The annual NFL game was a great event, even if the New England Patriots' 35-7 demolition of Tampa Bay was rather an anticlimax but the biggest difference between American football and sport in the UK is what happens afterwards.

In the UK we never get the chance to have awkward chats with athletes outside of press conferences and the odd one-on-one interview, which is perhaps why there were so many journalists queuing up to get up close and personal with the Patriots in the locker rooms post-game.

Anticipation was building. Patriots staff had serious looks on their faces. Journos were looking around anxiously to make sure nobody was pushing in. Security staff were poised to check our press credentials to get the privilege of walking into a filthy changing room with towels and clothes sprawled all over the floor. And then it happened. The doors opened. We went in.

Naked men, everywhere. It was like I’d turned up slap bang in the middle of a Jackie Collins novel.

Not only was there a clothing drought, but also several Pats player standing there with his towel wide open and enjoying the freedom of essentially being part of a nudist colony.

As I attempted to avert my eyes , I turned around to try and find Adalius Thomas in order to ask him about the London experience. And find him I did, only he had his back to me.I now had to find a way to speak to an unclothed 122kg linebacker urgently.

What would you do? I spent my time writing down random things on my notepad in order to make it look as though I was a cool journalist. Other tactics I came up with were looking at my mobile phone as though I was reading an important text, speaking to any other journalist who also looked uncomfortable and saying 'this is weird isn't it?', and by attempting to laugh along at cornerback Shawn Springs' jokes, despite the fact that I had no idea what he was finding so funny (and thinking back on it, he was probably laughing at me).

Thankfully, a clothed Adalius Thomas was about to leave the room and I was able to grab him for a few quick words.

By the time I’d finished in the Patriots defence room, I managed to get to the room used by the offence, where I had a brief chat with Wes Welker, who was thoroughly pleasant. He told me about being quite overwhelmed by the London experience, and a recurring theme from every player I spoke to was that the game had the feel of a Super Bowl. I guess that’s what a year of anticipation will do to a bunch of 85000 British football fans.

Out of duty, I then proceeded to go to the Bucs changing room via one of the Wembley pitch entrances where I was given some deservedly filthy looks by the security staff for stepping into a heavily restricted area.

The Bucs players were understandably a lot less raucous than their Patriot counterparts, and in fact the depression in the room made me feel incredibly bad about having to ask any questions at all. I realised that all I needed to do was ask a clever question that would detract from the absolute beating that the players had just taken, and so I came up with this gem for the unsuspecting Antonio Bryant:

‘How did it feel out there?’ followed by an intuitive and deep 'I guess you guys will be trying hard to win the next game, right?'

If he wasn’t a veteran he might well have punched me in the face, and I’d have definitely deserved it. Instead he told me how the atmosphere was good but the result wasn’t, but to be quite frank I wasn’t really listening to his words due to the fact that the room was emptying so quickly I imagined a box of 26 pizzas had been placed outside. I knew my time in the locker room was coming to a close.

I had meant to take a memento home with me, a dirty sock or something, but in the end I just left with great memories to tell the grandkids that I don’t have.

I thought I’d learnt a lot journalistically from my trip to the NFL locker rooms. Unfortunately, it’s the very bizarre image of journalists approaching five naked guys asking questions about football that is the main memory in my head from another fantastic NFL Sunday.