Introduction from Afar

[PurplePPLEater]

You're welcome, I'm just so appreciative of the obvious interest.

Honestly, I have nothing but positive memories, wonderful campus. The Keenan Memorial Stadium is atmospheric and with the historic bell tower providing the backdrop, it's a special setting for football. The fact that it was a sweltering day helped, with the sun rebounding off the red bricked halls. It's incredible just how noticeable the sunniest day differs from our equivalent, everything's so much more alive with brightness in the States. Yeah, well recalled, it was as though the teams were playing minus secondaries. I must say, I find it hard to factor in college sports but that game certainly increased my interest, pure entertainment.

Oh wow, I'm genuinely envious, Charlotte's also a beautiful city. Easy to navigate around, decent vibe and well laid out, the audacious Nascar Hall of Fame springs to mind as a highlight. Obviously I'm aware of the Panthers struggles, all that hype for nothing, Ryan Kalil having to eat his words was rather amusing but the NBA isn't well covered over here so I'm unable to follow. However I like the sport itself and you know.. I really got behind the Bobcats that night, stunning come from behind victory, worth every cent. The performance of Kidd-Gilchrist was worth witnessing.

Awesome, initiation for the both of us then. I'm just disappointed that I didn't think to join earlier, such a great experience. Although that is often the case, again personally, I guess it leads back to my experiences with the soccer team I follow across the country. They're a competitive outfit but not a title contender, I wanted to similarly root for a decent side, I'd be overwhelmed with copious amounts of success. I've never been a glory hunter, a team should be followed throughout both the good and bad times.

Back tracking a bit, just wanted to thank Dark for his kind words about my country, truly appreciated. Ironically I feel precisely the same way about America, finding that everything is bigger and better and residents are both so much more welcoming and talkative. I hope to live there eventually.

I'm glad you enjoyed it! UNC is one of the nicest campuses I've ever been to. Kidd-Gilchrist is probably one of the only good high draft picks the Bobcats have made in the last decade or so. Funny you mentioned the NASCAR HoF- I worked there for a short period of time this summer. It's pretty well-put together from what I saw of it. I appreciate the response and complements!!

[UKno1VIKING]

Hello there!

Great to see another UK Viking on here.
As a reference, what made you choose the wonderful Vikings? For me it was that i started watching the NFL in the 98-99 season.
Anyone who watched the sport that year, couldn't help love the plucky underdogs and eventually feel the heartbreak of mr perfect, carter, moss, randle etc. After that it was hard not to follow the vikings.

Looking forward to Wembley, and planning to take the missus to new york then tour to minneapolis if all goes well.

If you have any tips on saving money travelling i would be very greatful to hear them.

Hope to see you at Wembley!!

[Mothman]

Dan, thank you very much for the great description of your whirlwind football tour. It sounds like it was an amazing experience!

Jim

[Texas Vike]

Hello there!

Great to see another UK Viking on here.
As a reference, what made you choose the wonderful Vikings? For me it was that i started watching the NFL in the 98-99 season.
Anyone who watched the sport that year, couldn't help love the plucky underdogs and eventually feel the heartbreak of mr perfect, carter, moss, randle etc. After that it was hard not to follow the vikings.

Looking forward to Wembley, and planning to take the missus to new york then tour to minneapolis if all goes well.

If you have any tips on saving money travelling i would be very greatful to hear them.

Hope to see you at Wembley!!

Who knew that the Vikes had such a fan base in Britain! This is just great. Maybe you all can make that "home game" vs. the Steelers actually FEEL like a home game for the players!

I can't think of any tips for saving money while traveling in the states, but I would definitely suggest going to Minneapolis/St Paul in the early fall (Between late Aug and early Oct, ideally). It is one of the nicest, most underrated American cities IMO. One site that I have found truly helpful in my travels around the world is www.tripadvisor.com. I use it to find good hotels and restaurants mostly.

NYC is on another level, of course. It's also very, very expensive.

[UKno1VIKING]

Who knew that the Vikes had such a fan base in Britain! This is just great. Maybe you all can make that "home game" vs. the Steelers actually FEEL like a home game for the players!

I can't think of any tips for saving money while traveling in the states, but I would definitely suggest going to Minneapolis/St Paul in the early fall (Between late Aug and early Oct, ideally). It is one of the nicest, most underrated American cities IMO. One site that I have found truly helpful in my travels around the world is http://www.tripadvisor.com. I use it to find good hotels and restaurants mostly.

NYC is on another level, of course. It's also very, very expensive.

