, Tamworth is down 4-1 in the second half.

Since the Bengals didn't make the American Football playoffs, I have no real favourite, although I guess if I had to choose it would be the Colts. But, by in large my attitude is ABTB (Anyone but the Bears.)