What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

*** NFL International Football Thread *** (1 Viewer)

If a team was in London they would need the following:

All games to be late games to fit in the normal noon time slot

A practice facility and condo complex for the visiting teams

Better scheduling to align by weeks and Monday night games the week after teams play in London

A US practice location for the UK team when they make their road trips of 2-3 games at a time

 
My sister lives in London. She says most go to an NFL game like we'd go to a local event in town, like the circus. There are some hardcore fans, but most of them have American ties somehow. If it was an every week thing, she doesn't know anyone who would actually go every week. When they have games it's more like "The Americans are bringing their football over here this week. Wanna go and have a drink?" Very few follow the NFL religiously, according to her.

 
Hoss Style said:
My sister lives in London. She says most go to an NFL game like we'd go to a local event in town, like the circus. There are some hardcore fans, but most of them have American ties somehow. If it was an every week thing, she doesn't know anyone who would actually go every week. When they have games it's more like "The Americans are bringing their football over here this week. Wanna go and have a drink?" Very few follow the NFL religiously, according to her.
Click to expand...
It's only anecdotalI and brief but was watching a few pregame periscopes from their yesterday & it was weird seeing everybody wearing different nfl shirts going to the game. Looked like fun times but I did get the "event" vibe she told you about
 
Hoss Style said:
My sister lives in London. She says most go to an NFL game like we'd go to a local event in town, like the circus. There are some hardcore fans, but most of them have American ties somehow. If it was an every week thing, she doesn't know anyone who would actually go every week. When they have games it's more like "The Americans are bringing their football over here this week. Wanna go and have a drink?" Very few follow the NFL religiously, according to her.
Click to expand...
I was going to ask about this. The games I have seen on London (watching them on TV), seem to have almost no crowd noise and no crowd enthusiasm. I can understand why the NFL wants a team there (money) and the mayor probably wants a team for the same reason, but is there going to be enough fan support? I know a couple of people living in London, but they are American ex-pats so they want a team but they don't really know any native Brits who care at all.

 
Hoss Style said:
My sister lives in London. She says most go to an NFL game like we'd go to a local event in town, like the circus. There are some hardcore fans, but most of them have American ties somehow. If it was an every week thing, she doesn't know anyone who would actually go every week. When they have games it's more like "The Americans are bringing their football over here this week. Wanna go and have a drink?" Very few follow the NFL religiously, according to her.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't say this was exactly true. TONS of proper NFL fans over here. Yes, Wembley gets filled up with a certain amount of curious onlookers since its 80K odd, but NFL fans from all over the UK habitually travel down for at least 1 of the games. The lack of crowd noise to me is a symptom of the fact that there is no inbuilt partisan home crowd. Most British NFL fans have a team they follow, but if that team isn't coming over they will travel down to see a game irregardless. I'm obviously a Lions, so there's 9 of us going down on a 2 day tear up for the Lions Chiefs game. Group of nine comprises of 2 Chiefs fans, 1 Packers, 1 Texans, 1 Ravens, me, 1 Cwboys fan and I cant remember the other one.

 
HellToupee said:
Hoss Style said:
My sister lives in London. She says most go to an NFL game like we'd go to a local event in town, like the circus. There are some hardcore fans, but most of them have American ties somehow. If it was an every week thing, she doesn't know anyone who would actually go every week. When they have games it's more like "The Americans are bringing their football over here this week. Wanna go and have a drink?" Very few follow the NFL religiously, according to her.
Click to expand...
It's only anecdotalI and brief but was watching a few pregame periscopes from their yesterday & it was weird seeing everybody wearing different nfl shirts going to the game. Looked like fun times but I did get the "event" vibe she told you about
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, that reminds me - she says that the fans that she does know already have teams (again, usually because of some American ties). Most say they wouldn't switch allegiances, they'd only pay to go to a game if their team came over.

