Super Bowl 2012: NY Giants Vs NE Patriots

Posted by James in American Football, Sports

Super Bowl 2012 in Indianapolis getting ready for kick off.

Super Bowl 2012, or Super Bowl XLVI to give it its proper title, is almost here and will see the New England Patriots take on the New York Giants.

Super Bowl 2012 will be a repeat of the 2008 Super Bowl when the New York Giants upset the odds to beat the New England Patriots 17 – 14. The Patriots had won all of their previous 18 games that season and were in great shape.

The driving force of the Patriots that season was their legendary quarterback Tom Brady, winner of 3 Super Bowl rings and looking to lead his team to the perfect season for only the 2nd time in the history of the NFL.

It wasn’t to be though, Brady was under constant harassment and was dogged by an ankle injury. It gave his opposite number, Eli Manning, the opportunity to shine with a game winning touchdown pass late on.

Both quarterbacks are among those still playing for the same teams and perhaps it is an injury free Tom Brady (age 34) who now has prove himself.

Eli Manning (age 31) for his part has so far had an outstanding season throwing for 4,933 yards and 29 touchdowns. Leadership and resilience have also marked him out and the same could be said for an injury hit Giants squad.

So perhaps the New York Giants are once again the underdogs, but underdogs can often have a nasty bite. Who do you think will win super bowl 2012?

Super Bowl 2012

 

Photo: Christine Anne Dunne

Super Bowl XLV – Green Bay Triumph Over Pittsburgh

Posted by James in American Football, Sports

103,219 American Football fans saw the Green Bay Packers come out on top 31-25 after a thrilling encounter with the Pittsburgh Steelers in Texas.

Green Bay owned the game before half time pulling out an 18 point lead after Aaron Rodgers threw 2 touchdowns and Nick Collins ran for a 37 yard touchdown after he made an interception.

Although no team has ever come back from a such a deficit, 6 time Super Bowl winners Pittsburgh looked like they might pull of the impossible, they came back strong  reducing the deficit to just 4 points with Roethlisberger pulling off a magnificent 77 yard pass to Hines Ward for an 8 yard touchdown.

The Steelers had gained the momentum but a defining moment of the match came in the 4th quarter when Rashard Mendenhall was put under pressure and fumbled the ball giving control back to the Packers.

Rodgers then completed a short pass to Greg Jennings for his 2nd touchdown of the game handing them an 11 points lead with just over 10 minutes left to play.

So for the first time in 14 years the Super Bowl trophy was held high by the Green Bay Packers as their travelling fans went wild in the stands. There will be a few sort heads at work on Monday that’s for sure.

Photo: americanistadechiapas

NFL Comes to London

Posted by Gary in American Football, Sports

There was great excitement as the NFL came to London this week.

Legends such as Jerry Rice were greeted with cheers and chanting as they graced the stage at the pre-game party in Trafalgar Square on Saturday.

The San Francisco 49ers were taking on the Denver Broncos at Wembley on Sunday with the 49ers effectively having to sacrifice home advantage to bring the NFL to the UK in a game that really matters in that it is a full on, full blooded, this counts, points are at stake game.

The pre-party was also graced by the famous 49ers cheerleaders, 5 members of the team and the coaches gave their view on the upcoming game and what it was like to play at Wembley.

In the middle of the ‘winters on it’s way’ kind of weather the acts did their best to make the crowd come alive and they included the ‘Cuban Brothers’, Britain’s Got Talent act Flawless and the official 49ers game day drummers.

There was also the obligatory hot dog and burger stands as well as Electronic Arts showcasing their latest version of Maddens football with plenty on demo machines for people to play with.

Reebok were also there launching their latest trainer which, to be honest, looks a bit funny but has the advantage of recycling the energy that you create from running into the bounce of the shoe which enables far more efficient movement. I can’t comment on how true this is as I didn’t get a chance to try them but it’s an interesting idea.