The start of the 2010 NFL season here in the UK reminded me a bit of the old waiting for a bus adage 'you wait for hours then two come along at once' as the NFL returned to our screens from its 7 month absence. If you are a fully paid up member of both Sky & ESPN then the opening week provided you with the chance to watch a whopping 6 games live and in HD! This, of course, was subject to living with an accommodating partner and not requiring to be awake for normal working hours.
Personally I managed just the Vikings at Saints opener live as I didn't have to go to work the next morning. Even then I still struggled to stop myself from extended periods of eye resting that I was jolted from by increased commentating voices. The game was not the best and, as it turned out, it set a tone for the standard of the games played on opening week as the 49ers were blown away by the Seahawks, the Redskins & Cowboys fought to see who could score least and the Jets and Ravens did similar but in a tougher chest beating manner. The Chiefs and Chargers probably served up the best of the TV games (didn't see the Giants v Panthers as clashed with the Lions) but even this was mistake strewn. Watching most games via Sky + meant the opening week, for me, lasted a week and by the end of it I felt a little better about the Lions and their less than inspiring performance at the Bears.
It was good to see the NFL back on Channel 4 and the highlight of the week for this particular old fogey were the little nostalgia clips they showed. It's difficult to explain to the Madden PS generation just how much of an impact those early Channel 4 shows had as it wasn't just the introduction of a new exciting sport but a whole lifestyle and attitude that those of us who regularly tuned in were buying into. Hopefully Gary Imlach and Mike Carlson will get their act together and put on a more polished performance in future weeks.
The CJ catch was a prime topic of debate and saw us receive much sympathy from other teams fans on the relevant threads on the Lions forum at NFLUK. There was also the promise of a NFLUK Store announcement but this failed to materialise and has become a watch this space type thing now. Hopefully when it does arrive the merchandise is varied and the prices are affordable. And if that proves to be the case then world peace could be a realistic goal to aim for next.
So Week 1 is now consigned to history, we can study in depth all the stats and look forward to Week 2.
It's good to have the NFL back on our screens.
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