 
TartanLion said:
Hoss Style said:
My sister lives in London. She says most go to an NFL game like we'd go to a local event in town, like the circus. There are some hardcore fans, but most of them have American ties somehow. If it was an every week thing, she doesn't know anyone who would actually go every week. When they have games it's more like "The Americans are bringing their football over here this week. Wanna go and have a drink?" Very few follow the NFL religiously, according to her.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't say this was exactly true. TONS of proper NFL fans over here. Yes, Wembley gets filled up with a certain amount of curious onlookers since its 80K odd, but NFL fans from all over the UK habitually travel down for at least 1 of the games. The lack of crowd noise to me is a symptom of the fact that there is no inbuilt partisan home crowd. Most British NFL fans have a team they follow, but if that team isn't coming over they will travel down to see a game irregardless. I'm obviously a Lions, so there's 9 of us going down on a 2 day tear up for the Lions Chiefs game. Group of nine comprises of 2 Chiefs fans, 1 Packers, 1 Texans, 1 Ravens, me, 1 Cwboys fan and I cant remember the other one.
Click to expand...
Good point. Maybe a team for everyone to root for will change the way they approach going to a game.

 
I was at the game yesterday.

Wembley is a great stadium, and massive. Over 89,000 attendance yesterday, sold out, and StubHub was double face value. There's an interest here, no doubt.

Yes, the fans weren't making much noise, but how much noise would you make if two NFL teams you weren't a fan of were playing in your town, and you went?

The thing I never knew about NFL games in the UK: People wear any NFL jersey they have to a game. It's hilarious. I saw a kid wearing a Bengals jersey with a Redskins hat, a Freeman Bucs jersey, Jeff Blake Bengals jersey and on and on.

It was a Dolphins "home" game, so they were handing out Dolphins pennants. English people are nothing if not polite, so it was kind of funny to see everyone be told: You're rooting for the Fins, and them all be like, "Cheers! Go Dolphins!" Frankly, until the game got out of reach, the fans were pretty vocal, and we were joking that this might be the best crowd the Fins get this year.

 
TartanLion said:
Hoss Style said:
My sister lives in London. She says most go to an NFL game like we'd go to a local event in town, like the circus. There are some hardcore fans, but most of them have American ties somehow. If it was an every week thing, she doesn't know anyone who would actually go every week. When they have games it's more like "The Americans are bringing their football over here this week. Wanna go and have a drink?" Very few follow the NFL religiously, according to her.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't say this was exactly true. TONS of proper NFL fans over here. Yes, Wembley gets filled up with a certain amount of curious onlookers since its 80K odd, but NFL fans from all over the UK habitually travel down for at least 1 of the games. The lack of crowd noise to me is a symptom of the fact that there is no inbuilt partisan home crowd. Most British NFL fans have a team they follow, but if that team isn't coming over they will travel down to see a game irregardless. I'm obviously a Lions, so there's 9 of us going down on a 2 day tear up for the Lions Chiefs game. Group of nine comprises of 2 Chiefs fans, 1 Packers, 1 Texans, 1 Ravens, me, 1 Cwboys fan and I cant remember the other one.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I know it's not exactly true. It's just the experience of my sister's friends and work place. She's an NFL fan, and finds it hard to get people to get excited to go every time they come to town. She has some online group she knows and they all go together.

I'm sure it differs, I'm just making the point that it's a far cry from here in America, where our NFL fandom is similar to your English Football fandom over there. Again, just from what my sis is telling me. :) She seems to think that there's no way it would sell out every week for 8 home games (at least with the pricing equivalent of tickets over here).

 
massraider said:
I was at the game yesterday.

Wembley is a great stadium, and massive. Over 89,000 attendance yesterday, sold out, and StubHub was double face value. There's an interest here, no doubt.

Yes, the fans weren't making much noise, but how much noise would you make if two NFL teams you weren't a fan of were playing in your town, and you went?

The thing I never knew about NFL games in the UK: People wear any NFL jersey they have to a game. It's hilarious. I saw a kid wearing a Bengals jersey with a Redskins hat, a Freeman Bucs jersey, Jeff Blake Bengals jersey and on and on.

It was a Dolphins "home" game, so they were handing out Dolphins pennants. English people are nothing if not polite, so it was kind of funny to see everyone be told: You're rooting for the Fins, and them all be like, "Cheers! Go Dolphins!" Frankly, until the game got out of reach, the fans were pretty vocal, and we were joking that this might be the best crowd the Fins get this year.
Click to expand...
:lol: at the best crowd the Fins get this year.

