I have developed a bit of a routine when going out on Friday and Saturday nights, which begins with taking a train to Waterloo station in the heart of central London and grabbing a pint of London Lager from the Meantime Brewery stand near where the passengers are let out. I then enjoy said pint on a walk across the scenic Waterloo Bridge, which provides a fantastic view of the business district skyline (as seen in the photo below, which I took on one of my recent strolls).
From there I walk to one of the many bars on the north side of the River Thames. Last Friday, as I was heading to one of my favorite dinner spots, I noticed some rather large human beings in front of me. I didn't really think anything of it at first, but as I heard a couple of them conversing I picked up their American accents. I had been excited all week because this was the weekend when the Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins were set to play a game at Wembley Stadium in North London. These had to be NFL guys. At first I was extremely scared to approach them, but then a couple thoughts ran through my head: I knew my brothers would kill me if I didn't stop them at least to say "What's up," and I thought it would be comforting for them to meet an American so far from home. So I lifted my Cardinals hat, brushed my hair back, and went for it ...
"Hey don't you guys play for the Dolphins?"
A collective "Yeah" in response. Nailed it.
"Well, I'm a Rams fan, but my brother who writes fantasy football would kill me if I didn't get a picture with you guys."
"Ten pounds," said Lamar Miller, the Dolphins' starting running back (pictured below in the backwards white hat).
"I actually don't have any pounds on me, man. I got some American though."
Then the players asked me where I was from.
I pointed to my hat. "St. Louis, man."
They then began to make fun of Miller for saying he was going to charge me for the picture and told me to give my phone to their manager.
This was the result ...
Miami stomped Oakland 38-14 in front of 84,000 fans. Lamar Miller scored two touchdowns.
