No, I'm not talking about the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship play-off game. It's The 2026 Super Bowl!
Representing the AFC are the winners of that AFC play-off game, The New England Patriots. They hail from the New England region of America. Located in the North-East of the United States New England is made up of the States of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Boston is the largest city in the region, making Massachusetts the real centre of New England.
As we learned during Awards Season 2025 in 1453 The Byzantine Empire (330-1453) fell to The Ottoman Empire (1299-1922). This blocked Europe's access to The Silk Road preventing it from trading with Asia. This prompted the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus to set sail East, in the hope of finding a new trade route between Europe and Asia. In August 1492 Columbus' expedition hit a bit of a problem, in the form of a previously unknown landmass. Europe had finally discovered what we now know to be The Americas.
Being rather annoyed at not finding himself in Asia Christopher Columbus never travelled as far as what we now consider North America. His first voyage only took his as far as Cuba while his subsequent voyages took him to Venezuela in South America along with Costa Rica, Panama and Honduras in Central America. The first European to discover North America was actually the Italian Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) who, under orders from British King Henry VII, landed in the modern Canadian Province of Newfoundland in 1497. In 1519 the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan finally found a way around the annoyance that is The Americas. As a result of this first circumnavigation of the globe trade between Europe and Asia boomed.
In 1600 British merchants trading with East Asia established a dedicated Corporation - The British East India Company (EIC). Technically the British East India Company is a complex and uniquely British legal arrangement. Established by Royal Charter it is a mainly Private Corporation but one to which the British Crown has delegated governing authority, like a Municipal Government. However for the sake of arguments you could describe the British East India Company as a Private Corporation.
In 1601 British merchants set up two similar Corporations - The Plymouth Company and The London Company. Their Royal Charters gave them authority to establish trading settlements on behalf of the British Crown in North America. Eventually the two Corporations merged and became The Virginia Company in 1606.
To help fund itself and populate its settlements The Plymouth Company sold land it had yet to visit to a group known as; "The Pilgrims." Being very pure in their Protestant Christian beliefs The Pilgrims believed that religion should be separate from the power of Monarchs and nations and that Churches should be governed Democratically. This had seen them forced from Britain into exile in The Netherlands.
In July 1620 The Pilgrims boarded first the Speedwell and set sail from The Netherlands back to Britain. In Southampton The Pilgrims boarded the Mayflower and set sail for their new life in North America. In November 1620 landed at what we now consider Plymouth Rock in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Under The Plymouth Company this became The Plymouth Colony.
Britain had tried establishing trading settlements in North America before, however they had all failed. The London Company had the first success, establishing The Jamestown Settlement in what we now consider the State of Virginia in 1607. Although that initially came very close to failure, being abandoned and re-established in 1610. The Plymouth Colony was the second successful British Colony in North America. To celebrate surviving its first year The Plymouth Colony held a Feast of Thanksgiving in October 1621, alongside the native Wampanoag Tribe. An event people in the US continue to mark to this day, although they have moved it to November so it's closer to Black Friday.
The success of The Plymouth Colony allowed The Plymouth Corporation to sell more land in their trading settlement. The Massachusetts Bay Colony, The Providence Plantation, The Rhode Island Colony and The Saybrook Colony soon followed.
Britain wasn't the only European Colonial Power trying to establish trading settlements in North America. There was also The Kingdom of France, The Kingdom of Spain and The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. That was alongside the Indigenous population which already lived in the area. Chiefly the Iroquois League, the Mi'kmaq Tribe and the Abenaki Tribe. These competing interests led to a series of conflicts; The French and Indian Wars. For the purpose of mutual defence the British Colonies established The New England Confederation or The United Colonies of New England.
The British Crown was very concerned by the growing power of The New England Confederation. So it brought it back under its direct rule. Establishing The Dominion of New England. Effectively taking the Colonies out of the Private Sector and bringing them into the Public Sector. Rather like how The Portuguese Empire was forced to bring The 15 Captaincies of Brazil from the Private Sector into the Public Sector in response to The Sugar Wars (1624-1654).