 
A coach has been fired after this game each of the last two years, right?

I wonder if that makes the coaches apprehensive next year

 
bfan85 said:
Because NFL Europe was so successful?
Click to expand...
And NFLE shifted mostly to Germany where the support was strongest.

They did a lot while it fizzled elsewhere.

NFL's international series should have sent a game there.

During NFLE games they'd show some local culture and the sport being played at some schools and such. I wonder how or if that's continued.

 
Hoss Style, on 05 Oct 2015 - 10:54 AM, said:

Hoss Style said:
My sister lives in London. She says most go to an NFL game like we'd go to a local event in town, like the circus. There are some hardcore fans, but most of them have American ties somehow. If it was an every week thing, she doesn't know anyone who would actually go every week. When they have games it's more like "The Americans are bringing their football over here this week. Wanna go and have a drink?" Very few follow the NFL religiously, according to her.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Sounds a lot like Americans about soccer not too long ago.

 
For those who say it will never catch on:

We spoke to the Leftwich-clad fan, Matt Harris, a teacher who noted that football has taken hold in the schools, saying that kids who always played soccer and rugby are "now also playing American football out on the fields," adding: "It's getting to that point where kids are buying into it. They know the rules, they know the game, they know the players. Over the past four years, I've really seen the shift."
Click to expand...
 
Hoss Style said:
HellToupee said:
Hoss Style said:
My sister lives in London. She says most go to an NFL game like we'd go to a local event in town, like the circus. There are some hardcore fans, but most of them have American ties somehow. If it was an every week thing, she doesn't know anyone who would actually go every week. When they have games it's more like "The Americans are bringing their football over here this week. Wanna go and have a drink?" Very few follow the NFL religiously, according to her.
Click to expand...
It's only anecdotalI and brief but was watching a few pregame periscopes from their yesterday & it was weird seeing everybody wearing different nfl shirts going to the game. Looked like fun times but I did get the "event" vibe she told you about
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, that reminds me - she says that the fans that she does know already have teams (again, usually because of some American ties). Most say they wouldn't switch allegiances, they'd only pay to go to a game if their team came over.
Click to expand...
The game may never catch on, but this argument makes no sense. How did the Panthers and Jaguars get any fans if this were true? All of the people living in North Carolina and Jacksonville followed a different team before those teams were there.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
cstu said:
For those who say it will never catch on:

We spoke to the Leftwich-clad fan, Matt Harris, a teacher who noted that football has taken hold in the schools, saying that kids who always played soccer and rugby are "now also playing American football out on the fields," adding: "It's getting to that point where kids are buying into it. They know the rules, they know the game, they know the players. Over the past four years, I've really seen the shift."
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Ya those people who don't understand the media can find anyone to say anything they want to make a story is crazy.

You really think its becoming some big huge thing in England? :rolleyes:

Premiere League is a good comparison and while there is some people who follow it, it is still way down on the list of sports people are actively interested in and sinking money in to. NFL better watch their backs or they will alienate a lot of fans here in the US, they might not care now but other sports could overtake them in the next 10-20 years (NBA, MLS, MLB, NHL).

 
TDorBust said:
cstu said:
For those who say it will never catch on:

We spoke to the Leftwich-clad fan, Matt Harris, a teacher who noted that football has taken hold in the schools, saying that kids who always played soccer and rugby are "now also playing American football out on the fields," adding: "It's getting to that point where kids are buying into it. They know the rules, they know the game, they know the players. Over the past four years, I've really seen the shift."
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Ya those people who don't understand the media can find anyone to say anything they want to make a story is crazy.

You really think its becoming some big huge thing in England? :rolleyes:

Premiere League is a good comparison and while there is some people who follow it, it is still way down on the list of sports people are actively interested in and sinking money in to. NFL better watch their backs or they will alienate a lot of fans here in the US, they might not care now but other sports could overtake them in the next 10-20 years (NBA, MLS, MLB, NHL).
Click to expand...
You don't know what you're speaking about.

