SURREY, ENGLAND – Hopefully, this isn’t a portent of tomorrow’s game.

Team PFW headed over to the English countryside, on the outskirts of London, to throw our support behind the UK Patriots Fan Club in their flag football friendly versus a team of Tampa Bay Bucs fans.

SCORE! - A member of the UK Patriots Fan Club catching the group's only touchdown of the day.

The gorgeous, idyllic scenery and cloudy, occasionally drizzly skies served as a quintessential British backdrop for the contest, which turned out to be a lopsided victory for the Bucs. They scored four touchdowns to the UK Patriots’ one.

Lackluster as their play on the field may have been, their enthusiasm, sportsmanship, and hospitality toward their American guests never dampened. Everyone took home a prize at the end, including some edible ones. Paul, Andy, and I, along with other members of the Patriots staff, snacked on some homemade cupcakes decorated red, white, and blue, as well as some Krispy Kreme donuts provided by our gracious hosts.

Before the match, my friend and colleague from ESPN Boston, Mike Reiss, talked with one of the leaders of the UK Patriots, James Cuff of Wales, whom many readers may recognize as the administrator of our fan appreciation website, PFWinProgress.com.

“It’s still sort of a niche sport, sort of a minority sport,” he remarked about the perception of American football in the UK. “But I think it’s definitely growing, especially with the International Series and the television coverage of the games.”

UK Pats - Prior to the flag football friendly, James Cuff (left) and Tom Roberts show off t-shirts commemorating the Patriots visit to London.

James, whose father first introduced him to the game as a lad in the 1980s, said he lost interest in the game for a while during the following decade, but over the past few years has rediscovered his love of this uniquely American sport.

In December 2001, he traveled to Connecticut to help produce a film at a time when the Patriots were in the midst of what would become their first Super Bowl championship run. He was swept up in the region’s enthusiasm for their hometown team. After returning to Wales, James continued to follow the Pats. In the process, he’s become one of the central figures in a burgeoning fan club that now boasts hundreds of supporters.

“I just sort of stumbled across [the UK Patriots], because none of my friends back home [in Wales] like American football or appreciate American football. So, I came across these guys and they organized the tailgates and the road trips to Boston … I struck some really good friendships with people here.”

With the NFL’s popularity continuing to skyrocket here in the UK, there’s been growing talk of hosting a Super Bowl in London, and/or possibly creating an NFL franchise in the European city. James isn’t ready yet for such a drastic move, excited as he is to see his favorite team play in London this weekend.

In his opinion, that would be tantamount to the FA Cup Final, England’s premier soccer championship, being taken out of London and played in Asia, where soccer is a developing sport.

“It’s an American thing, and that’s part of the romanticism of it for me. I’m into American culture and that’s a big part of it,” he explained.

“It’s good to get the sport out around the world, but it’s an American thing. I don’t think at the moment there’s enough interest in it [in the UK].”

However, James said he could foresee a time when that will change.

“I hope so. I hope there’d be enough interest that people here would want to do it.”

It’s been an interesting first day across the pond, to say the least. Got about three hours of sleep this morning before heading over to the Brit Oval for practice and interviews. I’m really enjoying the scenery and the people here in London so far, though most of it has been through a bus window. Hoping to get out later today to walk around and see some sights. While it’s a business trip for the PFW boys just like it is for the players, we do have a bit more time to let ourselves wander the city.

Anyway here are a few bits and pieces I’ve picked up that I thought fans might be interested in as we try to bring those Patriots fans not lucky enough to be in town for the game an overall a taste of the experience.

–In terms of news from the practice fields, Julian Edelman, Fred Taylor, Sammy Morris and Matt Light were the only guys on the roster not seen on the hallowed pitch. The bulk of the practice squad seemingly made the trip as well, although Bruce Davis was not spotted on the field. Mark LeVoir and Brandon Tate were both on the field. Bill Belichick said the team had not made a decision on its two open roster spots. That will be decided on Saturday morning.

Tate was back deep and handled the first kickoff in kickoff return drill to open practice, the only drill that was open to the media. You’d have to think at this point, and with the team on the other side of the Atlantic, that Tate is a likely candidate to be added to the roster for Sunday’s game. After that I’d say the most likely guys for the final spot would be Mark LeVoir (especially with Light sidelined), Terrence Nunn (more depth at WR) or my long shot, Isaiah Stanback. Stanback apparently took some reps at receiver earlier this week in practice and could serve as both a depth option at WR and an emergency QB.

–During stretching before practice at the Brit Oval Junior Seau approached Dan Koppen and the pair seemed to be discussing their knowledge of the rules of cricket. You know what they say, when in Rome, or in the this case when in London…

–The media entered The Brit Oval through The Hobbs Gates. Sorry Patriots fans, the Oval has nothing to do with Wesley. And the Gates had nothing to do with Ellis, but rather were in honor of a “Great Surrey and England Cricketer.”

–Tom Brady and Belichick had press conferences in a room that seemed rich with history. Adorning the walls in the room were portrait paintings of great men from the history of the Surrey County Cricket Club. The Brit Oval dates back to 1845.

–In a newsletter welcoming the media to the Brit Oval there was a comparison of players from football and cricket. Middle order batsman Mark Ramprakash (5-10, 79kg) was compared to Vince Wilfork (6-2, 147kg). Brady (6-4, 102kg) was compared to fast bowling all-rounder Stuart Broad (6-6, 85kg). By the way, who knew that Massachusetts is actually home to a “thriving” cricket league? The Massachusetts State Cricket League apparently has 22 teams across two divisions, with many of the team named after more traditional cricketing locations such as Trinidad & Tobago, Melbourne and Lagaan. For what it’s worth the top earning cricketer in the world last year, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, hauled in around $10 million. The bulk of that money, $8 million, came from major sponsorship deals with Reebok, GE Money and Pepsi.

