I think gnu's putting a slightly rosy image on the good sporting nature of English football crowds, when it's a team they care about playing. They don't come more partisan than a local Derby. But of course with that NFL thing I imagine there'd be no reason for many of the locals in the crowd to have any preference either way.

They put the highlights on TV after Match of the Day, but I couldn't raise the interest to watch more than a couple of minutes. That body armour and the Star Trek helmets... (Now if they put a big baseball match on at Lords or the Oval it might be a different matter. I'd be more likely to watch that than Cricket.)