I live in England. They have Game Pass here, televised NFL games every week, an NFL in London layout on Regent Street (kind of a major road) that is an absolute zoo. Lots and lots of people here follow soccer, and not much else. Cricket/Rugby/F1 have a small, loyal fan base. Football is way down the list? Really? What's the list?

There is plenty of room in these people's lives for another sport, and basketball and baseball, sports that are a better comparison than soccer/Premier League (you spelled it wrong). You cannot compare any sport trying to make inroads here to soccer. Soccer is established and goes back generation after generation. Horrible comparison.

Are you suggesting that NFL fans will stop following the NFL because they play games in England, and concentrate on expanding their markets? Yeah, I don't think that makes any sense.

Other than that, your post was spot on.

 
Long Ball Larry said:
Hoss Style said:
HellToupee said:
Hoss Style said:
My sister lives in London. She says most go to an NFL game like we'd go to a local event in town, like the circus. There are some hardcore fans, but most of them have American ties somehow. If it was an every week thing, she doesn't know anyone who would actually go every week. When they have games it's more like "The Americans are bringing their football over here this week. Wanna go and have a drink?" Very few follow the NFL religiously, according to her.
Click to expand...
It's only anecdotalI and brief but was watching a few pregame periscopes from their yesterday & it was weird seeing everybody wearing different nfl shirts going to the game. Looked like fun times but I did get the "event" vibe she told you about
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, that reminds me - she says that the fans that she does know already have teams (again, usually because of some American ties). Most say they wouldn't switch allegiances, they'd only pay to go to a game if their team came over.
Click to expand...
The game may never catch on, but this argument makes no sense. How did the Panthers and Jaguars get any fans if this were true? All of the people living in North Carolina and Jacksonville followed a different team before those teams were there.
Click to expand...
We grew up with NFL in the states and they didn't? I don't know, just grasping straws as to reasons they might have said that.

On the flip side, I know many Washington fans who still pull for them in North Carolina - not the Panthers. I know the Panthers had plenty of converts, but the NFL is mainstay here - soccer is over there.

Anyway, was just relaying what my sis said her friends said when she brought it up. Like ctsu said earlier, I think it may catch on in the future - I'm just not sure it'd be huge right now.

 
London as an issue is only of so much value. Whether it truly catches on in London is a nice-to-have for the NFL, not a must-have. It seems what matters most is the US TV rating for the morning window and whether it can stand alone as a new, nearly 100% incremental revenue source.

If the TV window holds up, then that will drive the rest of the decisions. Therefore, they wont shut down morning games b/c they cant draw attendance consistently in London over the long-term. They'd rather rotate among many European cities before shutting it down-- if, and only if, the US TV rating is there.

So all of this will London catch-on talk does have some relevance and gets plenty of publicity, but it doesnt seem to be the driving force.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Meh. I've been to Medieval Times before. I rooted for the red team because I was seated in that section. Then I went home and haven't cared since. If the black team moved to my home town, I still wouldn't care. I'm guessing that's about how it would go.

NFL has just gotten too greedy as a whole. They have improved their casual (and fair-weather) fan base while alienating many of the hardcore fans (myself included). The game has peaked and is on the downhill slope. It still has at least a decade to go as the top sport in this country, but the European thing is a money grab that would accelerate the decline. They can't seem to see the forest for the trees, and we have fewer and fewer kids joining Pop Warner leagues every year. Taking a team across the pond won't help that.

 
Thinking about the playoffs for a second: Imagine how crazy the scheduling would be if a London team makes it. Remember all the talk about how GB or Minnesota were better off losing in Week 17 so they didn't have to face Seattle? I wasn't buying it, but imagine a scenario in which the London Silly Nannies are locked into the No. 4 seed and two teams are fighting it out for wildcard positioning. Do you think anyone's going to want to get the 5 seed, travel to London for a playoff game, then, if they win, have to fly back the following week and face a top two seed coming off a bye? Or imagine a scenario like Colts '06 or Cardinals '08: The Silly Nannies win their wildcard game at home, then go on the road and beat, say, the LA Rams, then they get to fly nine time zones back to London to host the championship game, all in consecutive weeks. Some home field advantage!

