Pats most popular team in UK

[ironwasp]

Just had an e-mail from NFLUK informing me that the Patriots are the most popular NFL team in the UK, with 8.8 per cent of the 40,000 registered fans professing their support for the team (about 3,500).

Tom Brady the second most popular player behind Michael Vick but head - as always - of Peyton Manning.

I suspect that a good proportion of those fans will not have heard of Rod Rust or **** McPherson, even if they might remember Ray Berry and Tony Eason, but there is also a pretty hard core dedicated following here that does.

 

[STFarmy]

Here's to irony!

 

[ironwasp]

Here's to irony!

Indeed. I have a Patriots supporting cousin who hails from Concord who is never shy of reminding me of the origins of the Patriots, Minutemen and the result of a little colonial skirmish some 250 years ago...

 

[Gumby]

I guess people are people everywhere.

The average Brit is no better at 200 year old British history than the average american is about our history.


Or they just admire excellence when they see it.

 

[richpats]

I guess having 'England' in the name helps a bit. Plus, they're not bitter about losing to 'us' because once we were 'them' anyways.

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

Oh crap I'm not a football fan. I never registered. My life has turned upside down.

So I assume you're registered with NFLUK since you got an email from them. Why? Is it just a community? Do you get access to content otherwise unavailable? I'm just curious as to what NFLUK is.

Anyway, I too appreciate the irony.

 

[Drewwho]

'as always' ahead of Peyton I am sure you were just digging it to Peyton, which is fine with me.

Last night on NFL network they commented how Peyton Manning is by far the most popular or most recognized NFL player. His rating was 53% and next in line was Brady with 26% - or something like that - but pretty much Manning was the most recognized. Which I found interesting considering Tom has been in 3 SB's and billions watch the Super Bowl.

Do you think that it could be all those commercials? I am sure that Brady could less about his popularity rating, just like his stats. He does his share of spots, but not nearly to the extent of Brady.

Just like stats and now popularity, Brady would rather have those rings over any of it!

 

[PhilD]

New England is also geographically closest to Old England. Patriots' success over the past few years has meant that quite a few of their games have been televised over here (we used to get one 1PM game, one 4pm game, sunday night and monday night - now we get the choice two sunday afternoon games) which probably explains their support more than anything else.

I myself am a Patriots fan from England, because of a 2000 trip to Mass, Maine, New Hampshire etc. I know it's highly contentious but the British American Football market is becoming increasingly knowledgeable, and in my opinion could support a regular season game at the new Wembley.

 

[ironwasp]

Oh crap I'm not a football fan. I never registered. My life has turned upside down.

So I assume you're registered with NFLUK since you got an email from them. Why? Is it just a community? Do you get access to content otherwise unavailable? I'm just curious as to what NFLUK is.

Anyway, I too appreciate the irony.

Go to www.uknfl.com and take a loo.

It is basically the main marketing tool of the NFL office in London which is aimed at promoting the game here. It supports the main broadcast coverage we have here (4 games on a Sunday plus MNF - which is actually early tuesday monring football)

They run a Fantasy competition, they host Superbow parties, do other promo work (they have the Miami Dolphins cheerleaders on tour here next week).

They also have some pretty decent editorial. Mike Carlson, who went to college with BB at Wesleyan and played lacrosse with him, does some good stuff as does Gary Imlach who is a Brit and used to front up football broadcast coverage.

 

[shmessy]

BTW, an excellent site:

http://www.ukpatriots.com/

I loved the stories posted about the trip several of the members made last year to Gillette. They got a bit nervous when the Pats scored and the Minutement in the endzone fired their muskets in their direction. Hilarious!

Too bad I'm not going to the Chicago game. Would've liked to meet those folks.

 

[Hoodie]

Once again the Brits show particularly good taste. A very intelligent culture.

I've been to London a couple of times and when I tell people I'm from Boston, they ask me two things...how much snow did we get this year and how is the Big Dig.

Brits (at least the Londoners) are very tied in to New England.

 

[waspie (UK)]

Most UK Patriots fans seem to fall into two groups - the Grogan fans, usually in their late 30's/Early 40's who started rooting for the team during Nov-Dec 1985, and who have stuck with them through thick and thin, and the Brady fans who tend to be younger and who discovered the Pats between 2001 and 2003. There's probably a group of Grogan fans who lay dormant for about 15 years too.
Me, I'm a Grogan fan. Got into the underdog team who squished the fish. And then had my 18th birthday party ruined by the Bears (still hate the Bears, despite 13 years working for a Chicago-based company). A summer working at a camp in Maine a couple of years later confirmed I'd picked my team for life.
Yes, I liked the fact they had England in the name, but I also liked the totally uncool (I thought at the time) Pat Patriot logo, and the fact that they'd recently had an English player - John Smith (in retrospect, maybe I had a lucky escape from being a Falcons fan - they also had an English kicker). Like the fact they were the closest team to the UK too.
After last years road trip to the Saints game, this years trip to see the Bears will be bigger and better. Look out for us in the Pourhouse on Friday night, tailgating before the game (hopefully near the stadium sign in the Explorer lot), or in Section 121.
And don't listen to Schmessy even the Minutemen like us - when was the last time you saw a Minuteman wave the Union Flag?

 

[Patriotic]

I think its because of the Flying Elvis logo . . . the Brits have always loved the King.

BTW, my dad's a proud Eastender from London.

