London Calling

Last Tuesday I was fortunate enough to head overseas to London and help the NFL UK with the second annual International Series which was played at Wembley Stadium. For this week’s blog, I am going to share some of my insights and experiences from the trip.

The entire situation was unique and not like anything I’ve been exposed to before. Think about it – you’re working a sporting event for a league that doesn’t have a team in the entire continent. As a result, I feel that the enthusiasm and anticipation for the game inspired all those involved with the event to work harder and ensure their jobs were done to exceed normal standards.

Working with the Brits and other Europeans was a real blast and probably my favourite part of the whole week. After the Saints first media day (located at Arsenal FC’s Training Facility), I followed a co-worker back to the NFL UK office where he asked me to write an article for www.nfluk.com and this is the result : http://www.nfluk.com/news/culturalmix_231008.html

What’s really interesting of the whole experience was working in the organizations headquarters. Essentially, it is all one large open room where one can hear the noises and conversations of those around them. In an epiphinous moment, I suddenly found myself on the set of BBC’s “The Office” (before the American one)! I was working beside all of these Brits with lovely accents and was entirely lost for a moment before I remembered where I was and what I was doing.

During my brief tenure working for the NFL UK, I enjoyed a plethora of unique jobs and responsibilities. Without doubt, my favourite moment was interviewing some of the Saints players for NFL UK TV. Here is the interview:

http://www.nfluk.com/video/1?id=48

It was a bit challenging because I had no idea who I was interviewing before I spoke to the guys and, working for the Raiders, know little about players from the Saints! The inspiration for the questions regarding the terms, “pear shaped” and “bangers n mash” came from a jolly British cameraman who I conversed with for about 20 minutes and did not understand one word! I asked him to clarify what they meant and had a real laugh when he explained it (once again, barely comprehending his words) figuring the NFL players might enjoy it too.

The game itself was absolute ‘quality’ as the Brits would say. It was an entertaining game set in the perfect backdrop of Wembley Stadium and the British masses who were eager to feast on any regular season action they could get their hands on. An experience not soon to be forgotten!

As always, if anyone has any questions about the USF Sport Management Master’s Program, feel free to email me at cssterling@usfca.edu. Thanks for reading!