Sure, those are edge cases, but it's just one of the many ways that having a team that far away would be a logistical nightmare.

 
zftcg said:
Thinking about the playoffs for a second: Imagine how crazy the scheduling would be if a London team makes it. Remember all the talk about how GB or Minnesota were better off losing in Week 17 so they didn't have to face Seattle? I wasn't buying it, but imagine a scenario in which the London Silly Nannies are locked into the No. 4 seed and two teams are fighting it out for wildcard positioning. Do you think anyone's going to want to get the 5 seed, travel to London for a playoff game, then, if they win, have to fly back the following week and face a top two seed coming off a bye? Or imagine a scenario like Colts '06 or Cardinals '08: The Silly Nannies win their wildcard game at home, then go on the road and beat, say, the LA Rams, then they get to fly nine time zones back to London to host the championship game, all in consecutive weeks. Some home field advantage!

Sure, those are edge cases, but it's just one of the many ways that having a team that far away would be a logistical nightmare.
Click to expand...
Maybe they can have a neutral stadium in the states for the playoffs :P

 
Deamon said:
zftcg said:
Thinking about the playoffs for a second: Imagine how crazy the scheduling would be if a London team makes it. Remember all the talk about how GB or Minnesota were better off losing in Week 17 so they didn't have to face Seattle? I wasn't buying it, but imagine a scenario in which the London Silly Nannies are locked into the No. 4 seed and two teams are fighting it out for wildcard positioning. Do you think anyone's going to want to get the 5 seed, travel to London for a playoff game, then, if they win, have to fly back the following week and face a top two seed coming off a bye? Or imagine a scenario like Colts '06 or Cardinals '08: The Silly Nannies win their wildcard game at home, then go on the road and beat, say, the LA Rams, then they get to fly nine time zones back to London to host the championship game, all in consecutive weeks. Some home field advantage!

Sure, those are edge cases, but it's just one of the many ways that having a team that far away would be a logistical nightmare.
Click to expand...
Maybe they can have a neutral stadium in the states for the playoffs :P
Click to expand...
So now the London team gets a home playoff game and has to give up HFA?

 
zftcg said:
Deamon said:
zftcg said:
Thinking about the playoffs for a second: Imagine how crazy the scheduling would be if a London team makes it. Remember all the talk about how GB or Minnesota were better off losing in Week 17 so they didn't have to face Seattle? I wasn't buying it, but imagine a scenario in which the London Silly Nannies are locked into the No. 4 seed and two teams are fighting it out for wildcard positioning. Do you think anyone's going to want to get the 5 seed, travel to London for a playoff game, then, if they win, have to fly back the following week and face a top two seed coming off a bye? Or imagine a scenario like Colts '06 or Cardinals '08: The Silly Nannies win their wildcard game at home, then go on the road and beat, say, the LA Rams, then they get to fly nine time zones back to London to host the championship game, all in consecutive weeks. Some home field advantage!

Sure, those are edge cases, but it's just one of the many ways that having a team that far away would be a logistical nightmare.
Click to expand...
Maybe they can have a neutral stadium in the states for the playoffs :P
Click to expand...
So now the London team gets a home playoff game and has to give up HFA?
Click to expand...
was a joke, but yes that's what I said

 
It would make the most sense to have at least 4 Europe teams start up at the same time, so they can play each other and build rivalries at home. Even 2 would be nice If you had London and Birmingham (maybe) so that rivalries can be built. Just the one team seems awkward.

I think you put 2 teams there, and if it doesn't work out, you move them to 2 of St. Louis / Oakland / San Antonio / San Diego / Portland / Toronto / Oklahoma City

 
The team is going to need a custom 474 to make traveling possible. Or maybe a fleet of sr-71s. Who would want to play for this team? Brutal on lots of fronts.

