In the News - NFL in Regent Street, Cecil Martin, and more!

NFL on Regent Street

I thought I would share the events that happened over the weekend which saw us down at Regent street  I hadn't been down there for a while as I am not one for crowds, and busy shops.  But our reason this time was to take my son to the NFL on Regent Street.  The event is organised by NFLUK and promotes three NFL International Series games to be played at Wembley Stadium which kicked off on Sunday with the Miami Dolphins and the Oakland Raiders.    On Sunday 26th of October the Atlanta Falcons will host the Detroit Lions and ending in November with the Jacksonville Jaguars hosting the Dallas Cowboys. All tickets though are sadly sold out apart from hospitality tickets at £400+ so a trip to this event up town and to see the whole of regent street closed for the day, was something to see.

My son who is a big Atlanta Falcons fan decided to bring his american football kit with him and surprised I wondered exactly how the day would play out.  He has been really enjoying his time training with London Blitz (link) but had been off for quite a while through injury and then exams and he has been itching to get back to training.  Parking the car we suggested that he check if there were loads of other people in their kit and I said to him, what if he was the only one who got the invitation....he shrugged his shoulders. 

 We insisted that he check it out first and walk with us to Regent Street, as it might sway his decision to dress up.  On arriving and seeing everyone in normal dress, apart from the workers he turned and stated that he was going back to the car to get changed.  

Alan and me take a 'selfie'

Me and Alan were surprised and nothing we said made him change his mind, and off he went.

Sekani stepping out in Regent Street

As Sekani made his way back to where we were waiting for him, I stared up and saw this young man standing out from the crowd oblivious to the stir that he had begun to cause.

Sekani bringing joy to Regent Street

We were totally unprepared for the excitement that followed him as he made his way down the street.  Little kids were tugging on their parents and exclaiming 'WOW'.  

Everyone wanted a picture

People were coming up to Sekani and asking to take his picture with them, and rather than being just a spectator he became part of the day interacting with people and bringing smiles to their faces and the attention of the TV cameras. 

Sekani keeping it real

 We felt like his minders as we walked alongside him.

As part of the overall show along Regent Street there were interviews with different coaches, and players. 

Sons of Pitches the UK Acapella group also got in the act...

Sons of Pitches

 There were other bands playing throughout the day. There were plenty of people from all different countries who had come specifically for it alongside the usual tourists who happen to stumble across the event, and lots of interactive activities organised - America had come to London for the day.

Staff dance outside Hamleys

games laid on for the kids

A lot of stores had also used the day to be part of the activities, Hamleys had their staff dress up and do a 'it's a knock out' type event the got all the kids involved and it was great to see. 

lots of other activities for the kids to do

Alan and Sekani in Regent Street

We really enjoyed the day and I guess the highlight for Sekani was meeting Cecil Martin, they had a little chat while I snapped away.  

Sekani and Cecil Martin

encouraging words are exchanged

Sekani Springer and Cecil Martin - Regent Street UK

As the day came to a close we made our way back filled with the events that took place, thinking about the smiles that Sekani brought to not only children but adults as well, this being a result of sticking to his decision to be different and not just be one of the crowd.

Sekani's favorite team - playing later this month at Wembley

Standing proud as an NFL fan

He didn't allow himself to be swayed or concerned by what other people would think, or despite what others said, and there is a lesson to be learn for all of us.  How many times have you felt the conviction to do something, but you stopped yourself because you felt embarrassed or don't want to stick out?  I encourage you  to step out of the box.  There wouldn't be all these great inventions made if everyone decided to play it safe, and stepping out of the mold and not following the crowd can and will give you some amazing results.  I bet there is something that you are sitting on right now that you been holding back from doing, I encourage you to take that step.  

Finished for the day....

Sekani's decision to be different and the impact he made on the crowd bought a smile to my face.  This simple action encouraged me to step out further especially in those times where doubt takes hold.  

Shine your light, be different, take a step for you know not how many people you will encourage on the way, stay blessed.

Football at every turn!

Summer’s come to an end and the past few days have given us some hazy sunshine - Indian Summer I've heard, though we are having some rain today. The kids have been back at school for a few weeks now and with this brings the after-school and weekend activities that  require us to ferry them back and forth.  We've had unexpected growth in our house that produced an extra inch in my son's height, arms and feet and we are having to shop in the mens department to fit his 5ft 10 frame.  With all this training he has been doing these past few weeks we expect further growth and another trip to the store to buy some bigger sizes. 

I do marvel at the changes that are taking place literally before my eyes.  I posted a while back on how he is growing up so fast and is no longer the sweet little boy who used to want to hold my hand as part of the A-Z challenge called Growing

He has been attending training every week and wants to push this up to two – school work permitting and has also been doing his weights at home. 

Warm up before the game

Discovering he can watch American football on channel four and Sky sports one opened up another dimension, and he has been pre-recording the 1am programme to watch at his leisure.  We now have both Sekani with his  American Football and Alan not only watching English football on the tv he is also coaching 2 times a week for Aslan Football Club   – with the football season started August you can imagine what ‘joy!’ it has been in our house with cheers, roars and ‘yes’s’ with almost 24 hours of sports on the go!  I suppose I’ll have to get some ear plugs or schedule my creative walks and do some more photography, which isn’t a bad thing I guess....

Sekani played in a match on Saturday at Crystal Palace Stadium, there were lots of other tournaments going on from teams up and down the country.  They had to meet up at 7am kicking off around 10am and me and Alan were at the sidelines cheering him on till around 5pm.  I have a confession to make... I never thought it would be quite as exciting seeing them play, If I knew the rules I guess I would be better placed to know what was going on....Sekani said he will teach me, took lots of pictures and here is him in the throws of play - number 47.  (You hear me shouting in the background before I drop my phone).

and here as he attempts to block another player....

All in all I am not totally converted, but I might even be able to watch a game or two as I take a break from my art corner

If you can't beat them join them!