Unlike European Settlers in more Southern parts of The Americas Settlers in New England found that the area wasn't particularly good for growing Cash-Crops such as Sugarcane. So instead they focused on Trade, particularly animal furs, and proto-Industrialisation, making things out of those animal furs.
Trade in New England was hampered by The Navigation Laws. A set of British laws which essentially meant that all trade had to go through Britain. So all imports had to come from Britain, where they'd be subject to Tariffs, and all exports had to go first to Britain, where they'd be subject to Tariffs. In an early example of Vertical Integration The Navigation Laws also gave Britain control of the entire Supply-Chain, mandating that only British ships, such as those belonging to the British East India Company, could be used for import and export. A monopoly which allowed them to charge a hefty premium.
As The New England Confederation the people of New England were able to pretty much ignore The Navigation Laws. Smuggling things through neighbouring territories which weren't under British control and appointing local officials who simply wouldn't enforce the law. As The Dominion of New England the Settlers had to obey The Navigation Laws which were now being enforced by officials from Britain.
Alongside that frustration the people of New England were also frustrated at being ruled by a faraway Absolute Monarchy. Many of them, particularly The Puritans, had already fled that same Absolute Monarchy because they thought their Churches should be run Democratically. With the majority of people in New England being Puritan Christians they were really not happy about being ruled by a Catholic Christian Absolute Monarchy. King Charles II and then King James I.
So in 1689 the people of New England, particularly Boston, rose up in revolt against The Dominion of New England. Causing it to collapse and restoring local-rule to New England. The Boston Revolt (1689).
By the 1760's The British East India Company was in serious financial trouble. One of the causes for this was New England ignoring The Navigation Laws to smuggle cheaper Tea from the Dutch East India Company into The Americas. This resulted in The British East India Company having warehouses full of Tea in Britain that it was unable to sell. Specifically to save the British East India Company from bankruptcy Britain passed The Tea Act (1773). This essentially abolished Tariffs for Tea the British East India Company imported to Britain and then exported elsewhere, such as to The Americas.
In December 1773 a group of protesters called The Sons of Liberty snuck aboard The British East India Company ship Dartmouth in Boston harbour. They then dumped the cargo of Tea into the water because it wasn't subject to Tariffs. The Boston Tea Party. Rather than objecting to Tariffs The Sons of Liberty objected to The British East India Company being exempt from Tariffs while they still had to pay Tariffs on exports to Britain, despite Britain giving them no say in what the Tariff levels were and what they were being used to pay for. Hence the famous slogan; "No Taxation Without Representation!" Rather than simply; “No Taxation!”
Britain responded to The Boston Tea Party by punishing New England with the imposition of what became known as; "The Intolerable Acts" (1774). These included closing Boston Port until the Tea which had been destroyed was paid for in full. Along with placing the Massachusetts Colony back under direct British rule, as it had been during The Dominion of New England.
This only angered the people of New England more. The Sons of Liberty joined with others to form a wider group called; "The Patriots." It is this specific political group that the Football team is named after, rather than a more general concept of patriotism.
The Patriots were the main driving force behind The American Revolution (1765-1783) and The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) which expelled British Colonial rule and established the new nation of The United States of America. Which, at the time, meant The 13 Colonies running down the East Coast. New England in the North, The Middle Colonies between Delaware and Pennsylvania and The Southern Colonies between Virginia and Florida.
As part of a new independent nation New England continued its focus on Trade and proto-Industrialisation. So when The Industrial Revolution occurred New England was quick to embrace it. The Springfield Armoury pioneered many production line techniques, such as mass produced parts. New England continues to be a centre for high-tech manufacturing due to the region's partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
New England particularly embraced Textile manufacturing with the region being dominated by many industrialised Textile mills. These quickly saw New England create far more jobs then it could fill. This saw women enter the paid workforce in a big way for the first time. The town of Salem where they famously hanged farm girls as witches in the 17th Century is located in Massachusetts. New England's jobs crisis was also solved by large numbers of immigrants. Particularly Catholics who were fleeing famine and oppression in Britain's Irish Colony. So large was this influx of Irish immigrants that it shifted New England's religious character. Making it majority Catholic, after being founded by very Protestant Protestants. A legacy that continues to this day. It's even got; "Mass" right there in its name.
