Patriots Football Weekly’s Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Fred Kirsch offers his “Kirsch Words” blog which features in-game commentary during the Patriots away game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (in London) beginning at 12:00pm ET. Read his commentary and notes as he blogs before, during and after the game.

LONDON — OK, so it’s not such a big deal when Andy, Erik and I do our various media gigs. We’re obviously used to the radio and TV stuff at this point, but every once in a while we get some pretty cool opportunities — and the London trip offered a couple.

First, on Friday Andy and I were asked to do a quick interview on the BBC. Andy handled his perfectly but the security made us leave the practice area at the Brit Oval before I got my chance. So Andy appeared on the BBC that night and I never got my chance.

But game day is here and I just went through a pretty hectic hour that was both exciting and more than a little surreal. We did a live show for “Patriots All Access” outside Wembley Stadium. I was on with the host, Steve Burton, and as we were finishing up Commissioner Roger Goodell made his way to our filming area. Surrounded by a host of security personnel, Goodell walked right behind me, put his hand on my shoulder, and then backed away while we finished. The guy is the commissioner of the National freakin’ Football League and he’s waiting for PFW to finish.

Wow.

But things got even more strange from there. Owner Robert Kraft was scheduled to go on after Goodell, but he had a hard time locating our filming area. So they asked me to rejoin Burton and fill the time since the show was live and we couldn’t wait. Steve and I went back and forth a bit and then I could hear a ruckus behind me once again — this time for Kraft.

Like any good employee I quickly turned to my boss, took my mic off and handed it to him. Like a real pro Mr. Kraft took it from there and finished the show — slapping fives with some young fans who were watching close by.

Next time we start complaining about our lot in life, make sure you remind us how cool this stuff really is.

BANNER DAY - Flags of the US, Patriots, NFL, Buccaneers, and the United Kingdom hang from the rafters of Wembley Stadium.

LONDON - Wow, what an impressive venue Wembley is.

The stadium itself, I should say, because the surrounding area is not quite what I expected. It’s kind of an industrial park with brick mill buildings and commercial offices. However, when our buses pulled into the tunnel of the stadium and we finally walked onto the field, the site was overwhelming.

It’s funny, because this is in fact a home game for the Buccaneers, and every seat comes with either a red or white Bucs flag. But the field is painted like a Super Bowl — navy blue Patriots paint and logo in the left end zone, red Bucs paint and logo in the right one, and an NFL shield at midfield.

The seats are mostly red, which makes it look like Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, but there are blue seats in the Pats end zone that spell out the name Wembley. So, New England is kind of represented in the architecure here.

It’s two hours till kickoff and we’re set up here in our makeshift press box area, similar to what we’d experience in a Super Bowl. There’s an interior lounge where food is served, but unlike American stadiums, our assigned seats are outdoors, underneath the covered section. The roof is open above the field.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME - A view of the New England end zone from the PFW seats in Wembley's press box area. The blue seats spell out the name WEMBLEY.

LONDON - Great night (and a late night) at London’s Sports Cafe on Haymarket with high hundreds of our friends from the UK Patriots Fan Club.

Got to meet many of our regular listeners and contributors to PFW In Progress, lots of prizes were raffled off, and there were special appearances by Patriots owner Robert Kraft … and a surprise visit by Mr. Patriot, Troy Brown. He happened to be vacationing in London and heard about the UK Pats bash, so he dropped by to say hello to the fans.

HEY, I KNOW YOU - Troy Brown pays an unexpected visit to the UK Patriots Fan Club party at the Sports Cafe, downtown London, Saturday night.

 After a short night’s sleep, Team PFW woke up early to take a two-hour bus tour of the city. We’re back at the team hotel now, but only for a few more minutes, then it’s off to Wembley for tonight’s game.