The Superbowl

This weekend will see the Pittsburg Steelers taking on the Arizona Cardinals in what is one of the most watched sporting events in the world. For all of those not familiar with the Superbowl it is the final of the NFL competition to find out who is the best team in American Football.

The reason I want to talk about it is because in the UK we don’t really put on sporting events anywhere near the magnitude and razzmatazz of the Superbowl. At our FA Cup final the biggest domestic cup match in football as we know it we will normally have someone singing the national anthem and possibly a fly over from The Red Arrows and this is seen as big.

The Superbowl on the other hand is a weeklong event. In the build up to the match there will be press days where the media can grill the players, there will be lots of events for the fans where they can try their hand at playing some American Football an there will be entertainment shows up on with live music in the run up to the event. Across the country it will be what everyone is talking about and what all the press organisations are reporting on. This is before we have even got to the match itself. When the match is on they will have fireworks, pre-game entertainment, music and more. Before the match starts all the players are introduced and welcomed on to the pitch, at half time the pitch will be turned in to a stage where a major international star will perform the half time show and then at the end of the game there is a ceremony for the winning team.

I think the UK need to take leaf out of the American’s book and really hype the big finals like The Superbowl. The bigger and more exciting you can make the game the more young people you can inspire to take up the sport. Cup Finals should all be about capturing the imagination of the audience and making memorable events where the country comes together to watch.

The organisations behind these sports need to use them to get young people in to sport. In the run up to the event they should be running events that encourage young people to get involved all across the country and not just in the host city. Sporting bodies should be capitalizing on the attention these events get and using it to get as many young people involved in sport as possible.

I will be staying up late in the UK to watch it and even if you aren’t a fan of American Football why not give it a quick view to see what I am talking about I have many friends who aren’t fans of American Football but will tune in to the Superbowl. The NFL do a great job of promoting the sport over here in the UK and I think is a blueprint for what the English FA should be doing to promote our sport abroad.


Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

You never know where it might lead

I want to draw on a personal experience for this week’s blog which is all about making steps to change your life.

In life there are so many opportunities available to us and around us that we don’t take up because they may not be quite what we are looking for, not a big enough or important enough opportunity in our eyes. By doing this and not taking opportunities like this we never know where they might have lead.

Last month I started as a volunteer commentator for the SoccerSight programme ran by the Royal National Institute for the Blind. This involves providing a live audio description for football fans who are visually impaired and that attend live football matches. I found out about this through my local club Plymouth Argyle. I sent off an application form, went all the way to Swindon for a training day and got selected. Now if I hadn’t found out about this opportunity and followed it up I wouldn’t have got the opportunity.

So there is me having the time of my life commentating on Argyle games completely happy and content to do this forever more not wanting or expecting more and then all of a sudden I get the chance to go to Wembley. Wembley is one of the most significant sporting venues in the world and at the end of the month I have been invited to assist with the commentary for my second favourite sport American Football as the NFL comes to the UK. This opportunity all came about through my involvement with SoccerSight and if it hadn’t been for that this opportunity would have never come up.

So my message this week is to try something new and get involved with something as you never know where it may lead. My story is just one example but it doesn’t have to be like that it could just be that in trying something new you find a new passion or direction for your life or it may be that the experience of the opportunity can give you a chance to do something else that you wouldn’t have had without that experience. Always go in to everything you do by putting 100% in and always keep yourself open to any and all opportunities as you never know where something might take you.


Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

American sports in the UK!

Over the next month the UK is going to be invaded by the biggest sporting teams America has to offer. Last weekend NHL (National Hockey League) kicked off their season with the first ever competitive season fixtures ever played in the UK now this month sees the turn of the NFL (National Football League) and the NBA (National Basketball Association) to show the UK audiences what their sports are all about.

We have had American Football, Ice Hockey and Basketball leagues here in the UK for sometime now with many British teams competing but this month is a huge opportunity for the UK based teams and leagues to get the press coverage and publicity they need to really develop the sports in the UK.

In the UK Football, Rugby and Cricket are always going to be the top team sports but hopefully this month will see young people wanting to try their hand at these new sports and you never know we might uncover some untapped talent in the process.

Although existing for years here in the UK these American sports only have a small following compared to the likes of Premiership Football and their US counterparts. Many people that play these sports in the UK actually have to pay for the pleasure of playing and have to clock up miles crisscrossing the country in order to get to games whilst still holding down full time jobs or full time education.

I personally think this is going to be a great thing for the UK as we need to get young people in to sport and the more opportunities there are and the more different are available to them the more likely they are going to be able to find a sport to play which they enjoy.

The big NFL, NHL and NBA games here in the UK all sold out very quickly so it shows you that there is great demand for these sports and a great following of them here in the UK. I know these big American leagues are all planning on making their trips to the UK an annual event which can only be good for these sports in the UK. It’s not going to happen overnight and I don’t think they will get the following that our style of football gets over here but with continued development these sports can become widely played by young people in the UK.

It is just important that we get out of the mindset of thinking of them as American sports and really just think about them as sports the same as any other as I know when people use the word American it can put some people off. Just because they originate from America it doesn’t mean they are not or can’t be global sports.

Hopefully these big organisations can do for American sports in the UK what David Beckham is doing for football (soccer) in America.

Have your say on american sports in our topic of the week:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=244#244

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com/