Being focused on Trade and now Industry rather than Agriculture New England had little use for Slaves and became a driver for the abolition of Slavery. The modern day Republican Party was founded in 1854 as a specifically anti-Slavery party. The result of a split between The Patriots originals chapter of New England and newer Patriots from The Southern Colonies, where Agriculture was more important.
If you could see through the Blizzard the New England Patriots secured their place in this year's Super Bowl by beating The Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship play-off. The Denver Broncos are from the State of Colorado.
The Super Bowl 2025, particularly The Half-Time Show 2025, went into a frankly painful level of detail about the history of Los Angeles. How when the US took control of the area during The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) they created the first real maps, dividing the are up into Land Parcels. California Governor Leland Stanford then gave many of these Land Parcels away to himself and his friends; Collis Potter Huntington, Mark Hopkins Jr and Charles Crocker. Dubbed; "The Big Four" Stanford and his friends used these Land Grants and other corrupt practices to amass huge fortunes. Becoming the some of the most famous; "Robber Barons" of the US' so-called; "Gilded Age."
While the Big Four were considered; "The Biggest Swindlers in American History" this practice of Robber Barons using corrupt Land Grants to amass huge fortunes wasn't limited to California, it was something which happened across the US.
Colorado had its own Robber Barons, led John C. Osgood, known as The Iowa Group. They established the Denver & Rio Grande Railway Company in 1870 and through their control of the transport infrastructure went onto own pretty much all industry in Colorado through the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. This went on to be taken over by two of, probably, the most famous Robber Barons; John D. Rockefeller and Jay Gould. Their appalling treatment of workers led to massive strikes; "Colorado Labour Wars" (1903-1904) and the "Colorado Coalfield War (1913-1914)." The latter resulted in; "The Ludlow Massacre" (1914) in which the Colorado National Guard massacred striking miners and their families at the request of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. Woody Guthrie's song; "Ludlow Massacre" sits in the US Library of Congress to catalogue this significant event in US history.
The Super Bowl 2026 is being played in San Francisco in Northern California. This is particularly well known for Silicon Valley, home to all Big Tech companies. Arguably the Big Tech companies are the modern day Robber Barons. They control the infrastructure; the Internet Data Centres, the A.I's through which so much of the modern Economy functions. That control of the transport infrastructure gives them huge opportunity for Vertical Integration, like the owners of the Railroads had during the Gilded Age.
So with The Patriots having defeated Colorado's Robber Barons I thought it was inevitable they would go onto take on California's Robber Barons. In the form of The L.A Rams.
Instead though it was The Seattle Seahawks who won the National Football Conference (NFC) Championship play-off. Making them the Patriot's opponents in the 2026 Super Bowl. They heil from Washington State in The Pacific Northwest.
When Magellan finally found a way around The Americas he did so by sailing around its most Southern tip, Cape Horn. It took almost another 200 years before someone sailed all the way back up the Pacific side of The Americas. The Spanish explorer Bruno de Heceta arrived in what we now consider Washington State in 1775. In 1811 the area was claimed as a British trading settlement by The North West Company, a Private Corporation in the style of the Virginia Company and the British East India Company.
When the US established itself as an independent nation in 1776 is was only the 13 Colonies down the East coast. Everything to the West of modern day Pennsylvania was still part of Britain. Arguably Canada is still part of Britain. Under The Treaty of Paris (1783). Britain ceded the modern day States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and most of Minnesota to the US. Despite now being considered Middle-America at the time these were known as; “The Northwest Territory.” In The War of 1812 (1812-18-14) Britain tried to take back The 13 Colonies and The Northwest Territory.
