Last weekend was the big weekend in the American football calendar – the NFL Super Bowl. For the uninitiated, this is an iconic event in the sporting calendar in the US – I believe every year more than 100 million fans tune in to watch this one game. This year the Super Bowl was played between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. In what was a nail biting match, the Packers led for most of the match, but the Steelers put up a superb late fight. Even though they were trailing 21-3 before half time, the Steelers pushed hard and the scoreline was a hugely thrilling 28-25 midway through the fourth quarter. The Packers finally scraped through with a 31-25 win and became champions for the 2010 season.

We did not go to Dallas to watch the match. But we still went close enough. We watched it in London. If you are wondering how that happened, here’s how. On Super Bowl matchday, NFL organises events across key cities where the match is shown live on giant screens. The London Super Bash (hosted by the exciting duo of Arlo White and Neil Reynolds) was held at the O2 and was watched by 3000 noisy fans. And of course in true NFL style, we did not just watch the match in the aO2. There were also cheerleader performances, awards ceremonies and on stage interviews both before the match as well as during the breaks, making it a truly memorable event.

This was the first time that we witnessed a live NFL match, albeit on a giant screen. While between the two versions of football (American and the more traditional English version i.e., soccer), we continue to prefer soccer, we were very impressed by this experience. It is a great party. And there is some world class entertainment centred around a highly physical and exciting sporting occasion. There are very few  events which can boast of having a half time act such as Black Eyed Peas and a pre match performer as Christina Aguilera. But what really makes the sport stand out from others, especially football, is the sheer spirit of camaraderie between rival team supporters. While in football, rival team supporters are kept completely separate for fear of violence (think home stand and away stand at a football club), what we saw at the O2 was quite refreshing . Supporters of both the Steelers and the Packers not only sat with each other, but joked, partied and celebrated together. Yes, the supporters were from rival teams but their behaviour underlined once again the essence of great sport – it brings people together.

What a turnaround win by this Indian Cricket team in South Africa! After getting a pasting in the first test match, to turn it around immediately in the second test was a significant event yet not totally surprising if you are an Indian Cricket fan. In times gone by, our team would have been pasted yet again and no one would have been surprised. Yes, there would have been some moaning and chest beating among fans at home but then the next home series would come around and India would beat whoever it was they were playing and all would be well with the world again. 

This Indian team is different however and they take pride in doing well at venues where they are not supposed to be able to compete. Perth was an example and now Durban. This team has gone about proving pundits wrong and pleasing diehard fans with their performances. From being humiliated last time around at Durban to winning this match was an amazing turnaround. I wonder how long this will last. This truly is the golden era of Indian cricket. To have such an amazing array of world beating talent around at the same time is just providential and it won't last. As a fan I wish to be able to see this team win abroad and treasure the memories. England in the new year is yet another mouthwatering prospect. Especially with England being in such good form and not so subtly claiming that they are the real No. 1's and not India, it sure is going to be a nail biting contest. I just hope India has the same side unchanged to do battle.

I wish I can make it to England to see our team do battle. MSD and his merry bunch will surely give England a run for its money.  To see something like this live would be awesome. What an absolute screamer!

image courtesy ESPNCricinfo

England is in the throes of one of the worst cold snaps since weather records began. The winter has come early and Arctic winds have frozen the country like never before. This weather has also adversely impacted the sports fixtures. Only 2 of the 9 scheduled weekend Premier League matches could be played. The Championship fared a bit better – 7 of the 10 matches scheduled for the weekend still went ahead. Of course some of the cancellations raised cynical eyebrows especially the Chelsea v Man United match. Some fans have claimed that the match was postponed to ensure that Chelsea play their biggest rivals only when they get over the worst run of form for over a decade. This is denied by official sources who claim that the match was postponed due to safety concerns for players, staff and fans.

In the midst of all these match postponements, one can only admire the passion of the folks who keep playing and watching football week after week especially with temperatures dropping to many degrees below zero in most parts of the country. Nowhere was this passion better demonstrated than in the nPower Championship match between Roy Keane’s Ipswich Town and Sven Goran Eriksson’s Leicester City. The match was shown live on UK television and I kid you not - it resembled an ice hockey game. The snow was coming down thick and fast and the ground was covered in a white blanket. Yet in the midst of all that, you could see the players going for it, making the tackles, scoring goals and defending as if their lives depended on it. In fact at one time the weather got so bad that the ref had to put a temporary stop to the match. In all my years of following football, this was the first time that a game was halted for weather reasons. So for 14 minutes the game was suspended. And just when you thought that the game would be abandoned, they were back again to conclude the match. In the end Ipswich won 3-0. More importantly it was a resounding victory for football.

For once I understood why these great footballers are paid so well. And for once my admiration for the players knew no bounds. The Ipswich and Leicester players showed that the world may stop but they will continue to play, come rain, come storm - literally. But you know who amazed me the most? After the match was over I checked the attendance in the Portman Road stadium. Hold your breath - there were 16000 fans who watched the game - braving the cold on a very wintry weekend evening to cheer the team they love. Hats off to the fans (and don’t forget to put them back on!)

Watch the clip here - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/9283579.stm