The Giants Make History

If there was ever an American Football came to cut my teeth with, it was this one.

Watching the tactical battle between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants was nail-biting stuff. In a fiercely competitive game, the Giants set out on the offensive, scoring a field goal in the first quarter. They stayed on top of the Patriots throughout the next two quarters, until a second touchdown by New England seemed to guarantee defeat.

In fact, it wasn't until the last minute of the game - literally seconds before the final whistle - that an amazing lob across the field won the Giants an astounding 80 yards of turf - and enabled them to hammer home a vital touchdown that edged them three points over the (until then) undefeated Patriots.

On the brink of an undefeated season - something that hadn't been seen for 35 years - the Patriots had victory snatched away from them by the plucky New Yorkers. THIS was the game people will be talking about for years to come.

I had the good fortune to enjoy the competition in the company of some die-hard Giants fans. when that final touchdown was scored, you could hear their cheers all the way in Arizona.

I'm still not quite sure I understand the finer details of the sport - but I'll tell you this much. It's a thousand times more exciting than the average tepid game of Premiership Soccer.

History in the Making...

Tonight is the 42nd Superbowl - ending the NFL season and pitching undefeated favourites the New England Patriots against tough, but tempered rivals the New York Giants.

It's an enormously important game - and here in New Jersey we're all rooting for our home team (New Jersey doesn't have it's own NFL team, so we root for next-door's Jets and Giants.)

The reason why this game is so important is because the Patriot's astounding success this season. They are undefeated after 18 games. If they win the Superbowl, they'll not only capture football's most sought-after prize - they'll also have achieved a straight-run of success not seen since the 1972 Miami Dolphins took the cup after an undefeated season.

It's hardly a David and Goliath story, since the Giants haven't had too disappointing a season themselves, winning thirteen of their eighteen games. However, calculating the odds based on the team's performance this season, it's clear that defeating the Patriots will be a challenge.

I'm off to watch the match with my brothers-in-law. I'm no great football fan, but I'm quite excited to see our home-team in the running. The NFL is a much more entertaining championship to watch than, say, the soccer World Cup. In 'European football' (as I've been reduced to calling it) the ninety minute kickaround generally ends with a penalty shootout - thereby eliminating all the strategy and competition and reducing the match to a random game of chance.

At least with American football, the outcome is never predetermined, the scores can always change and when victory is decided, it's normally decisive.

If the Americans know anything, it's spectator sports - and tonight's Superbowl XLII promises to be the ultimate example of that.

Fall has Fallen

Summer is but a memory. For the last few mornings, it's been cold and crisp and delicious. A beautiful autumn as refreshing as a pint of cider.

Which is ironic, really, since I'm hundreds of miles away from the nearest pint of Scrumpy Jack.

The change in seasons happened overnight. One day, we were sweltering in the low nineties. Then, the next morning, we woke up to bustling winds and golden leaves. It's a modest sixty five degrees and the mornings are just the shy side of 'cold.'

Not that I mind.

Summer is brilliant, don't get me wrong. But there is nothing to beat a lovely autumn morning. My first memories of arriving in America - and falling in love with the place - were during the autumn months. One lungful of that crisp New England air conjours up everything that's 'America' to me.

The pumpkins on people's porches. The apple-scented candles everybody seems to burn. The scarves and hats and mittens. The indescribable beauty of the forests turning every shade of red, brown, orange and gold and every colour in between.

America is simply stunning, if you open your eyes and enjoy it.

Changing Seasons

"Autumn is a second spring, in which every leaf becomes a flower." Albert Camus.

Where does the time go?

In a little over a week, it will be four months since Tina and I first touched base in the United States. We're installed now, more or less. We've got cars and New Jersey driver's licences and I'm even lucky enough to have a great job.

It just doesn't feel like we're installed, though. We're still talking about how we've got to sit tight until the money's started coming in (although, to be fair, it's only my second payday on Friday) and we're holding off on all the 'things' we thought we wanted.

Funny how four months without one makes you realise that a personal micro-brewery is more a luxury than a necessity!

For all of America still feeling fresh and new, however, it's impossible to ignore the passing time. Despite long, hot days that are still in the low eighties, summer has slipped silently away and a beautiful New England fall is on the horizon.

Fall is what the Americans call autumn - and there's nowhere better to enjoy it than in the North Eastern United States. The beautiful oak trees turn all sorts of glorious colours and the weather is both bright and crisp at the same time. Throw into that Halloween and Thanksgiving - two of the most wonderful holidays in existence - and 'fall' even beats the long, hot, glorious summer we've just enjoyed. I can hardly wait.

We're already planning what to do for Halloween. There's the Field of Screams which looks like it's worth a road trip. Tina is also keen on going to the Eastern State Penitentiary which looks thrilling.

I have never had a Halloween in America. It'll be wonderful.

But fall brings not just a new wave of adventures and exploration. It's also the chance for Tina and I to get our feet under the table and really start to settle down in America. We're no longer 'fresh off the boat.' We're tax-paying, bill-paying, hard-working residents now and it's time to quit blinking in astonishment and start planning what the next stage will be.

What do we want? How will we achieve it?

Unlike England, America fills you with ambition and confidence. Once you've decided what it is you want, the American dream demands that you go out and achieve it - bugger the obstacles standing in your path.

Thanksgiving is two months away. I already have so much to be thankful for (not least of which, it will be my forth wedding anniversary.) In the lead up to that great event, however, what's to stop me working to achieve a few more things I can be further thankful for?

"There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other." Douglas Everett.