NFL: Oakland Raiders' Menelik Watson stunned to realise life-long Wembley ambition
Sunday 28 September 2014 09:39, UK
Oakland Raiders’ Menelik Watson always dreamed of playing at Wembley when he growing up in Manchester, but he never envisaged he would grace the hallowed turf this weekend as an NFL player.
The league's International Series returns to the capital this weekend as the Watson’s Oakland Raiders take on the Miami Dolphins in the ninth fixture to be played in London since 2007.
Having grown up in Longsight, Watson’s sporting aspirations, unsurprisingly, focused on his beloved Manchester City in addition to a passion for basketball - with the idea of a career in NFL completely alien to the Raiders’ offensive tackle.
However, after just three seasons playing his new sport, Watson is back in England and the dream looks a reality as he hopes to help his team to their first victory this season in front of his family, who incidentally have never seen him play live before.
Dream
"As a kid, we all had dreams to play in the Premier League," he said conference ahead of the clash with the Dolphins.
"Playing in the FA Cup at Wembley was always something you dreamed of as a kid. American football-wise, no. Not even after I got drafted.
"I watched the (Pittsburgh) Steelers out here last year versus Minnesota (Vikings) and then I didn't really think until the schedule came out. It's like a dream really."
While Miami touched down in Britain on Friday, the Raiders have been here since Monday aiming to get familiar with their new surroundings as they desperately try to kick-start their season following three losses.
Watson has been keen to stress to his team-mates that London is a world away from Manchester in many respects.
"I've been schooling them in a lot of things, but obviously I'm not from down here," Watson added.
"They've all been asking 'what's going on', and 'how long is this' and 'how far is this?' Listen, I'm not from here, I'm from Manchester!
"It might be a small country, but there is a big difference between London and Manchester."
Across the Atlantic, Miami's own preparations have been disrupted by head coach Joe Philbin's reluctance to confirm whether under-fire quarterback Ryan Tannehill would retain his starting berth for this game after a 1-2 start.
Tannehill publicly questioned Philbin's motives earlier this week but the two appear to have put the episode behind them since arriving in the UK.
"It's done. It was something we faced earlier in the week, but it's done," said Tannehill on Friday.
"Now we're just getting ready to play. I'm excited to be here in London."
Watch the Oakland Raiders take on the Miami Dolphin live from Wembley Stadium this Sunday. Coverage starts 5:30pm, Sky Sports 2 HD