 

[OldEnglandPatriot]

I picked the Patriots when i started watching the NFL on Channel 4 in 1985. It was pretty much for the reasons mentioned in this thread: 'England' in the name, red white and blue colours, wonderful helmet logo (screw 'flying elvis'!).

It also had a little to do with 'Cheers' being my favourite TV show at the time, so I tended to have a slight interest in the Boston sports teams.

I'm lucky enough to live in New England (just about) now, but it does amuse me to think back to how much harder it was for a UK fan to follow the NFL back then. No internet, no live games apart from the Superbowl. I used to strain my ears tuning in to American Forces Network radio, a terrible signal that oscillated in and out.

 

[ayjackson]

why is it ironic?

 

[njpatsfan]

I loved the stories posted about the trip several of the members made last year to Gillette. They got a bit nervous when the Pats scored and the Minutement in the endzone fired their muskets in their direction. Hilarious!

Who says history doesn't repeat itself ?

R

 

[gomezcat]

I waited until the Adam Vinatieri kick went over before switching from the Rams.
Like many others, I fall into the "started supporting them in the mid 80s" camp. My mate went to New England for a holiday, he came back with a dodgy replica jersey, liked the name, the colours and bingo! For my sins, I also support Manchester United so I must look like a real bandwaggoner
I have to admit that I had pretty much resigned myself to never seeing the Pats win the big one. I remember being resigned to that in the Green Bay SB, when we just couldn't close the gap on them. It's nice to be wrong.
It doesn't surprise me that there are a lot of new Pats fans in the UK. That's how it is with successful teams.

 

[ironwasp]

I picked up the Pats in the 1984 season after Bob Irsay shipped the Colts to Indy. Having spent a lot of time in Baltimore when I was a kid (I am English but have a lot of family in the area) I followed both professional sports teams. For my sins I still follow the dismal Orioles but once the Colts moved I had my pick of NFL teams and went for the Patiors. I was 13 at the time and can't remember exactly what it was that inspired me. Probabaly the colours and having the word England in the name.

Happily I now have family in New England (Connecticut and Rhode Island) so I get to visit a fair bit. I have only managed one game so far at the old Sullivan Stadium when the Steve Grogan led the Pats to an unlikely win over JIm Kelly's Bills. It must have been in 1989. One thing I particularly remember - apart from the fact it was freezing cold - was that on the train on the way out to the stadium they .had a player on IR come and meet the fans. That day it was Garin Veris, a defensive end if I remember rightly. I had my photo taken with him and he was so damned big it looked like I was sitting on his knee. After the photo they asked where I'd come from, and I said ENgland and the pr guy stood up and said, "This guy's come all the way from England just to watch the game" (which wasn't strictly true although it was the highlight of the trip) and everyone in the coach gave me a round of applause.

Planning to make next trip to Foxborough next year and am very envious of all the UK Pats heading over for the Chicago game. I hope you all have a great time.

 

[shmessy]

I picked the Patriots when i started watching the NFL on Channel 4 in 1985. It was pretty much for the reasons mentioned in this thread: 'England' in the name, red white and blue colours, wonderful helmet logo (screw 'flying elvis'!).

Ah, yes, 1985. That autumn, I was actually in London on an exchange program at U. of L. Our dorm was a row house on Pembridge Gardens in Notting Hill Gate.

Your mentioning of the NFL on Channel 4 brings many memories of Sunday nights (I believe it was seven days after the fact) of the taped game of the week. I can still envision the opening segment each week had the Bonnie Tyler song "Holding out for a Hero" and then former Pats kicker John Smith and the announcer would comment on a game that edited out the huddles, OT's, etc. I think it was all packaged in an hour program. After the game, Smith would have a segment explaining a football rule.

It's hard to put in context the meaning of that show for slightly homesick 20 year olds to people today. There were no cell phones, no internet/e-mail, in fact there were no phones in our rowhouse. The only way to call home was to collect a lot of coins and go down to the corner red box phone booth on Bayswater Road (outside the Soviet Embassy - or Consulate, I forget - all I remember is that it was a Soviet Governement building and, in 1985, that was a very good conversation piece for my phone calls from that booth!) and try to get 10 or 12 minutes out of the money.

The NFL was pretty new to the UK then, but they seemed intrigued. The Fridge became a minor celebrity there after the following preseason's exhibition game at Wembley between the Bears and the Cowboys.

 

[Andy Wales]

My adoration for the Patriots started after watching SuperBowl XX, that was the first Superbowl I actually watched.
Being Welsh the "England" part of the name had nothing to do with me becoming a Patsfan ( should have put me off really lol ), in fact the reason I picked the Patriots was because they were Underdogs to the Bears and because I loved the red uniform ( being Welsh and an Arsenal fan gives you a passion for the colour red ).
I first visited Foxboro in 1999 to watch the Pats play the Phins, a game they lost to a Damon Huard TD with about 90 seconds left after leading the whole game,I was absolutely devastated but totally hooked
This years UK Patriots Roadtrip game against the Bears will be my 4th time at Foxboro and I just love every second I'm there.
Our trip last season against the Saints was just awesome ( thanks to some really good friends Stateside ) and the chat with the Minutemen at the end of the game and them holding up our flag for us to take photos was great, they even posted on the UK Patriots site the following week.
There were 13 of us at Foxboro last season, this year we will have 23 UK Patriots fans there so keep an eye open for our flag and come over for a chat:rocker: