American Football Visits London
The National Football League is proudly reporting that 88,000 spectators will pack Wembley Stadium this weekend to watch the New York Giants play the Miami Dolphins in the first regular season game to be played in England.
The Giants have a record of 5-2 and are in second place in their division. The Dolphins are 0-7 and considered the worst team in the league. I understand this game was decided upon before the NFL was aware the Giants would be mediocre and the Dolphins dreadful, but that doesn't change the fact this isn't a match up that will turn Europeans on to "American Football".
There are a few questions that are being asked with regards to this game. The first of which is does the NFL plan on doing this every season moving forward? NFL tickets are very expensive. Season tickets especially, and the holders of those tickets are not going to be happy losing a home game every season. Sundays are an event in America because fans are so fiercely loyal to their NFL teams. More loyal than any other sports fans in the country. For these fans to learn they are going to lose a home game will result in a major uproar. The league's counter argument that these overseas games will bring in huge amounts of revenue will fall on deaf ears.
Americans see sports such as soccer, rugby and cricket as alien. They don't relate to them. They don't want much to do with them. Americans hold the NFL and Major League Baseball close to their hearts. It is a part of them and to share this with Europeans is not going to go down well. The NFL has stated it is their plan that eventually every team will be playing a game overseas during the course of a season. I'm not kidding when I say this could lead to a massive revolt by fans. To accommodate this, the NFL will have to either add a regular season game or hire a Public Relations wizard that can cast a spell over the entire fan-base, convincing them that this is for the good of the league.
Another question is: Do Europeans even care? A big chunk of the 88,000 on Sunday will be Americans living, working or stationed by the military in Europe. This is similar to when the European football teams tour America during summers. But the poor MLS attendance would reflect Americans have not taken to soccer. The dead and buried NFL Europe league is proof Europeans were not exactly ready to embrace American football. They prefer their action to be on-going, done in under two hours and devoid of television timeouts and play calling huddles.
The Giants and Dolphins will probably sell quite a few jerseys on Sunday. But the Giants and Dolphins don't have songs that their fans sing the entire game. They don't have a Supporters Section that stands the entire time. In general, atmosphere at American sports can be rather dull. Cheering is very mechanical and that isn't what English football fans are all about when they pack Old Trafford, Anfield or Fratton Park. Americans get up during actual play to hunt down nachos and peanuts, use the bathroom or talk on cell phones! The question of "Do Europeans care?" or "Will the league see long-term success if they launch an actual club overseas?" is already answered. No.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodall has plainly stated he would consider having the Super Bowl played in London in the future. For those that don't know, the Super Bowl is basically a national holiday in America. It is an event unlike any other. Partying starts early, fans pack bars for the game and the partying lasts late into the night. And this doesn't necessarily include fans that have their team playing in the Super Bowl! Offices around the country are typically a little empty the Monday after.
The Super Bowl tends to start between 5:30 and 6:30 in the evening. To coordinate the start time with a different time zone the game would have to be moved up at least two hours. What to some might seem a minor change, to others (meaning NFL fans) this could mean a disruption of epic proportion. Not to mention the national pride some invest in the pre-game festivities. There is the singing of the National Anthem, a flyover by fighter jets and sometimes God Bless America is thrown in for good measure! Imagine this going down on foreign soil? The Red State folks in America would be running through the streets in panic.
So, while I agree it is kind of cool to see the NFL played overseas, I don't think this has any legs to stand on long-term. I love soccer. I go to multiple MLS games, pre-season tours of European clubs and am up at the crack of dawn every Saturday to catch the early Premiership match. But I'm in the minority here. I don't mind if the team I support - Green Bay Packers - plays a match in Madrid, Frankfurt or Milan during the season. I love the thought of Packer fans wearing their foam Cheesehead hats walking through the streets of Milan.
That being said, the majority of fans would be throwing their Cheesehead hats through the NFL headquarters windows if that ever came to fruition. The NFL should not plan their end-zone dances just yet. The idea of playing meaningful games on a regular basis overseas has a lot of questions to answer first.