Hi dude thanks for the reply!
The Wembley game i'm afraid will not be anything like a home game. I went to Bucs Vs Pats at Wembley a few years ago, and although the Bucs were meant to be the home team, there were a lot more Pats fans. Such is the way the game is showed to us over here. The games on british T.V usually involve Pats, Packers, Cowboys, Steelers etc. This balanced needs to be addressed. Until then i've got gamepass running on one laptop and Paul Allen on the other.
So this will probably be exactly the same. A waste of a home game. Goodell might want to look into that, maybe getting one of "americas teams" to be the home team.
I will certainly use trip advisor to find cheap deals. Ive been to NYC 3 times now so have no worries finding a cheaper deal for staying. It's just the travelling.
I'd be happy to do a whistle stop tour of the north on a Greyhound, however not quite sure the missus would be too keen!

[ViciousBritishVike]

Hello there!

Great to see another UK Viking on here.
As a reference, what made you choose the wonderful Vikings? For me it was that i started watching the NFL in the 98-99 season.
Anyone who watched the sport that year, couldn't help love the plucky underdogs and eventually feel the heartbreak of mr perfect, carter, moss, randle etc. After that it was hard not to follow the vikings.

Looking forward to Wembley, and planning to take the missus to new york then tour to minneapolis if all goes well.

If you have any tips on saving money travelling i would be very greatful to hear them.

Hope to see you at Wembley!!

You're more than welcome Mothman, thanks for the intrigue.

Likewise, gives you faith that some of our nation has good taste in football teams Other than standout players such as the 'Williams Wall' and Culpepper that attracted me, there's a funny story behind the origin on my fanship. I was thinking about football in general whilst travelling home one day and flipped the radio station over, coincidentally a Chilli Peppers song was playing, 'Dani California' I believe and the first word muttered was 'Minnesota'. With a certain like for the colour purple and the smash mouth brand of football, my support had begun. With no affiliation to an American place, it was always going to be spontaneous. Can't fault your reasoning either.

Likewise and we will do our best to represent the Vikes but as you so rightfully pointed out, we won't be able to drown out the hoards of Pats fans. Admittedly the most regularly televised games are Fox's 'America's Game of the Week' but to be honest, I have no issue with that as it gives the sport the greatest exposure. Other than following Minnesota, I'm happy to watch anything football related.

As for travelling, don't set plans in stone, simply arrive and inquire about hostels rather than the constant use of hotels. That is where you'll lose the majority of your funds otherwise.

Definitely, we'll arrange a pint in the Green Man prior or something?

[UKno1VIKING]

You're more than welcome Mothman, thanks for the intrigue.

Likewise, gives you faith that some of our nation has good taste in football teams Other than standout players such as the 'Williams Wall' and Culpepper that attracted me, there's a funny story behind the origin on my fanship. I was thinking about football in general whilst travelling home one day and flipped the radio station over, coincidentally a Chilli Peppers song was playing, 'Dani California' I believe and the first word muttered was 'Minnesota'. With a certain like for the colour purple and the smash mouth brand of football, my support had begun. With no affiliation to an American place, it was always going to be spontaneous. Can't fault your reasoning either.

Likewise and we will do our best to represent the Vikes but as you so rightfully pointed out, we won't be able to drown out the hoards of Pats fans. Admittedly the most regularly televised games are Fox's 'America's Game of the Week' but to be honest, I have no issue with that as it gives the sport the greatest exposure. Other than following Minnesota, I'm happy to watch anything football related.

As for travelling, don't set plans in stone, simply arrive and inquire about hostels rather than the constant use of hotels. That is where you'll lose the majority of your funds otherwise.

Definitely, we'll arrange a pint in the Green Man prior or something?

You got it. Always up for a jar.
The London games atmosphere is always bad, although no sure whether this is from watching years of Leeds at Elland Road. It's a bit worrying thinking of a Viking home game being played in a graveyard. I doubt the crowd will be given an assist for a forced big ben timeout.

[ViciousBritishVike]

You got it. Always up for a jar.
The London games atmosphere is always bad, although no sure whether this is from watching years of Leeds at Elland Road. It's a bit worrying thinking of a Viking home game being played in a graveyard. I doubt the crowd will be given an assist for a forced big ben timeout.

Brilliant, I look forward to it, we'll arrange it nearer the time. Oh no, a genuine "Football FRIIIIIEEENNDD", I hope you're familiar with the Inbetweeners! Otherwise I've just appeared more insane than usual, haha.

Agreed, I think it's probably due to the mixture of supported teams and differences in terms of knowledge of the game. Newbies obviously won't be aware of when to shout and of course many won't want to really get into creating a nightmarish third down scenario due to no affiliation with the Vikes.

A Leeds fan eh? Hope you return to where you belong before long bud, historic club! An International Series atmospher is certainly a come down. I travelled up to Elland Road last season for Saints' 1-0 victory over the whites and I still to this day don't know how we prevailed. A mixture of pure luck and last gasp defending.

