Hello. No Henning debating, no Sparano loving, just a bit of personal colour for Thursday's game.

In 1985, my mother's gentleman friend, an American ex services man from Key West, who worked on a nearby US Airforce base and lived with us, persuaded her to let me stay up for the Superbowl. Until 5am (uk) or so, that's pretty good persuasion.

I picked a team, the Dolphins, lost, and have been in love with them ever since. I think my older brother picked the Dolphins too.

The following year however, he had magically switched his allegiance to the Bears, which was very convenient for the next Superbowl.

Growing up in England, before the days of NFL.com, streaming websites, and the Phinsider of course, following the Dolphins was not easy. I could read results in the American paper from the base, but you don't soak everything up.

For example, due to English rivalries being geographic, and the Jets always being a terrible team, I didn't even know they were our big rivals.

They may sell out Wembley every year for the annual NFL game, but I think everyone who follows the game here is in that stadium for that game.

 The only person I know, or have ever known in England that follows the NFL, is my brother, and he's a Bears fan. All the rivalries that might happen at work, or with friends and relatives are, for me, condensed in to one. Dolphins vs Bears, brother vs brother.

In this way, this is the biggest game in years.

If you hear a cheer from the London direction, that'll be me.