Irish NFL fan in America Trip 6 review (Jacksonville & Tampa).

It was a hell of a quick turnaround as I boarded my flight to Florida last week for my second NFL trip of the year.

Hot September weather, poker and American football was on the menu for my week in the sunshine state and I got a lot of it in equal measures during my stay. 

I also got to witness first career wins for two NFL quarterbacks and at 23 and 22 respectfully, I may have even witnessed the birth of a future star.

I started off in Jacksonville for a Thursday night football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans, two decent NFL teams both of which have strong playoff aspirations this season.

It was a fun atmosphere outside the stadium and the people of Jacksonville in general were very friendly. It’s amazing they even have a team really as the city itself is rather small, especially compared to some of the others I’ve been to.

Also, tickets for the game were going for as little as $30 in the week leading up to it. (For context, the cheapest ticket for the Patriots Steelers game on week one that I went to was nearly $700).

But in fairness to the Jacksonville Jaguars they are a pretty good football team and played well in what was a comfortable 20-7 win despite having to start their backup quarterback Gardner Minshew. But it was Minshew himself who was the star of the show and gained all the plaudits on a day he said “he’ll never forget”. His first win in the league.

The following day I played some poker in Jacksonville at the Bestbet poker room. Keeping up with the theme of the city this was a nice, friendly place and with over 20 tables running on a Friday afternoon, the action was very good too.

I would have liked to have gone back on Saturday but alas it was an Uber to Gainesville, Florida the birthplace of the greatest musician of all time Tom Petty and also the home of the University of Florida and with it their football team, the Florida Gators.

This was a very different college game than the one I saw in Boston. This had all the looks and feels of an NFL game and if anything an even more partisan crowd. At half time, one man who I spoke to was so impressed that I had come to see his Gators play he insisted on buying me two beers or as he put it “one for each hand.” 

I know it’s not exactly a Maserati or the keys to a mansion but for some reason that simple gesture really meant a lot to me. It made me feel welcome.

The game itself was as memorable for the crowd’s rendition of Tom Petty’s “Won’t back down” as it was for anything that happened on the turf itself.

It would be another Floridian victory over a Tennessee team, a second in three days, as the Gators would go on to win 34-3 against the Volunteers. It would also be another home victory for the teams I’ve seen this year with Boston College, the New England Patriots, the New Orleans Saints, the Jacksonville Jaguars and now the Florida Gators all winning while I was there maybe I was a becoming somewhat of a lucky Oman for the home crowds?

After a night in Gainesville it was a bus to Tampa on Sunday as the Buccaneers played host to the Giants, my third football game in four days! 

Unperturbed, I was looking forward in particular to seeing the first start of a much talked about new NFL quarterback, the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft and now a player who the Giants were benching their former two time winning Super Bowl quarterback Eli Manning for, Daniel Jones.

I had a feeling there would be a story in this game, and there certainly was.

The first key action of the game was the injury to Saquon Barkley in the second quarter. The second overall pick in last year’s draft, Barkley has already established himself to be the most valuable player in the Giants locker room as well as perhaps, the best running back in the league. An incredible achievement in what is only his sophomore year in the pros. 

This basically meant if the Giants were going to win this game it would have to be though the hands of their first-time starter, Daniel Jones.

Trailing 28-10 at half time it really looked as though there would be no fairytale for Daniel Jones with the Giants and if anything it was turning into a bit of a nightmare.

And then the second half happened.

First snap Jones to Evan Engram. Touchdown. 75 yards.

The Giants were back in it.

The strangest thing about this game was the crowd. At an estimate I’d say it was 65:35 but not in favour of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but in favour of the visiting New York Giants.

There were more Giants fans at this game then there was when I went to see the Giants play at home last December. 

Clearly a lot of folk had moved/retired down to Florida but stayed loyal to their football team and it was in clear evidence last Sunday. It was strange.

Then Jones threw another touchdown. 25-28. Two minutes to go Jones runs it in for a touchdown himself. Giants now lead 32-31. One minute to go and the Buccaneers drive the ball into Giants territory to set up a 34 yard field goal to win it. The kick is no good and the crowd goes wild, Giants win 32-31. All the players hug Daniel Jones and with it embraced his first win in the NFL.

My record of home team wins was over but with the celebrations that ensued in the stadium it was hard to see how the home team had lost. It was bizarre.