I know, the prospect concerns me too, it's a shame we couldn't have organised a congregation of Vikings fans to generate at least some noise. Though in the grand scheme of things, sadly there probably wouldn't be enough to generate substantial noise. Still, we'll do our best and will our boys onto victory. Yeah, that's unlikely! I say we just go old school, knock him out of the game, as did the Chiefs this season.

[CapDB7]

You got it. Always up for a jar.
The London games atmosphere is always bad, although no sure whether this is from watching years of Leeds at Elland Road. It's a bit worrying thinking of a Viking home game being played in a graveyard. I doubt the crowd will be given an assist for a forced big ben timeout.

Atmosphere in that dump!? I think you mean from your visits to the McAlpine/Galpharm/John Smiths Stadium mate! And Soton have just become the UKs most hated club of 2013 with Adkins fiasco.

Anyway, back on topic:
The atmosphere shouldn't be as bad with the Steelers having a large following. A lot of tickets will be given to businesses though so a large chunk of the crowd won't have a clue what is going on just like very other important event at the stadium.

[Barry]

Good stuff in here. Welcome to the board and welcome to Viking fandom.

[ViciousBritishVike]

You got it. Always up for a jar.
The London games atmosphere is always bad, although no sure whether this is from watching years of Leeds at Elland Road. It's a bit worrying thinking of a Viking home game being played in a graveyard. I doubt the crowd will be given an assist for a forced big ben timeout.[/quote]

Atmosphere in that dump!? I think you mean from your visits to the McAlpine/Galpharm/John Smiths Stadium mate! And Soton have just become the UKs most hated club of 2013 with Adkins fiasco.

Anyway, back on topic:
The atmosphere shouldn't be as bad with the Steelers having a large following. A lot of tickets will be given to businesses though so a large chunk of the crowd won't have a clue what is going on just like very other important event at the stadium.[/quote]

Classic stadium, one of my favourite, though I appreciate the resentment stemming from a Yorkshire derby. I have bad memories of the Galpharm, we could never pick up a result, only stuffing you at home. Don't get me started, currently the club's lead by a clueless regime, we're all sickened by the appalling decision. Just when things were looking up, only time will tell.

That's a good point, though the twirling of Terrible Towels isn't going to help our cause, thinking we might have to generate a purple alternative to rival. True, it's always the genuine supporters who miss out, everyone wants a slice of a huge event, relevant to them or not, it's purely financially based.

[yezzir]

Welcome Dan. Your initial post gave me small shivers. It's cool to see hardcore fans who have no business liking a team in the first place. . Especially while living in Europe. Make it a priority to see a game at the Metrodome next year. Physically it's a dump, but it's one of the best atmospheres in the NFL.
Looking forward to you being an active member!

[yezzir]

Question to our foreign friends-- is American football growing fairly rapidly in your regions? Or is it hardly noticeable? It's interesting to me.

[UKno1VIKING]

You got it. Always up for a jar.
The London games atmosphere is always bad, although no sure whether this is from watching years of Leeds at Elland Road. It's a bit worrying thinking of a Viking home game being played in a graveyard. I doubt the crowd will be given an assist for a forced big ben timeout.

Atmosphere in that dump!? I think you mean from your visits to the McAlpine/Galpharm/John Smiths Stadium mate! And Soton have just become the UKs most hated club of 2013 with Adkins fiasco.

Anyway, back on topic:
The atmosphere shouldn't be as bad with the Steelers having a large following. A lot of tickets will be given to businesses though so a large chunk of the crowd won't have a clue what is going on just like very other important event at the stadium.[/quote]

Classic stadium, one of my favourite, though I appreciate the resentment stemming from a Yorkshire derby. I have bad memories of the Galpharm, we could never pick up a result, only stuffing you at home. Don't get me started, currently the club's lead by a clueless regime, we're all sickened by the appalling decision. Just when things were looking up, only time will tell.

That's a good point, though the twirling of Terrible Towels isn't going to help our cause, thinking we might have to generate a purple alternative to rival. True, it's always the genuine supporters who miss out, everyone wants a slice of a huge event, relevant to them or not, it's purely financially based.[/quote]

Woah!! Leeds will be and always will be the most hated team in the U.K. You cant take this away from us, we haven't got a right lot else!!

As for he atmosphere, it certainly isn't how it used to be, but that happens when were only half full. Our kop is still the loudest noise around.
The great thing about the wembley game is that fans from around the country representing the 32 teams all come together to watch a live game. Unfortunately, this becomes a waste of a home game. And with our schedule next season, it might not be the best timing.

[UKno1VIKING]

Question to our foreign friends-- is American football growing fairly rapidly in your regions? Or is it hardly noticeable? It's interesting to me.

Im certainly seeing a massive upward trend in interest in the NFL over here. Theres certainly a lot more fans than there was in the 90's.
Plus bars and pubs round here are showing games a lot more frequently. Theres even one bar near me that shows all sunday games on different screens using gamepass.