Dream trip sees Portsmouth woman meet her favourite NFL stars
Having been roundly booed as she took to the NFL Draft stage in Pittsburgh, a Portsmouth woman bit back with a one-liner.
It was the highlight of the trip for Jamie Pembroke, 38, from North End, who was flown out to the draft by the Baltimore Ravens after she was named their International Fan of the Year for her “passion, loyalty and infectious enthusiasm”.
Joining international fans from across the world who had been named for their respective teams, Jamie was given the duty of announcing the Ravens’ 4th round pick which was tight end Matthew Hibner. Before heading onto the stage, the cancer care co-ordinator at Queen Alexandra Hospital was understandably nervous with an average of 7.7 million fans tuning in across America for the event.
To add to the tension, Jamie knew she was going to get booed as the draft was held in the city of the Raven’s fierce rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Jamie Pembroke was flown to the NFL Draft 2026 in Pittsburgh, with her dad Gary Pembroke, after winning Baltimore Ravens' International Fan of the Year.placeholder image
Jamie Pembroke was flown to the NFL Draft 2026 in Pittsburgh, with her dad Gary Pembroke, after winning Baltimore Ravens' International Fan of the Year. | Jamie Pembroke
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Jamie said: “I knew I was going into enemy territory and that they were going to boo me. In the previous days in the draft, any time a Ravens logo appeared on the screen the crowd were booing as it is a great rivalry in the NFL. I had the line planned for a couple of weeks, I wanted it to be short, snappy and not too offensive but enough to get a reaction.”
When her big moment arrived, she said “Pittsburgh, I’ll keep this short, like your post-season” referencing the rival team falling at the first hurdle of the play-offs last season. It drew oohs from the crowd and laughter from the American television broadcast team.
She said: “The draft itself was really cool and it is hard not to list the pick as the favourite moment. I was really nervous, I had mentally prepared to go up there and say what I said. It was fun and I got a lot of compliments on it afterwards even from Pittsburgh Steelers’ fans.”
Attending the draft between Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25 was the culmination of a once in a lifetime trip for Jamie, who took her dad and fellow Ravens’ fan Gary Pembroke along for the ride. They travelled out the weekend before to have a look around Baltimore and also take a day-trip to Washington DC.
However, the main event started later in the week when they were given a personal tour of the 71,000 seater M&T Bank Stadium and the Ravens’ practice facility. During the tour of the practice facility a mini-camp was taking place with the Ravens players undergoing a training session.
“I just thought we would stand at the side-line and watch them practice which was cool enough,” Jamie said. However they got brought closer as the head coach, Jesse Minter, wrapped up the training session and gave feedback to the team in a huddle. It was then that Jamie heard him call her name.
She said: “He called me into the circle, and then all of a sudden I am in the middle of the Ravens team and they are all staring at me. It was crazy. I was then asked to end the huddle and a couple of players came up to me thanking me for being a fan including the quarterback Lamar Jackson which was amazing. I was not expecting that at all.”
Jamie Pembroke from Portsmouth at the NFL Draft 2026 representing the Baltimore Ravens as their International Fan of the Year.placeholder image
Jamie Pembroke from Portsmouth at the NFL Draft 2026 representing the Baltimore Ravens as their International Fan of the Year. | Jamie Pembroke
Back to reality and hard at work at QA Hospital the experience almost feels like a dream for Jamie.
She said: “It feels a bit surreal, I keep looking through the pictures on my phone and seeing the clips of me online on the stage. I’m back at work now and it feels like it never happened. I had the most amazing trip and I am so grateful to the Ravens for flying me out there for it. It was one of those experiences I will never forget.”
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