Touchdown! Plaaaaayyyyy Baaallll!

The sandlot 1993

“You're killing me Smalls! These are s'more's stuff! Alrite now pay attention. First you take the graham, you stick the chocolate on the graham. Then you roast the 'mallow. When the 'mallows flaming... you stick it on the chocolate. Then cover with the other end. Then you scarf. Kind of messy, but good!”

S’mores

Let’s get one thing straight. Football is played with a round ball. The only protections the players have are a pair of shin pads and if you happen to support the opposition a biased referee. Crystal Palace fans like me know only too well how fickle the game of football can be. Once and only once have we reached the heady heights of cup final glory, only for our hopes to be dashed and our dreams to be crushed by Manchester United.

So I can fully understand that this weekend brings a similar feeling of sick excitement to the fans of the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers as they gear up for Super Bowl XLV.

Much as I enjoy any live sport in the UK I can say hand on heart that in the USA they know how to feed a crowd. From the tailgate parties in the car park prior to a game, outdoor sports bars on vacant lots near grounds and, a personal favourite of my younger teen, sno cones in the arena it is bigger and better in America. Supporters of the Washington Nationals don’t have to play intestinal roulette with a dodgy pie or get third degree burns from a plastic cup of Bovril. No, they can eat authentic barbecue ribs and wash it down with beer, proper local brewed beer, as they watch the game.

I have watched American football games and had great fun but last year I fell in love with baseball. I had really never understood the game but sitting in the stadium in Washington on a warm balmy night in late July I finally got it.

Having previously been excluded from understanding baseball movies I now have a better tolerance of the genre. The sandlot is a seriously funny family movie. As a foodie the scene that made me sit up was when Ham explains to Smalls exactly how to make a S’more. What better food to eat then should you decide to watch the Super bowl on Sunday evening (even if only to keep an eye out for a possible wardrobe malfunction).

Mise en scene

Graham crackers (you can’t source these in the UK and they seem to have no exact equivalent. Your choice seems to be either getting someone to bring a pack back from the US or using rich tea fingers instead!)

Chocolate bars (thin ones are best – little Dairy milk bars or Nestle Animal bars are a good size)

Large marsh mallows

Camp fire, barbecue or if all else fails gas ring

It’s all in the edit.

· All right now pay attention.

· First you take the graham.

· You stick the chocolate on the graham.

· Then you roast the 'mallow. When the 'mallows flaming... you stick it on the chocolate

· Then cover with the other end. (trans. Put another biscuit on top.)

· Then you scarf. Kind of messy, but good!”

Voiceover

For fans of the very British game of Cricket The Sandlot has the most magnificent example of sledging anywhere!