For my final two days in Florida it was more poker this time at the Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa. Again plenty of action and many tables going early in the afternoon but a far less friendlier room than the Bestbet in Jacksonville. It was a little too dark, it was a little too hostile, the staff were a little too snappy, I wouldn’t be rushing back.

At one point I had a guy proposition me while we were playing. 

“Hey you wanna bet a hundred dollars I can’t do 25 push ups before the next hand?”

Now call me suspicious, but I can’t help feel that if someone offers you a very specific proposition bet out of nowhere at a poker table that you may not be getting the best of it.

I refused to take it and with it came the jeers from the rest of the table. It was clear who was away from home this time.

On Wednesday I got to the airport six and a half hours early for my flight home.

I wasn’t going to miss this one.

Irish NFL fan in America Trip 5 review (Boston & New Orleans)

09.07 September 5th 2019.

Boston bus tour. (duration 8 hours)

We could leave our belongings on the bus if we liked but we had to stay in the same seats for the duration of the tour.

“I love history. Love history”

She was from Denver Colorado. She was 85 years old. She spoke but she couldn’t hear. She smiled a lot. I can’t remember her name.

There’s very little you can do when you’re sat next to someone and they’re 85 and they’re smiling a lot and they keep talking over the tour guide.

You could say “can you please stop talking, you’re ruining the tour” but you’d have to yell for her to hear you which might seem rude to her but not as rude as it would seem to everyone else on the bus who are completely unaware of the context.

30 something year old rude unshaven Irish guy’s over here wearing American football team’s hoodies and he’s not even from here and he’s screaming at our sweet old ladies.

You could marry a mute. That way you'd be guaranteed to sit beside someone who didn’t talk over the tour guide.

You could say “I thought you said you loved history? Why are you constantly talking over the tour guide who’s painstakingly fine tuned every single syllable that comes out of his mouth to ensure it’s either very informative, very witty, very comforting or at least a halfway attempt at being somewhat funny?”

But that might too make me seem like the one who was unhinged. 

I remember what my Dad used to say about Americans when he’d see them in Ireland.

"They’re big. They’re loud. And they’re over here.”

I was over there now.

I’d just have to grin and bear it. 

Boston is a fantastic city. With rent starting at $3000 per month for a studio apartment it would probably want to be. In the Back Bay Area of Boston a pair of parking spaces in an alleyway sold for $560,000 alone.

As you leave the city big bright stunningly beautiful homes vibrantly line the streets of the suburbs. 

 

Steeped in history, Boston is as famous for its past as its present with the American revolution, “taxation without representation” and of course the Boston tea party.

Boston has the oldest baseball stadium in America, Fenway Park. The ballpark which at times has been considered both economically unviable and structurally unsound has survived since 1912 and as such has became the only stadium in America to have played host to all the stars of baseball including Willie Mays, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Babe Ruth.

Ruth, an American sporting icon was unquestionably talented but his playboy lifestyle would often see him missing practice and turn up for games hungover where he would scoff two hotdogs from the concession stand, down a cup of Coca Cola and take to the ballpark for an attempt to hit home runs. This was considered indisciplined by the coaching staff who traded him to the New York Yankees in what would be the worst decision the team would ever make. The Red Sox would then go 74 years before winning another World Series after that.

Boston is also the home (or sort of the home) to a little known NFL team called the New England Patriots. The team, which has lacked success particularly in recent times, has suffered in the hands of clueless owners, inept coaching staff and a quarterback who has held the team back ever since they foolishly drafted him during the sixth round back in the year 2000.

Oh no wait they’re actually the complete opposite of all those things.

Walking up to Gillette stadium was actually quite a surreal moment for me as it’s a vision which has become so familiar, not from having been there physically but from having seen it so many times on the TV in my bedroom on Sunday nights as year after year the Patriots would make a run at the playoffs that would more often than not end up in a Super Bowl appearance if not a win itself.

And guess what? It looks like this year is going to be absolutely no different!

The Patriots destroyed the Steelers 33-3 in what was as dominating a performance both offensively and defensively as I’ve seen against what was a far from mediocre Pittsburgh team. Tom Brady moved the ball at will while his fellow Super Bowl winning counterpart Ben Roethlisberger couldn’t even find the end zone, a first in 26 games.

It’s going to be hard to see who’ll stop the Patriots this year. I saw a funny tweet after the game that said “man I can’t stand the Patriots” and it certainly has that "here we go again" feel to it. They are getting perilously close to overkill.

