LET'S GO SEAHAWKS!

Our trip down to San Diego was partly to relax and have some time sans Mr Macintosh, but it was also a lot to do with our first NFL experience. For those of you who are English and have no idea what I'm talking about, we went to see an American football game. To be more precise we went to see the San Diego Chargers take on the Seattle Seahawks in one of their pre-season games.

My experience of American football up until this point was very limited, and mostly revolved around watching the Super Bowl, so I wasn't expecting to understand very much but thankfully we were sat next to two very nice Seahawks fans who were happy to explain anything that was a little beyond us. So basically we constantly badgered them to explain what was happening!

Now the world of American football is very different to any sport back in the UK. This is such a big franchise. The teams have so many players. There are tons of support staff and coaches. There is so much going on its insane. This match was no different, despite being a pre-season game, because it was military appreciation weekend. So there was a little more pomp and circumstance to the game. 

When we first arrived we were completely blown away by the sheer size of the Qualcomm stadium. It is insanely big and holds so many fans. Yet despite the size you still manage to get a really good view of the pitch because the tiers go up so steeply. It really didn't feel like we were in the nosebleed seats! 

Before the real action got underway the players came onto the pitch to warm up. The seats were still pretty empty at this point but I wanted to see everything so we were there throughout! I couldn't believe how many players they have though. Below is a picture of the team huddle and then the Seattle Seahawks warming up. They take up half the pitch!!

Both teams went back to their changing rooms whilst the Marine band came and did some of their repertoire. They were pretty impressive. Then following in the military theme we had some ex-military guys parachute into the stadium. Was pretty impressive to be honest. 

Then it was time for the football to begin. The San Diego Chargers came out through a tunnel, with real flames and walked through a path lined with their cheerleaders. There was a lot of cheering for them being the home team. The Seahawks had appeared earlier with a smaller amount of noise. 

Obviously the national anthem was sung, whilst a giant United States shaped flag was unfurled. They really do go all out in America! 

I won't be able to tell you much about what happened in the game, except that the Seahawks were doing really well until about the third quarter when the Chargers started to come back. We were down to the last minute of playing time and the Seahawks needed something spectacular to win. I think it was in the last 30 seconds that they managed to score a field goal meaning they won 16-15. Close but still a win. Have to say that Andrew and I were screaming our heads off and cheering so loudly, despite being in a predominantly Chargers area. Nothing kicked off though, at least football over here doesn;t equate to fans fighting...

It was a crazy experience and both us of came away saying we'd happily go to another game. So anyone want to come visit and see a game with us? 
H