I can't get into American football.
I never did and probably never will. But I have tried. When I moved back to Canada in 2007, my secondary school rugby team coach was also the football coach and tried to get me to play on the team. The skills between the sports don't necessarily translate, and neither do the instincts ingrained in you after playing either one for a long time. I also just didn't enjoy it. Sorry to offend anyone, but it was just a bunch of nonsense back then, and I was just too focused on playing rugby at school and for my local club.
There were other times I've tried getting into it. I've been to a few SuperBowl parties since I left high school. Similar results though. I was just there for the beer and the banter, really.
But this upcoming season has piqued my interest a little bit, and no, it's not because of Taylor Swift. Many readers might remember that I wrote an opinion piece on how more people should watch and support Gaelic games (Gaelic football and hurling). Well, a few players from the top level of Gaelic football have moved across the pond (erm, the Atlantic) to try their hand in the NFL. Charlie Smyth, a goalkeeper for County Down, and Jude McAtamney (formerly played for the Derry U20s but went on to play American football at Rutgers) joined Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit in trying to join America's most popular sports league.
It's been interesting to see how all three of them have been getting on. Smyth (who along, with Rees-Zammit, is part of the NFL's international player pathway) signed a three-year deal with the New Orleans Saints in March. Unfortunately, Smyth is suffering a brain injury after he contributed a 37-yard field goal in a 16-14 victory against the Arizona Cardinals in a preseason game in early August. Due to the injury, he lost the kicker spot to Blake Grupe. Smyth did not make the 53-man list but remains on the Saints' books.
McAtamney joined the New York Giants as a free agent and is a kicker. However, Scottish-born Graham Gano beat him as the Giants' starter despite McAtamney scoring two field goals in a preseason defeat to the New York Jets. He remains with the Giants as a member of the practice squad.
Rees-Zammit, who appeared 32 times for the Welsh national rugby team, was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as a running back. He appeared in the team's preseason loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Aug. 11. While many NFL insiders, including Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, have complimented Rees-Zammit on his athleticism, he's been struggling with technical aspects of the sport, particularly with a pass protection drill, as per an episode on the podcast The TransAtlantic Sports Show. The Chiefs ultimately passed on signing him to its practice squad. However, he now finds himself on the books in Jacksonville and the Jaguars practice squad.
Another former rugby player, Andy Quinn, joined the NFL Academy after winning the 2022 Aer Lingus College Football Classic kicking competition during halftime of a Nebraska vs. Northw
