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The books, which contained six pages of "football basics," complete with diagrams of formations and drawings to show the difference between a forward pass and a pitchout, got a workout as the game progressed and fans tried to grapple with the live version of football. "We have a great deal to learn, don't we?" mused one befuddled watcher. Most of the running plays, with the thunderous exception of Perry's one-yard touchdown rumble, went unnoticed and uncheered. "It's easier to see the ball on the telly," Sean Dyer, 24, of Melton Mowbray, said, by way of explaining the crowd's curious lapses into silence. But when the ball was kicked or passed, and thus clearly visible to the untrained eye, cheers rocked the stadium.
The Bears' first touchdown was the fans' best moment, albeit the Cowboys' worst. After a pass from Quarterback Danny White, Wide Receiver Tony Hill weaved 7 yds. with the ball, only to fumble. Chicago Safety Dave Duerson picked up the loose ball and ran 48 yds. for a touchdown. Typical of a - preseason exhibition after just two weeks of practice, there were waves of substitutions and a flood of mistakes. The Cowboys fumbled four times and were intercepted once. But the fumbles bothered less than the long pauses for huddles and time-outs. Accustomed to their weekly compressed broadcast of top games with edited nonstop action, British followers of the sport are a highlight hybrid, completely at sea among the delays of the actual event. "I didn't realize they had this many commercials on American television," said one British fan. "I've never seen so much standing around. It makes cricket seem almost action-packed."
The transatlantic foray was a clear plus for bilateral relations. Bobbies manning the gates reported that 40% of those entering the stadium were American. Some 300 jet-age enthusiasts joined the Bears on their flight from Chicago, and groups of Texans decided, in one woman's phrase, "to use the occasion to squeeze in some shopping. I needed a new raincoat." Most Americans in the crowd, though, were expatriates and service members eager for a football fix. Judging by the number of Army, Air Force and Marine T shirts from bases across Europe, American Bowl weekend would have been a good time for the Soviets to attack. In the stands beside their British cousins, the Americans offered football seminars throughout the evening. Said Rugby Player Ian Blakey, of Billingham: "I'm sitting behind some Cowboy fans, and they're conducting classes. You need help with all this if you've only seen it on the telly."
Indeed, most did need direction trying to sort out hand-offs, pass patterns, zone defenses and blocking assignments. "There's so much going on, I'm finding it hard to figure out which bit of it to watch," one fan said to a companion. "Yes," his friend replied. "I'm having the same problem with the cheerleaders."