LONDON – The Raiders played terribly in a 38-14 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
There is little positive to glean from such an affair, and pulling three positives, even one for that matter, out of Sunday’s debacle might be a stretch.
Let’s change things up and discuss what was awesome about the Raiders trip to London.
There were plenty of positives there:
[RELATED: Dolphins 38, Raiders 14: Allen on his way out of town?]
1) Raider Nation showed up: I was impressed by the large contingent of Raiders fans in London’s city center and at Sunday’s game at Wembley Stadium.
They even created a U.K. Black Hole at one end zone, with fans dressed up in costumes worthy of O.co Coliseum.
The atmosphere was great despite the fact the Raiders didn’t give fans much, if anything, to cheer for.
[BAIR: Reece: Raiders' play 'embarrassing to our fans' everywhere]
2) English pub food is legit: English food is notorious for being bland, boring and a little off.
That’s not how my food tasted.
Maybe I got lucky, but every dinner at a pub was awesome. Roasted pheasant wrapped in bacon. Chicken and mushroom pie. Bangers and mash. All of it was awesome.
And don’t forget about the Sunday roast, where carving station meat is smothered in beef broth. Can’t beat it, as long as you stay out of tourist traps.
3) The other football: I went to a soccer match on Tuesday, and saw Arsenal (from North London) play Southampton. The wrong team won, but the crowd was signing and chanting throughout the game and the pageantry was excellent.
Arsenal has a fancy new stadium (jealous, Raiders fans?) that sells out every time. It was a great experience, and a bit more competitive than the American football match a few days later.