 
IMHO, the last thing the NFL needs is to get any bigger...if anything, the lack of quality QB'ing actually makes me wish it would shrink back down to 30 teams...maybe even 28. Problem is, outside of possibly Jacksonville, I'm not sure what teams you'd eliminate to get there...NFL is a lot like the Federal Government; much easier to expand than contract, but I'd sure like to see thicker rosters than how much talent is diluted across the current 32 teams...

 
nittanylion said:
IMHO, the last thing the NFL needs is to get any bigger...if anything, the lack of quality QB'ing actually makes me wish it would shrink back down to 30 teams...maybe even 28. Problem is, outside of possibly Jacksonville, I'm not sure what teams you'd eliminate to get there...NFL is a lot like the Federal Government; much easier to expand than contract, but I'd sure like to see thicker rosters than how much talent is diluted across the current 32 teams...
Click to expand...
The US is adding 3mm+ additional people to our population based each year.  There isn't a talent pool issue.  The issue is mgmt and development of the existing talent.  We don't have 32 great NFL coaches but I guarantee you that there are 32 great NFL coaches amidst our population ranks.

 
nittanylion said:
IMHO, the last thing the NFL needs is to get any bigger...if anything, the lack of quality QB'ing actually makes me wish it would shrink back down to 30 teams...maybe even 28. Problem is, outside of possibly Jacksonville, I'm not sure what teams you'd eliminate to get there...NFL is a lot like the Federal Government; much easier to expand than contract, but I'd sure like to see thicker rosters than how much talent is diluted across the current 32 teams...
Click to expand...
Oh, I want to hear this

 
Ross Tucker Football podcast last week, may have been with some player tax consultant guest, mentioned that taxes for a player to play their week in London was something like 40-60% of their weekly paycheck. Compensated when they come back stateside, but imagine 8 games with London as the official home site / no compensation? Ouch.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
nittanylion said:
IMHO, the last thing the NFL needs is to get any bigger...if anything, the lack of quality QB'ing actually makes me wish it would shrink back down to 30 teams...maybe even 28. Problem is, outside of possibly Jacksonville, I'm not sure what teams you'd eliminate to get there...NFL is a lot like the Federal Government; much easier to expand than contract, but I'd sure like to see thicker rosters than how much talent is diluted across the current 32 teams...
Click to expand...
Not sure if you've been watching the last couple years but they are a team on the rise.  They have young talent in many different positions and in 3-4 years they'll probably be consistently better than the patriots minus Brady, or Denver after they lose the other half of their D to retirement/FA.

Riffraff said:
Ross Tucker Football podcast last week, may have been with some player tax consultant guest, mentioned that taxes for a player to play their week in London was something like 40-60% of their weekly paycheck. Compensated when they come back stateside, but imagine 8 games with London as the official home site / no compensation? Ouch.
Click to expand...
A lot of people take that into account when signing in Florida. 

Also, the London team is going to have ridiculous home field advantage.

 
My idea.  They can send me a free Dr. Pepper when they implement it.

Move to 17 game schedule with two bye weeks and two preseason games.  In weeks 2 - 17 sell an NFL game to another city.  Set up the schedule so each of the 32 teams plays their extra game as one of the 16 neutral site games.  When a team plays a neutral site game they get one of their bye weeks the next week.

They could stage games in international cities like London, Mexico City, Berlin, Paris, Tokyo, Toronto or Sydney.  They could stage games in US cities like Las Vegas, Birmingham, Orlando, Memphis, Milwaukee or San Antonio.  London could purchase multiple games and if the interest/money is high enough could purchase 16 weeks of NFL football showcasing each of the 32 teams.

Players have to play one additional game and have to travel to London(or other int'l city) once a year, but lose two preseason games, get an additional bye week and presumably get more money.  TV networks get 19 weeks of NFL football programming instead of 17 which means more money for them and owners as well.  The NFL gets the exposure to additional markets without costing any teams one of their eight home games.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

barackdhouse
5 Europe games coming over the next 7 weeks. Might want to pay attention.
Replies
14
Views
342
Gally
G
Ilov80s
Don't Overreact 2025 Edition
2
Replies
78
Views
3K
ProstheticRGK
P
Chaka
Can we, please stop talking about players in terms of what round you drafted him?
Replies
49
Views
3K
Mister CIA
Mister CIA

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top