Getting out of the stadium that night was a bit of a disaster and after following most of the crowd for about a mile and a half I can still see a finger pointing way into the distance of where I had just came from and hearing “Boston’s that way.” Three hours and a $150 Uber later I finally got back my hotel.

I was thankful when I got to New Orleans the next day that it wasn’t going to be the same scenario.

The Super Dome is right bang hard in the middle of the city. I was able to walk to it in 15 minutes from my hotel. I could even drink a beer along the way.

19.07 9th September 2019.

New Orleans Super Dome, Louisiana.

The stadium is booming. I wish every game was in a dome. The sound rebounds and reverberates and the echo creates the most fabulous din. Although it didn’t matter where it was, this game was going to be noisy. It was noisy in the stands it was noisy at the gates it was noisy at the concession stands and noisy at the bars. A lot of the crowd came dressed in black and white as a form of protest to a controversial refereeing decision which probably cost the team a place in last year;s Super Bowl. The “zebras” were in full voice anytime a decision went against their beloved Saints.

And there were some controversial decisions too, and once again a lot of them seemed to go against the Saints. Save for a last gasp field goal to win it this could have been yet another high profile game lost by New Orleans at the hands of the refs. Words like “conspiracy” were being said more and more as the game went on and it probably doesn’t help matters when the league office is issuing the team apologies over what has gone on by the “zebras” on the pitch. But this team will march on and who knows I may well have seen both of this year’s Super Bowl teams last weekend.

A special mention to New Orleans Saints running back come wide receiver Alvin Kamara who was the best player I’ve seen so far on my trips. He seemed to find yards where other players wouldn’t. He seemed to do well every time he touched the ball. He just seems like a very special player to the naked eye. Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson also looked good in what was my second time seeing him.

21.08 10th September 2019
Court tavern sandwich’s, Bourbon Street, New Orleans.

“So what’s a po boy?”
“A po boy is basically French bread. If I was to put you in between French bread you’d be a po boy.”
“I’m a po boy?”
“If you were between French bread. Yes, you’d be a po boy.”

Turns out I’m a po boy. Better than being a po girl I suppose. 

New Orleans is almost exactly as you’d expect it to be. So much so that I kept thinking of this video as I was walking along.

Loud music. Alcohol everywhere. Dingy. Neon lights. Great food. Think downtown Vegas mixed with temple bar. Think jazz instead of trad. Think warm weather instead of cold. But think the same craic as you’d find at home.

11.27 11th September 2019
Just outside Louis Armstrong airport, New Orleans.

Uber driver Mike.

"So when do you think you’ll be back?”

A simple question but yet a very sobering one. The truth is I might never be back. Just like all the places I’ve been to so far on this tour many of them I probably will never be back to. That’s not to say that I won’t or I couldn’t it’s just that for most of them I could well never be back.

"You know what, I don’t know.”

My last day in the United States would turn out to be my penultimate one. After my flight from New Orleans back to Boston I missed my connecting fight back home. I was worried when the guy at the Aer Lingus desk already knew my name.

20.07 11th September 2019.
Boston Logan International Airport.

"Gary?”

“Yep.”

“Yeah, you’ve missed your flight, you’re going to have to go out to the main hallway and speak to the ticket desk about what to do next.”

20.15 11th September 2019.
Boston Logan international airport (Aer Lingus ticket desk).

“Gary?”

“Yep” (still haven’t introduced myself to anyone)

“So. You’re going to have to go to Bradley.”

And that’s a sentence I’ll never forget. The next flight from Boston was full. Turns out the next flight after that from Boston was full too and guess what? Yep you’ve guessed it the next one was full too. I was going to have to go to Bradley. See Bradley’s not a person. Bradley’s an airport.

An airport in Hartford, Connecticut in fact.

And that night I’d be staying at the humble adobe of 34 Old County Road, Windsor Locks, Connecticut. The econo lodge motorway hotel. Or as the yanks call it “a motel.” 

It had a swimming pool but it was “out of season.” It had a lobby but it was “under construction.” And it had a coffee machine but it was “out of order.” I was given room 234 and I think if you were given it the day the twin towers got hit you’d probably be looking at the same door, the same tv, the same bathroom and maybe even the same bed. It wasn’t all bad. There was a Dunkin’ (donuts) a quarter mile up the road. It was a place nobody wants to stay in. A place for those in transit. A place that at $69 a night there could be no love lost. It’s only amenities being that it’s close to the airport, what was it’s name again? 

I arrived five hours early to the airport for my flight the next day.

The holiday was over.