–By the way, I did an interview with the BBC TV crew while at the Brit Oval. According to the producer they liked my answers and there was a good shot I’d be on the BBC1 tonight around 6 local time. How much is that going to kill Erik that I’m on BBC and he isn’t? While I thought it would be cool to be on BBC I have to tell the whole story and admit that I said yes mostly because the person asking was a hot blonde with a phenomenal British accent. It’s the best accent in the world. Not only does it sound cool, but for the most part I can understand what they’re saying. While I’m at it, I also need to thank Richard Branson for the quality job he does hiring staff for his Virgin Atlantic flights. He’s the man.

–Brady was one of if not the only Patriot to wear a suit on the trip last night. Due to the length and the timing of the flight there was a less-strict dress code than usual. Wes Welker joked that Brady looked like he was going to the London Stock Exchange. Brady fired back.

“I don’t take fashion advice from Wes. Believe me. He should have no concerns about what I’m wearing.”

Brady said the suit was more out of habit, maybe even superstition, than anything else.

“I think I’ve always done it. I think it looks great for the team to look nice and professional. Hopefully I try to set the tone for the other guys, but none of them really took my lead.”

–Patriots Owner Robert Kraft met with Princess Anne and came away with a differing perspective on the differences between NFL football and rugby.

“It was interesting. She said she preferred physical contact games without equipment, that when you have more equipment maybe you do more dangerous things. Which I thought was an interesting thing for someone from the Royal Family to say. She was talking about rugby. I think that’s her favorite sport.”

Kraft expressed his happiness at being in London, a place he has some familiarity with.

“I consider myself an Anglophile so it’s great to be able to be here. I started a little company in the early ’70s and came to Wimbledon every year…used to get invited to Ladies’ Day at Ascot and wear the tails and feel like a turkey in the big high hat. But when you go to Wimbledon and then to have an opportunity to own a team that’s going to play in Wembley, that’s pretty cool. I’m looking forward to that.”

And what impresses Kraft most about London?

“I think they do things in such a classy way here. Everything here…they’re like our grandparents. Good grandparents,” Kraft said with a laugh.

–File this under some of the dumber things Andy has ever asked: Is that a prison we’re passing? Bus driver’s answer: “No, that’s Buckingham Palace.” To be fair, we were on the backside that’s just a big brick wall with barbed wire on it and trees behind it. Still, it’s a pretty ignorant question.

–I got on the bus back to the hotel before Paul. When he approached the bus he asked the driver if I’d gotten on. “Guy with a big head?” The driver responded with a laugh and said yes. Now that just ain’t right. I haven’t been in the country for even 12 hours yet and the British are making fun of the size of my head.

–For whatever it’s worth I love the look of the British taxis. They’re just plain cool. I’d drive one if I could. And the double-decker buses are just as cool as they look on TV.

Barely six hours after landing in London, the Patriots just held media availability prior to Friday afternoon’s practice at the Brit Oval, home of the Surrey County Cricket Club. New England worked out in helmets, shoulders pads and shorts/sweats on a temporary football field set up on the much larger cricket pitch. The setup included temporary goal posts on wheels, a new center strip of sod covering areas worn down by Cricket turf and white lines for the American football field.

Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick and Tom Brady held press conferences inside the Surrey building, with Jerod Mayo, Vince Wilfork, Sebastian Vollmer, Junior Seau and Wes Welker conducting interviews on the pitch. New England owner Robert Kraft addressed the media later in the Club’s courtyard.

“It looks a lot longer, doesn’t it,” Brady said of the 100-yard field markings. “Maybe they measured it in meters or something. It’s pretty cool. From what I understand this is a very historic stadium. I think England won the ‘Ashes’ this year against Australia, I heard that on the way over. So it’s pretty cool.”

Belichick was seemingly equally impressed by his surroundings of the Brit Oval, the main feature of the small neighborhood of Kennington that’s located just south of the River Thames near Westminster. The Brit Oval seats 23,000 for cricket and the first game staged there was in 1845.

“This is quite an experience for us all as a team and players and myself,” Belichick said. “I’ve been in the National Football League for 35 years and this is the first time I’ve been to a facility like this. It’s kinda cool. I look forward to the experience this weekend at Wembley and just the couple days we have here in London. It would be nice if we could hang around a little bit longer and go see the Tower of London and all that. It’s a great city with a great history and I love that it’s getting into football and the NFL.”

The coach was also interested when told that the Patriots are the most popular NFL team in the United Kingdom.

“I didn’t know that. But I’m happy to hear that.”

Team PFW is on the ground in Great Britain. We arrived well ahead of schedule after a smooth flight over the Atlantic. Which was great, because it gave us a chance to check into the hotel and get a few extra winks to get our body clocks adjusted to the 5-hour time difference (4 hours after tomorrow, when the UK turns its clocks back, which we’ll do in the US next weekend).

Anyway, no pictures to post just yet, other than the ones of Brady and Belichick in the previous post, but Andy and Paul are out at the practice facility right now, so expect a report from them later today. In the meantime, I’ll be heading out with a contingent of Patriots staff and guests on a tour of London in a little while. Look for an all-new PFW Hits The Road posting sometime later today …

It’s great to be in the UK on a bright, sunny, autumn Friday. Looking very forward to seeing all that this wonderful, historic city has to offer, including meeting the hundreds of our UK fans who’ll be in attendance tomorrow night at the Sports Cafe.

P.S. There were some gorgeous women serving as flight attendants on our Virgin Atlantic charter. Excellent hires, Sir Richard!