I went to my first NFL game in London and finally understood the American obsession

It’s 13 minutes to kick off and Jaxson de Ville is about to launch himself off the top of Tottenham Hotspur stadium.

If this is to be a drab NFL match-up, watching a person in a Jaguar mascot suit suspended 100ft in the air wondering what they signed up for is incredible consolation viewing.

Is this how the Romans felt when Maximus Decimus Meridius entered the Colosseum? More importantly, has Chirpy the cockerel ever been suspended above the centre circle before a Spurs home game?

And if you thought Philadelphia Eagles at Jacksonville Jaguars would be a watered down international exhibition then it’s abundantly clear that it isn’t; the Philly fans boo the Jags entering their official home game at maximum lung-busting hostility.

Of course it’s not unusual for the home team to be booed off at this ground, but booed on. Sensational.

After the match ball is naturally delivered via a cardboard FedEx box and everyone has finished belting out the national anthems, there’s a disallowed touchdown inside the first 13 seconds followed by an on-field tear up in a blistering start to the game.

It's clear Americans don’t do things by halves and this is an exhilarating introduction to one of the biggest sports on earth.

But why am I here? This is my first live American Football game and I am bang up for the occasion to see what this sport is all about, along with a record 61,000 fans in attendance.

Marriott Bonvoy, an official sponsor of the NFL, has appointed NFL veteran Efe Obada as its ‘Check-In Coach’, sharing advice for travellers building a trip around the main event.

His advice is straightforward: “Book your hotel, know how you’re getting to the main event and ask people who know the city for advice.”

It’s pretty clear how we’re getting there, tube-hopping to the stadium you only have to follow echoes of “Go Birds” between each passing Philly supporter. From then on just follow every ‘jersey’ you can possibly imagine marching up Tottenham High Road.

Some have taken the dress code more seriously than others. Special mentions go out to the convocation of grown men dressed as eagles by the burger van outside the ground, and the Philly Sports Guy, a silver-faced, green mohican sporting Eagles superfan with a Union Jack across his nut for the occasion.

Inside, the transformation goes considerably further than face paint. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has a dedicated NFL playing surface set 1.6 metres below where the football pitch would usually sit. This place is built for hosting NFL and doesn't feel like a makeshift venue.

Us Brits go into American Football with preconceived ideas, there are too many breaks in play, but maybe Tommy Tuchel could have done with a tactical timeout against Argentina then we might have reached the World Cup Final.

There’s a band thrashing out rock tunes during breaks in play, the giant stadium screens are trying to hone in on the next Coldplay couple, people are firing t-shirts out of air-powered bazookas from the sidelines and there's even a half time show.

The breaks might be the thing that put some impatient Brits off watching on TV, but in the stadium there’s plenty competing for your attention while the players regroup.

It's clear why people build a weekend around it when the game goes international. Research commissioned by Marriott Bonvoy found 62% of Brits plan trips around sporting, music and cultural events, while 45% say an event has taken them somewhere they might not otherwise have visited.

But all the entertainment around the pitch would struggle to compete with what happens in the final eight seconds.

The Eagles take a one point lead into the dying embers of the game and somehow still manage to lose it. Cam Little’s 57-yard field goal seals a 19-17 win for the Jags, and suddenly those breaks in play feel like a pretty minor complaint.

I am converted and aside from belting out the national anthem ahead of kick off, I feel truly American for an entire 60 minutes on the game clock that somehow turns into 3 and a half hours.

Would I buy a ticket to go again? Yes. You don’t need to arrive knowing every rule to get something out of this. Come for the spectacle and you might find yourself caring an awful lot about where a ball lands in the final second.