A significant driver of the US expansion West was the invention of The Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons). In 1830 Joseph Smith found what he claimed was a new book of the Christian Bible in New York State, just South of New England. Conveniently this new book allowed Joseph Smith and his followers to take multiple wives. Multiple husbands are still very much forbidden. Quite quickly everyone in New York State got fed up with The Mormons' heresy and polyamory and they had to flee to Ohio and Missouri. Quite quickly everyone there got fed up with the Mormons, their heresy and polyamory, and they were kicked out of Ohio and Missouri. Although more intercommunal violence the Mormons expulsion from Missouri is sometimes known as; “The Mormon War of 1838.”
Following their expulsion from, particularly Missouri, the Mormons trekked North-West to start new lives in what is now considered the State of Utah. In 1857 the Mormons massacred non-Mormons in Utah, prompting President James Buchanan to send Federal Troops to bring Mormon Utah back under US control. President Buchanan lost this; “Utah War" (1857-1858) to the Mormons. It was the weakening of President Buchanan which is seen as contributing to The US Civil War (1861-1865).
While this was going on Britain had ceded The Pacific Northwest to the US, under The Oregon Treaty (1848). Those travelling to these new territories alongside the Mormons discovered that it was rich in valuable minerals such as Coal, Copper and, particularly Gold. Prompting a massive influx of internal migrants, all looking to make their fortune.
The US Civil War ended with the abolishment of Slavery in all of the US. Despite Black Lives Matter’s insistence that all issues in the US must be considered in terms of Slavery's legacy Slavery was never a legal practice in a majority of US States, let alone the entire country.
However after the US Civil War (1861-1865) White people in US States in the South-East, such as Missouri, found the prospect of having to live alongside Black people as equals so terrifying that they fled to the furthest point they could find; Washington and the Pacific Northwest. Black Exclusion Laws prevented Black people from living in Washington State’s neighbour Oregon until 1926. Sociologists and Urban Geographers talk about; “White Flight.” In which White people flee inner-cities for the suburbs, in order to escape Black people. The post-1865 migration from the South-East US to the Pacific Northwest has got to be the biggest White Flight in history.
Due to this longstanding culture of epic racism Washington State has long been a hotbed of Neo-Nazi activity. It Opera is famous for its performances of the works of Richard Wagner, who provided the soundtrack to The Nazi Holocaust. This was particularly true during the 1980's and 1990's when Seattle became famous for its music scene. Grunge bands like Nirvana and Punk including its Riot Grrrl subgenre. During this time the now well known acronym; "ANTIFA (Anti-Fascist Action)" really meant nothing more than Neo-Nazi and Anti-Nazi Skinheads beating each other up.
Due to this long and deep history or extreme racism and Neo-Nazism Seattle and Washington State are, no doubt, key recruiting grounds for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In short; The Seattle Seahawks are ICE.
The European Colonial Era ended in the Pacific Northwest when Britain ceded it to the US in 1848, with Washington formally being joined in union with the US, becoming a State in 1889. When The European Colonial Era ended globally it was replaced by The Neo-Colonial Era. During this time Economics in The Capitalist First World was dominated by the ideas of John Maynard Keynes. This Keynesian Consensus dictated that Governments should interfere in the Economy as much as possible. It was the result of the perceived success of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" in response to The Great Depression (1929-1945).
Washington State was a huge beneficiary of the New Deal. With the US Government building several massive Hydroelectric Dams on the Columbia River. The Grand Coulee Dam being the most famous. Not least because of Woody Guthrie’s songs about it. Which are preserved in the Library of Congress as a record of the important event in US history. I don't know how if it's how you learn, however it's certainly how I learn. I suspect it's how many in the Eurovision Song Contest community learn too.
During The Second World War (1939-1945) Seattle and Washington State generally became a centre for weapons production. Particularly warships and warplanes. A legacy which continues with the massive, but not hugely reliable, aeroplane manufacturer Boeing being founded in Seattle in 1916, before moving its headquarters to Virginia in 2023.
