the starrs: NFL at Wembley Stadium

October 30-31

Back in March when we found out we were moving to England, we took it as a good sign when we discovered the San Francisco 49ers were going to be playing in London right after we got here. Game day finally arrived, and it was definitely a good time.

We headed into London on Saturday morning - we parked at a town about an hour from our house and took the tube into London - it was much faster that way, plus we didn't have to pay for overnight parking in London! We picked up our football tickets in Leicester Square then walked to some of the big sights in London - Parliament, Big Ben, London Eye, 10 Downing Street, and Picadilly Circus. However, we didn't really go in any of the sights...we figured we would save those for when people come to visit, hint hint ;) Are you guys picking up on my subtle hints to come visit? Good. We found a 49ers rally in Traflagar Square, so we went to that and got to see Roger Goodell (NFL commissioner), Mike Singletary (49ers head coach), some of the 49ers defensive players, and...Jerry Rice! The defensive players and Jerry Rice were really funny, they were the highlight of the rally. It was different because people weren't as excited as they would have been in the U.S., but it was still fun.

Me in front of Parliament

London Eye

I know you can't see it (neither could we!), but 10 Downing Street is in there somewhere - where the Prime Minister lives

Picadilly Circus - their version of Times Square

Westminster Abby

Trafalgar Square where the 49ers rally was

Jerry Rice!

Sunday we headed to Wembley Stadium and went to all the pregame festivities - they had quite the set up there! It was interesting because we probably saw every NFL team represented - we realized they don't necessarily care for a specific team, they just like to watch the game (even though many didn't seem to actually understand it). We could see everything from our seats, and enjoyed the elaborate pre-game show they put on - it seemed more like a playoff game than a game between two pretty mediocre teams ;) The 49ers scored a field goal first, and the crowd went crazy! We were excited because they were cheering for our team, and it really seemed like a home game for the 49ers. But then the Broncos scored a touchdown...and the crowd went crazy again!! We couldn't understand who they were cheering for because they cheered for both teams all the time! It turns out they just like big plays and didn't really have a team preference. That was a little disappointing because it definitely wasn't like going to a game back in the States, but it was still very fun :) Plus the 49ers won, so I had a happy hubby at the end of the night. And he was double happy when the Giants won the World Series that night also!