NFL Wembley | Steelers Vs Vikings

 I sent out a tweet last week asking if anyone would be interested in reading about a post on my upcoming trip to the NFL at Wembley and the response to it was great so today I'm going to share with you my experience of my first time at Wembley and seeing my first professional NFL game.

We got up early on Sunday 29th September to get our train from Bournemouth to Waterloo we booked our train tickets in advance so decided to go first class as we had never done it before - needless to say, i'll definitely be doing it again! More leg room, comfy chairs and plugs to charge your phones, yes please!

We arrived in London around 10.30am and headed to The Slug and Lettuce at Waterloo (our usual pit stop) for something to eat as we wanted to eat early and beat the rush later, then we hopped on the tube to Queensway where our hotel was so we could drop off our bags as you weren't allowed to take any bags except clear ones into Wembley. We booked to stay in the Hilton Hyde Park as we got an Expedia deal but everything was such a rush that I didn't have any time to take photos, to be honest,we weren't that impressed. We have definitely stayed in better hotels in London for less money but we knew we weren't going to be using the room for very long, it was only a bed for the night.

Then we got back on the tube and headed for Wembley to soak up the atmosphere which was amazing! There were fans everywhere and we spotted every NFL team jersey. We headed to the merchandise stalls and I picked up a programme, key ring, foam finger and a t-shirt with the game day teams on.

After chilling out in the beer tent for a bit we walked around the stadium and came across the Minnesota Viking Cheerleaders putting on a display, and the Vikings band (Skol Line) walking around the crowds, playing.

At 4 o'clock the gates to Wembley opened and we were able to go through into the stadium. I have never been to Wembley before, only the arena next door and I knew it was big, but it was huge! All 83,000 fans were in great spirits and everyone was really friendly, despite rival team fans sitting next to each other!

We then popped down to say hello to our friend Cecil Martin who we met last year and organised a youth training session with for our local American Football team, the Bournemouth Bobcats (you can read that post here). He was getting ready to commentate on the show on Sky Sports but was more than happy to pose for a photo!

At 5.30 the pre-game show act took place which was Tinie Tempah and then the American and British National Anthems. Then the teams then took their places on the field and the game began! The final score was Steelers 27 Vikings 34 it was great to see a game with a lot of points being scored, everytime the Vikings scored the cheerleaders came out onto the field and put on a little show!

I had an absolutely amazing time and I can't wait to go to the next game (San Fransisco 49ers vs Jacksonville Jaguars) at the end of October!

Have you been to an NFL game before? Were you there at Wembley this weekend?