Did you watch the Super Bowl on Sunday? University of Nottingham’s very own American Football team, UoNAF, previously known as Nottingham Outlaws, have their very own competitions to look forward to. Greg Barrett, a third year Pharmacy student from America, plays inside linebacker for the team and tells us about his experiences at Nottingham and what it’s like to be on an American Football team ahead of the big game.
Why did you choose to go to university here in the UK?
I’m actually originally from Wales so I pay Welsh student fees. It’s a lot cheaper to go to school over here.
What has been your best experience or memory in Nottingham?
I would probably say the socials and tour with the team – so much happens that no matter what you always have a laugh.
Now onto American football, who do you support?
I support the Tampa Bay Buccaneers…not the greatest team in the world but with the first round draft pick this year maybe we can pick someone to shake our team up a bit.
Culturally, American football seems to dominate American life, why do you think it hasn’t quite translated here?
It really only dominates during the one season. And then Basketball, Ice Hockey and Baseball dominate in their respective seasons. I think it hasn’t translated over here because of the timing of the games being late at night and the fact that people already have huge followings in football, rugby and cricket.
There’s been debate on whether the sport is too dangerous. Do you think that it is or is it just one of the appeals of the game?
No, I don’t think it is. I think it’s an appeal because you can hit someone as hard as you want and have some padding to protect yourself. Even on the team, the first thing we are taught is how to hit someone properly so you don’t hurt yourself. I mean there are always going to be injuries because you have big guys covered in metal and other padding hitting each other. Sometimes when the metal hits an unprotected joint the wrong way an injury can happen, but that’s just part of it.
Varsity is coming up, should we prepare our cheers for a victory?
Well even bigger for varsity at the moment for the team is the league game against Trent on the 31st/1st. Both teams need to win that in order to head to the playoffs. That will be the perfect indicator of how varsity should turn out. Both teams are good teams – you never know who are going to win.
The Super Bowl is this Sunday, how does the experience here compare to America?
The only super bowl that I’ve ever done over here is the American Football teams part at Walkabout. It’s still the same watching it with friends and drinking beer along the way. The only thing I really hate about watching it over here is missing the adverts. Companies spend millions on their ads for the super bowl and they are great to watch because they’re all unique, brand new and funny.
And lastly, who do you think will win?
I’m rooting for the Patriots. I’m not a big fan of the Seahawks and don’t really want to see them win a second in a row.