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.