American football rules, not that i understand them!!! (From Daily Echo)

American football rules, not that i understand them!!!

3:15am Thursday 15th November 2007 in Your Say By Joe Prince-Wright

Being in the home city of one of the greatest NFL teams in franchise history certainly leaves its mark on you. I happily shopped around to choose a NFL team and I choose to be a New Orleans Saints fan, as their nickname is the "Saints", logical choice you may argue! As I proudly purchased and wore my brand spanking new hat around campus, I got cheap and dirty looks from all directions. I checked to see if I had applied deodorant, yep, I checked to see if I had anything stuck to my face, nope. What was causing the looks of utter disgust i was facing? Then it dawned upon me, the "crown" i had placed on my head had only been visible for a few minutes, yet the Steelers’ fans who roamed every nook and cranny in the Steel city did not approve. Remarkably i have been brave enough to don the hat on a few sporadic occasions since, and The New Orleans Saints, unlike the "Shambolic Saints" back home, have recently gone on a four game winning spree. Giving me some Leigh way to wear the precious cap. I asked my team-mates what was so bad about the Saints, they replied, "Nothing, they're just not from Pittsburgh, you live in Pittsburgh now you have to follow the Steelers!" The point I am trying to get across is the immense sense of pride Americans feel for their home country and particularly their home city or region. This patriotic nature could be embraced in England and certainly in Southampton, as the City still searches for that elusive WOW factor. Could the people of Southampton be trusted to supply this and come up with idea's which will transform the future of the city? I maybe have instilled some of this strong patriotism whilst being stateside. Continually I am asked if I am an Australian due to my accent, I talked about this in my first entry and these Americans still can’t understand my Hampshire Hog accent! This really does rattle me and I may have given one or two short responses on a regular basis, as I face this question on a daily basis! But let’s just say im proud to be a tea sipping, beer swigging,fish & chip eating, patriotic pom!!!