The Giants have a record of 5-2 and are in second place in their division. The Dolphins are 0-7 and considered the worst team in the league. I understand this game was decided upon before the NFL was aware the Giants would be mediocre and the Dolphins dreadful, but that doesn't change the fact this isn't a match up that will turn Europeans on to "American Football".
There are a few questions that are being asked with regards to this game. The first of which is does the NFL plan on doing this every season moving forward? NFL tickets are very expensive. Season tickets especially, and the holders of those tickets are not going to be happy losing a home game every season. Sundays are an event in America because fans are so fiercely loyal to their NFL teams. More loyal than any other sports fans in the country. For these fans to learn they are going to lose a home game will result in a major uproar. The league's counter argument that these overseas games will bring in huge amounts of revenue will fall on deaf ears.
Americans see sports such as soccer, rugby and cricket as alien. They don't relate to them. They don't want much to do with them. Americans hold the NFL and Major League Baseball close to their hearts. It is a part of them and to share this with Europeans is not going to go down well. The NFL has stated it is their plan that eventually every team will be playing a game overseas during the course of a season. I'm not kidding when I say this could lead to a massive revolt by fans. To accommodate this, the NFL will have to either add a regular season game or hire a Public Relations wizard that can cast a spell over the entire fan-base, convincing them that this is for the good of the league.
Another question is: Do Europeans even care? A big chunk of the 88,000 on Sunday will be Americans living, working or stationed by the military in Europe. This is similar to when the European football teams tour America during summers. But the poor MLS attendance would reflect Americans have not taken to soccer. The dead and buried NFL Europe league is proof Europeans were not exactly ready to embrace American football. They prefer their action to be on-going, done in under two hours and devoid of television timeouts and play calling huddles.
The Giants and Dolphins will probably sell quite a few jerseys on Sunday. But the Giants and Dolphins don't have songs that their fans sing the entire game. They don't have a Supporters Section that stands the entire time. In general, atmosphere at American sports can be rather dull. Cheering is very mechanical and that isn't what English football fans are all about when they pack Old Trafford, Anfield or Fratton Park. Americans get up during actual play to hunt down nachos and peanuts, use the bathroom or talk on cell phones! The question of "Do Europeans care?" or "Will the league see long-term success if they launch an actual club overseas?" is already answered. No.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodall has plainly stated he would consider having the Super Bowl played in London in the future. For those that don't know, the Super Bowl is basically a national holiday in America. It is an event unlike any other. Partying starts early, fans pack bars for the game and the partying lasts late into the night. And this doesn't necessarily include fans that have their team playing in the Super Bowl! Offices around the country are typically a little empty the Monday after.
The Super Bowl tends to start between 5:30 and 6:30 in the evening. To coordinate the start time with a different time zone the game would have to be moved up at least two hours. What to some might seem a minor change, to others (meaning NFL fans) this could mean a disruption of epic proportion. Not to mention the national pride some invest in the pre-game festivities. There is the singing of the National Anthem, a flyover by fighter jets and sometimes God Bless America is thrown in for good measure! Imagine this going down on foreign soil? The Red State folks in America would be running through the streets in panic.
So, while I agree it is kind of cool to see the NFL played overseas, I don't think this has any legs to stand on long-term. I love soccer. I go to multiple MLS games, pre-season tours of European clubs and am up at the crack of dawn every Saturday to catch the early Premiership match. But I'm in the minority here. I don't mind if the team I support - Green Bay Packers - plays a match in Madrid, Frankfurt or Milan during the season. I love the thought of Packer fans wearing their foam Cheesehead hats walking through the streets of Milan.
That being said, the majority of fans would be throwing their Cheesehead hats through the NFL headquarters windows if that ever came to fruition. The NFL should not plan their end-zone dances just yet. The idea of playing meaningful games on a regular basis overseas has a lot of questions to answer first.
posted by Anonymous at 11:58 AM
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