Giants grind out muddy win over hapless Dolphins

As an occasion, though, this was a technicolour marvel. Gridiron came to town; a slice of American pie; a little bit of over there over here. And how the Brits lapped it up. An hour before kick-off, a third of the 81,176 crowd were already in their seats feasting their eyes on the warm-ups, the spectacle and, naturally, the scantily- clad Dolphins cheerleaders. When did that ever happen in our version of football?

Nice try: New York Giants' Manning skips over for a touch down

With three minutes left on the clock and the Dolphins labouring in midfield, Wembley was still four fifths full. In Miami, the majority of fans would already be on their way home.

They would have missed an improbable Dolphins drive that ended in a touchdown for wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr and gave the scoreline a closer look than was merited, but this was no normal crowd for British or American sport. And no ordinary day.

From Pittsburgh Steelers yellow to Washington Redskins maroon to Dolphins aquamarine, jerseys of all colours were on display. If the NFL had feared their audience would require educating, they will surely have been delighted by the knowledge of those present.

One was England's World Cupwinning rugby union captain Martin Johnson, whose love for gridiron earned him the privilege of attending the pre-game coin toss as the Dolphins' honorary captain for the day. His counterpart was John Terry, while Lewis Hamilton joined the pair on the pitch.

'God Save The Queen' was belted out with gusto by Paul Potts and the Dolphins cheerleaders gyrated their way through changes of costume without once letting their smiles drop.

American razzmatazz met English stiff upper lip when it came to the half-time entertainment, however. The band of the Royal Engineers added an incongruous air to the occasion, even more so when they delivered the theme from 'Rocky' as their first number.

All Wembley head groundsman Steve Welch could do was watch on in bemused horror at the sight of yet more feet churning up his turf. It will take much of the three-anda- half weeks before England play Croatia for the pitch to recover.

If there was a down side to the evening, it was the ineptitude of the Dolphins, who recorded their eighth successive defeat this season, although credit must go to Giants quarterback Eli Manning for impressive management of the ball in atrocious conditions.

Reasons to cheer: The Miami cheerleaders brighten up a gloomy Wembley

During time-outs, the scoreboards lit up with images of the 35th anniversary of the Dolphins' perfect 1972 season which ended in Superbowl triumph. The present team are now halfway to the imperfect season — something no team has ever managed in a 16- game campaign.

No Dolphins match now would be complete without a Keystone Cops moment. Yesterday's duly arrived in the closing seconds of the first half. Quarterback Cleo Lemon shaped to throw, only for the ball to shoot backwards out of his grasp and fall to the sodden earth to be pounced upon by Giants defensive end Michael Strahan. A circus clown could not have performed the routine better.

Back in Miami, season ticket holders watching the game on the Jumbotron screen at Dolphins Stadium will no doubt have felt relieved they did not have to witness another meltdown in the flesh.

For all the incongruity of an American football game at Wembley, imagine the scene on Double Decker Day in 86F heat in Florida. The British theme to the afternoon there extended to the choice of onsite food — fish and chips — as well as the surroundings. On display, a London black cab and an inflatable Big Ben. In attendance, a Sean Connery impersonator and a Queen lookalike.

Whether they will want their Dolphins back is another matter. Judging by this jamboree, however, London would gladly take them, fumbling and stumbling included.