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2 weeks ago
It’s 6.30pm connected Sunday evening and LA Rams backmost Matthew Stafford is speaking to reporters successful an unpleasant-smelling makeshift property room successful Wembley Stadium erstwhile he is interrupted by a booming sound from down a curtain. It’s teammate Davante Adams shouting “Whose house?” successful delight aft his 3 touchdowns successful nan romp complete Jacksonville Jaguars.
Adams knows what it intends to people a hat-trick astatine Wembley but he is little definite astir what time it is. “I consciousness for illustration I’m connected to nan state and nan group now,” he says. With nan crippled kicking disconnected astatine 6.30am backmost location connected nan westbound coast, nan Rams had taken nan lead earlier astir of their fans had settled connected nan sofa pinch their greeting coffee. Adams and his teammates will soon beryllium heading 5,400 miles location – conscionable 36 hours aft arriving. Welcome to nan International Series.
It was a fleeting sojourn for Sean McVay’s team. They arrived successful London connected Saturday greeting and near soon aft nan crippled connected Sunday, choosing not to do immoderate media aliases unfastened practice, hardly having clip to unpack their bags. Some wardrobes astatine their hotel must person gone unopened.
So, was backmost Stafford jet-lagged erstwhile he threw his 5 touchdowns? “Ask maine tomorrow,” he says pinch a smile. “It was an absorbing 24-48 hours, that’s for sure. We slept connected nan flight, treated it for illustration a red-eye and successful nan first 2 quarters thought: ‘This is great.’ It’ll beryllium a chaotic 1 flying backmost to LA tonight. It’s a blast.”
How did McVay header pinch nan transatlantic travel? “It’s crossed different clip zones but location was nary constituent wasting intelligence power connected that,” he says. “We conscionable had to beryllium fresh astatine kick-off. The group down nan scenes merit tremendous in installments for picking up nan full cognition and taking it connected a nine-day trip. We’ll person a fun, agelong formation home.” As nan effervescent coach cracked jokes pinch nan Rams hit writers, his caput of comms looked arsenic if he mightiness autumn dormant opinionated up.
None of nan six teams that played successful London this period stayed for long. The Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings flew connected Tuesday night, giving themselves nan chance to train successful London for 3 days. The Cleveland Browns arrived connected a Thursday and “got nan humor flowing” pinch a short convention connected Friday. The bid gives NFL players a little sensation of world travel. “Other sports specified arsenic shot get utilized to doing it, but it’s caller for us,” said Adams aft his Wembley heroics. “I went to slumber astatine 10.30pm and woke up astatine 4am and laic successful furniture for 5 hours and couldn’t get backmost to sleep. I sewage to opportunity goodnight to my kids, though. It was a weird, debased energy.”
Despite nan frantic quality of their trips, astir players clasp nan experience. “Before nan schedule comes out, I look to spot if it’s imaginable that teams you are playing mightiness big world games, past dream that’s 1 of your distant games,” Vikings seasoned AJ Thielen told maine betwixt their matches successful Dublin and Tottenham. “I was pinch nan Panthers erstwhile nan schedule came retired and we had nary world games this year. Then erstwhile I sewage traded, it was like: oh, cool, I get 2 world games.”
The teams thin to travel a acquainted shape erstwhile visiting London, mounting up campy successful Hogwartian state hotels connected opposing sides of Hertfordshire. This period nan Browns, New York Jets and Jaguars were based astatine The Grove extracurricular Watford; nan Vikings and Broncos opted for Hanbury Manor adjacent Ware. They took complete nan hotels almost entirely. The convention centre became a replica of nan Jets believe facility, complete pinch gathering rooms, a players’ lounge, plunge pools, nan obligatory weights room and a bespoke pitch. The teams recreation pinch truthful galore unit that galore of them person to beryllium bussed disconnected to a neighbouring edifice each night.
The temper is deadly superior among non-playing staff. Stern-faced information cheque lanyards astatine each turn. When nan Browns were astatine nan Grove, journalists had to walk done airport-like information each clip they walked from nan property room to nan toilets aliases nan heap of digit sandwiches and scones. Reporters are only allowed to watch a short conception of training sessions.
Warm-ups were accompanied by thumping euphony – dense hip-hop pinch a touch of grime and dose of Adele to adhd immoderate London flavour. Calisthenics was done en masse and successful afloat kit – nan only clip nan full 60-odd players are together connected writer – earlier nan groups were divided into their positions, nan protect statement 50 yards from nan remainder of their teammates. For nan stretches, location were nary helmets required. Intriguingly, half nan Vikings squad wore Guardian Cap helmets successful training for added protection, but only 2 players did connected gameday.
Their characters came done during nan sessions. Trevor Lawrence is intelligibly nan Jaguars’ leader. During nan precocious hops earlier practice, he bounced inches supra each different player, astir of whom conscionable went done nan motions. Travis Hunter spent much clip tying his shoelaces than stretching, for illustration a shirking kid astatine schoolhouse avoiding nan tally astir nan section earlier PE. The lithe Hunter exposes nan story that American shot is simply a crippled of size.
While Lawrence has spectacularly powerful legs and tight extremity Tyler Long whitethorn beryllium nan astir appropriately named subordinate successful master sports, flyweight cornerbacks Greg Newsome III and Montaric Brown looked for illustration younker teamers admiring first-team training arsenic they watched nan Jags typical teams rehearse footwear returns. You mightiness presume that moving immoderate further than nan beforehand of nan buffet queue would beryllium an effort for immoderate linemen – astatine 324 lbs, Khalen Saunders is positively information – but, erstwhile nan coach starts their drills, they sparkle, for illustration switching connected a powerfulness drill for 5 seconds of superior impact.
When nan NFL is successful town, it attracts attention. The Browns were watched by respective FA coaches including Ashley Cole. A week later a fewer 100 fortunate Jaguars fans saw their heroes adjacent up. Lawrence and Hunter signed dozens of autographs together for fans but they could not beryllium much different successful nan media room. You mightiness expect much for $60m than Hunter’s one-sentence soundbites, but Lawrence greeted nan press, listened to questions attentively and gave lengthy and considered answers.
Not each subordinate is comfortable successful beforehand of a room afloat of strangers pinch cameras. Browns rookie Mason Graham looked for illustration a schoolboy called into nan head’s agency arsenic he awkwardly faced nan media pinch a glazed look. He admitted it was “difficult to support locked in” connected his first travel retired of North America. He spent his day disconnected earlier nan crippled visiting Big Ben. Some Vikings players went connected nan London Eye. The Rams didn’t person clip for immoderate of that. But they will each beryllium back.
Twenty years aft nan NFL’s first travel overseas successful Mexico City, location person been 60 world games. With nan Jaguars readying to play arsenic galore arsenic 4 games successful London erstwhile their stadium is renovated successful 2027, it won’t return agelong to rack up different 60.
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