When the Neo-Colonial Era ended it was replaced by The Globalised Era. If a single event can mark the start of The Globalised Era than it would be the founding of The World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1995. The massive N30 "Battle in Seattle" Protests against the WTO's Ministerial Meeting in 1999 really first drew the US and global public's attention to the fact the World was in a new economic era. It was those few days of pretty intense rioting which prompted even many, even financial, journalists to find out what the WTO was for the first time. The N30 Protests also blocked the Millennium Round of negotiations which would have seen More Economically Developed Countries (MEDC's) allow Tariff free access to Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDC's). All previous rounds, during the Neo-Colonial Era were about getting the LEDC's to provide Tariff free access to the MEDC's.
Seattle also features heavily in Season 2 of the TV Show; "The Last of US." At the risk of giving away spoilers the Season starts with the Kibbutz-style collective community being attacked. Following some very soppy, leftwing Israeli Jewish debates over whether to hunt down and eliminate the attackers or not a small group head to Seattle to do just that. Seeking to hunt down a paramilitary militia group called; "The Wolves." Alongside Hamas there just so happens to be a Muslim Brotherhood paramilitary militia group called; "The Grey Wolves."
Of course the capital of Washington State isn’t Seattle. The capital of Washington State is Olympia. The city takes its name from The Olympic Mountain Range, which in turn takes its name from its highest peak; Mount Olympus. Located on The Olympic Peninsula the area around The Olympic Mountain Range is a US National Park; “The Olympic Wilderness.”
Washington’s Mount Olympus appropriates its name from Greece’s Mount Olympus. Which, in mythology, is considered home to the Olympic gods, who defeated the Titan gods.
Whoever named Washington State’s Mount Olympus wasn’t the only 19th Century European Colonial waster to appropriate Greek Mythology. Pierre de Coubertin also stole it for his ridiculous celebration of mediocrity; The Modern Olympics.
Despite President Trump being in office for over a year now the US is still facing down the barrel of the tragedy of hosting The 2028 Summer Olympics. It’s still over two years away, yet it’s already left much of Los Angeles in ruins.
Before that though the US is still in line to suffer the absolute tragedy of having to host The 2026 World Cup. While it’s something the entire nation should be alarmed about this is a particular problem for the National Football League (NFL). Even within the US American Football has long being losing popularity in favour of Football. It has never been particularly popular amongst Hispanics, even those who don’t speak Spanish.
Faced with losing many of its traditional fans the NFL has been making a concerted effort to attract new fans, outside of its traditional market. In the UK the Channel 5 TV network is now owned by the US Corporation Paramount-Skydance. As a result they're really trying to make the Channel 5 network the home of the NFL in the UK. At least one NFL game is broadcast live in the UK every week now. Normally on a Sunday evening (UK time) where it is supported by a big show which helps to build, support and expand a UK fanbase community for the NFL.
Although I doubt it made much difference in the US, where it was broadcast on the NBC network, The Super Bowl 2026 marked a big moment for the NFL's partnership with the UK Channel 5 network. For example Channel 5's anchors were allowed to pre-record pieces on the pitch, early, on game day. In previous years UK broadcasters haven't even bothered send anchors to the US, almost going so far as leaving the many, many breaks in play as just dead air.
I have to say that this strategy actually seems to have some potential. For some really arcane reasons which have turned out to be quite relevant to this year's events. The US famously has an amendment written into its Constitution prohibiting the establishment of a national religion, the First Amendment. The reason for this is that when The Pilgrims and The Puritans left Britain it was a Religious Theocracy. Even if it wasn't quite sure what that religion was. As a result The Puritans and The Pilgrims weren't allowed to practice their religion.
Britain continues to be a Religious Theocracy, having settled on The Church of England as the national religion. During The Boston Revolt (1689) they not only kicked out officials of the British Crown they also kicked out The Church of England. Even as recently as 20 years ago shops in Britain weren't allowed to open on Sundays. In order to not distract people from their worship in The Church of England on its Sabbath. Britain's Sunday Trading laws continue to the restrictive and contested.
