For American football fan Jarrod Bowen, playing for West Ham United in three iconic NFL stadiums is a special experience.
The Hammers have taken on Manchester United at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the home of the New York Giants and Jets, and Everton at Soldier Field in Chicago, home of the Bears, before tackling AFC Bournemouth at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, home of the Falcons, on Sunday.
As a boy growing up in rural Herefordshire, Bowen, like so many others of his age, played the Madden NFL video game with his father Sam and developed a love for the sport being played by big men in helmets and shoulder pads on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Twenty years on and Bowen loves the sport and books in every Sunday evening - West Ham’s fixture list allowing - to watch the NFL.
“My Dad had a Madden game on his PlayStation 2 and we used to play it together against each other. He was always the New York Giants, and I was always the New England Patriots,” he recalled.
“The Giants and the Patriots played in the Super Bowl in 2008, when I was eleven, and that’s ultimately why he was the Giants and I was the Patriots. From then on, he was always the Giants and I think I chose the Patriots probably because they were good at the time, so they were just the easy team to pick!
“I still got battered a little bit with people saying, 'oh, he supports the Patriots, no surprise there' [because they were so good], but I’m going through it a little bit at the minute with the Patriots, it's not a nice thing.
“But yeah, I love it. I love watching it. Being out here being in the facilities here is like crazy for me because you don’t get to see that side of the NFL back in the UK. So, to see the different facilities, it's incredible.”
Ahead of the Hammers' Premier League Summer Series opener with Manchester United in New Jersey, the ceremonial coin toss was handled by current Giants running back Tyrone Tracy.
Bowen is not just a casual fan, either, as she spends his spare time coaching the Patriots on Madden.
“Rob Gronkowski the tight end was my favourite, and there was another player for my Dad’s Giants who was really good called Tiki Barber,” he recalled. “He was a running back and every time we played, my Dad would use him all the time and Tiki Barber is the name that will always stick with me.
“Playing Madden gives you the understanding of the plays and positions, so you understand American football. There's a lot of detail and a lot of complications in terms of when you play those different formations in defence like nickel, dime or 4-3 etc.
“I still play Madden on my PlayStation a lot and you can really learn about it through the game. For example, if I do career mode, it’s crazy to me. When you first start, you have training camp and there are 75 people on the roster and then you've got to cut it down to 53. I'm thinking, well, who am I going to cut? I don't know how many players in each position you're meant to have. I'm thinking, well, I've got about 53, but then you've got to split that between all the positions and I still don't understand all the positions.
“For example, there are players on special teams and stuff and I’m thinking, what if someone gets injured? If you play Football Manager, you just make a sub because you know the positions, but with the NFL I’m still trying to learn.”
Bowen’s NFL education is helped by him double-screening every Sunday evening when the game is broadcast live in the UK from 6pm until past midnight.
“My Dad would always be watching when I was small so I'd always just watch it with him and now I watch it every Sunday,” he confirmed. “I have my iPad on where I watch DAZN, so I watch the Patriots, then I have Red Zone on the main telly!
“[My wife] Dani hates it because I put on Super Sunday, then it’s the first slot of NFL games at 6pm, then the second set at 9pm. I let her have the telly until about two o’clock, then it’s football and the NFL!”
