Gameday

The thousands who do it every weekend will tell you that there’s something special in the ritual of going to watch a big sporting occasion on a Saturday or Sunday. And so it was for me as I went to see one of the London NFL games - Minnesota Vikings v Cleveland Browns a few weeks ago.

I wanted to capture a bit of that experience with my camera, document the buzz around a big sporting occasion.

I’ve still never quite lost the childlike buzz and anticipation of gameday. By myself as I leave my house but, as I find my way to the station, and into the city, the gradual build up around me of other people all going to the same place, the same anticipation and hope in their eyes. Getting off the tube, that gradual build up, now metamorphosed into a throng, snaking its way out of the tube station and onto the streets of urban London.

Every sporting occasion has its own character but I feel the NFL games in London have a unique celebratory feel. There is tribalism; but in this case not the snarly, edgy tribalism of soccer, but the more measured tribalism of American football fans - loyalisms transplanted some 5,000 miles over the Atlantic. Or maybe they’re just British or other Europeans fans like me who have become hooked on the big American spectacle of the NFL.

You see kids wearing NFL jerseys with their heroes’ names. They’re walking alongside parents who have lived through the ups and downs of supporting a team but wear the kits of their heroes nonetheless, never quite losing the hope that this year might be the year for your team.

The atmosphere around the ground is always colourful and adds to the excitement. Local bars and pubs throng with fans, spilling out onto the streets. There’s the smell and smoke of the burger vans and hot dogs. The smiling police officers stand alongside stewards, poised and ready to help.

The costumes and eccentric outfits of the superfans are interspersed with colourful team jerseys from across the NFL - not just the teams playing today.

As you approach the stadium there’s the constant and rising din of excited chatter, punctuated by fan chants and calls. The relief comes as you make it through the gates, one look back to glimpse the throng of multicoloured humanity behind you.

And then for me, the best bit. The rise of excitement as you enter the stadium itself, the scale and spectacle taking my breath away now just as much as it did when I was a kid doing this for the first time.

Candid street photography such as this is not really in my comfort zone. There’s still a self-consciousness when I point my camera at strangers that I think causes me to rush a bit with taking shots. As a result quite a few of my pictures weren’t focused properly or included motion blur. Next time I need to remember to slow down, and I hope the self-consciousness will disappear with more practice.

Nevertheless I hope a few of the pictures I’ve shared capture a feel of the day and the atmosphere around the ground. For me I have to remember that the point of taking my camera was to get out of my comfort zone a bit because I know that’s how I’ll keep developing and growing as photographer.

Thanks for reading Frame and Grain. If these reflections on photography and stepping outside creative comfort zones resonate with you, I’d be grateful if you’d share this post or subscribe below.