The Idea That Wouldn't Go Away

When I built the Seahawks, I had absolutely no idea if it would work. The goal was simple: create a club where people could play American Football, be part of something bigger than themselves, and go on tour with like-minded people.

Dublin proved there were enough people willing to make it happen. But it was during the planning of the next tour to Montpellier that Jeff Garside planted a seed that refused to stop growing.

"What about Las Vegas? I could get us a game there if you fancied it?"

This was 2022. The Seahawks were brand new. There was no way of knowing if it was doable, or if anyone even wanted it. But the question sat at the back of my mind as a persistent "what if?" What if a micronation could take a squad to America? What if we won? That would be the Principality of Sealand making its mark on the worldwide American Football scene. We should totally do it. 

Making It Happen

I got in touch with Rob Esquibel, a Minor League Football Hall of Famer and tournament organiser. Rob said we could play that year if we wanted to. I asked him to push it back a couple of years to give people time to save up.

December 2024 was locked in.

After the Masters won in Montpellier, I was finally able to tell the lads: "We're going to Las Vegas."

Scary. We had played two games as a club. Now we were taking on America.

Getting There

Las Vegas is not cheap. Flying into McCarran and getting across to downtown puts a dent in any budget, though there are more affordable accommodation options for those willing to share or stay somewhere a little more, as I diplomatically put it, "interesting."

Our friend Dario at Ridge Sports made us custom white uniforms with red and gold trim, and we arrived with new merchandise and stash packs proudly shown off on social media ahead of the trip. We looked the part. Now we had to play the part.

The date was set: 7th December 2024. We would play an exhibition team of MLFR Nationals, players from across the USA brought together by Rob, with our match as the last of the night. Under the floodlights in Las Vegas.

It felt less like a football trip and more like the plot of a film.

What Las Vegas Does to You

If you have never been to Las Vegas, it does not happen the way you expect. You do not go to Las Vegas. Las Vegas happens to you.

The casinos have no clocks and no natural light. Rumour has it they pump oxygen into the atmosphere to keep you awake and spending. You spend most of your time unsure whether things are real, how anything works, or what time it actually is.

After a memorable night on Fremont Street dressed as Father Christmas, we had training, and I found myself standing in Las Vegas with 60 friends from home having practise, genuinely having to pinch myself.

Gameday

UK pitches are muddy fields with wooden goalposts held together by electrical tape and wonky markings. This was not that. Proper bleachers. A proper American Football field on a 4G surface.

And that is when the panic set in.

I put my kit on, started warming up, and my brain started spinning. Three years. We had put together a team in three years and flown them to America to play Americans on home soil. I tried to get this across in my pre-game speech. It mostly came out as shouts and screams. Adrenaline and stress, it turns out, remove the ability to form coherent sentences.

I walked out as captain alongside Prince Liam of Sealand for the coin toss, heart going at a million miles an hour.

The Match

We lined up under the Las Vegas floodlights as a combined Nationals and Masters squad, the Sealand Seahawks, ready to go.

We shut down an ambitious early deep pass but fell short of a first down when we had the ball. The MLFR Nationals showed their quality, working the ball up the field with a mix of passes and runs to score, taking a 19-0 lead into half time despite our best efforts, with solid runs from Andy Johnson and Denziel Harmitt and passes caught by James Perry and Aaron Wheatley off Brad Thompson's arm. The defence truly 'balled out' Jonny Gritt and Stu Edwards having amazing games, with them and Evan Allen causing no end of issues for the Nationals offence. 

The second half brought more of the same. Two massive passes of 50 and 25 yards extended the lead to 25-0. Heartbreak followed in the third quarter when Quarterback Joe Thompson connected with Nick Wilson in the end zone, only for the ball to slip from his grasp. The Nationals scored again.

In the dying seconds, Andrew Johnson caught a pass out of the backfield, only for the referees to bizarrely move the ball backwards, ending any chance of us getting on the scoreboard.

Final score: 32-0 to the Nationals.

Painful. But not a humiliation. We were, on balance, happy with that.

The Moment It Sank In

As the final whistle went, I sat down in the middle of the pitch with Bean. It was the first moment in the entire trip that it actually hit me. How far we had come. What we had done.

The floodlights went out. The last of the Seahawks cleared their kit. We walked back to the car in the Las Vegas dark.

By the time we got there, I was already planning the next one.

Disneyland. Obviously.

A large contingent of Seahawks did what every NFL star does when a microphone gets shoved in their face after the Super Bowl.

They went to Disneyland.

Bean and I drove out to California, met Mickey Mouse, and rode the Incredicoaster four times. Because we could.

What Came Next

Las Vegas was probably the biggest logistical challenge I had ever taken on. I say "was" because the following year I took three teams to Brno in the Czech Republic in freezing conditions, which seemed like a good idea at the time.

But the next challenge closer to home? Seahawks Nationals versus Seahawks Masters, after my adopted son Paris Parchment suggested his Nationals could beat the Masters and I clearly wasn't going to stand for that... It sounded like... Civil War... 

-Mike Ireland, Minister for Sport and Culture

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