Britain's main broadcast network, The BBC, operates under a Royal Charter. Like The Plymouth Company, The Virginia Company etc. As a condition of the British Monarch granting the BBC its Royal Charter it has to broadcast a set number of hours of Church of England religious programming each week. Not on some dedicated, private channel like The Bible Network. On one of the main channels, at a time when there were only four channels. Although recently that set number of hours has been reduced significantly and opened up to include other Christian denominations. While it's not set out in law in the same way there seems to be an unspoken arrangement amongst UK broadcasters that they don't broadcast anything exciting on Sundays. So they don't distract people from their worship in The Church of England.
As a result 4pm to 8pm on a Sunday evening in Britain is the most boring thing you can imagine. This is the time that an NFL game is broadcast on the Channel 5 network. So I can certainly see people stumbling across it and taking an interest, out of sheer boredom if nothing else. That's how I know it snowed during the AFC Championship play-off game. I stumbled across it while channel surfing.
The NFL also massively expanded the number of games played overseas this season. In partnership with the Channel 5 network there were three played in Britain alone. At times which must have been really annoying for US viewers. With its overseas games the NFL has been making a concerted effort to appeal to Hispanics. This season saw NFL games being played in both Spain and Mexico. The Kansas City Chiefs game in Brazil particularly caught a lot of attention, coming days after Travis Kelce announced his engagement to Taylor Swift. The NFL has certainly been making huge efforts to turn Taylor Swift fans into NFL fans. To the point you suspect the engagement announcement was made in conjunction with the NFL.
As part of this effort to avoid being completely forgotten by US Hispanics during this World Cup year the NFL booked the Puerto Rican Bad Bunny to perform The Half-Time Show 2026. Like all people born in Puerto Rico Bad Bunny is a full, natural born US citizen, him travelling from Puerto Rico to California is no more immigration than someone travelling from Washington State to California. However Bad Bunny is a US Citizen with Brown skin who can speak Spanish, alongside English.
Personally I found the NFL's decision to be cynical, bordering on the exploitative and really, really transparent. Unfortunately the acolytes of the so dearly departed Charlie Kirk at Turning Point USA can't even conceive of notions like the need to preserve US Soft-Power, wealth and general greatness. All they have in their heads is their rage that some of their fellow Catholic US Citizens have Brown skin and can speak languages other than English.
It's the old conundrum of whether they're racist because they're stupid or stupid because they're racist? I'd liken it to the question of which came first; the chicken or the egg? Although that's much easier to answer. The egg preceded the chicken by tens of thousands of years.
Charlie Kirk's acolytes rage and hatred is so great that they not only tried to organised a boycott of The Half-Time Show 2026, they even went so far as to organised a rival show. Apparently not only couldn't their headliner Kid Rock be bothered to sing in English either, he couldn't be bothered to sing at all.
03:37 on 9/2/26 (UK date).
Edited at around 16:50 on 10/2/26 (UK date) to significantly tidy all of the above, particularly the placeholders, and copy & paste;
Unfortunately it turns out the game was a complete walkover for the great White-Flight that is the Seattle Seahawks. It was as if Patriots weren't even trying to put up any resistance to ICE. They lost 29 to, an appropriate, 13. Not even scoring at all until late into the final quarter.
If the game had been broadcast everywhere as it was broadcast in the UK, on Paramount-Skydance's networks, you could almost speculate that the NFL had rigged the game as not offend Paramount-Skydance. An issue that certainly came up when Paramount-Skydance brought the US CBS network and Steven Colbert lost his job. It flared up again when a Mormon relieved the US of Charlie Kirk in Utah and Jimmy Kimmel almost lost his job. Paramount-Skydance's head Doug Ellison is said to be improperly close to President Trump. Like some sort of 19th Century Robber Baron.
The US Supreme Court's (SCOTUS) apparent war with The Patriots, The Sons of Liberty and The US Constitution they wrote certainly isn't showing it in the best light. Particularly on Tariffs and certain other issues of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
17:20 on 10/2/26 (UK date).
