NFL to eventually expand to London?

[mysticsoto]

Could the NFL's UK games one day lead to a London franchise?

The NFL's commitment to London games has prompted suggestions that a franchise such as Tampa Bay may relocate

The NFL renewed its commitment to international expansion on Tuesday night, with its team owners voting to continue staging games in the United Kingdom through to 2016. They also opened the door to expanding the International Series, approving a resolution that "enables the league to determine the appropriate number of UK games per season, based on the popularity of the sport in the market and the number of teams that volunteer to play as home teams".

With ticket sales understood to have been slower than hoped for this year's game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Chicago Bears, sceptics may suggest that such a wording also leaves the NFL free to decide that "zero" is the appropriate number of UK games. But that would be to ignore the words of the league's commissioner, Roger Goodell, who spoke to the media at the end of the meeting in Houston.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/oct/12/nfl-uk-london-franchise

[OpIv37]

Re: NFL to eventually expand to London?

The London Silly Nannies!

[YardRat]

Re: NFL to eventually expand to London?

No.

[imbondz]

Re: NFL to eventually expand to London?

******ed.

[HopefulBillsFan]

Re: NFL to eventually expand to London?

no. only reason i can see Tampa speculated is because they are owned by the same people that own the Manchester United club.

[Dujek]

Re: NFL to eventually expand to London?

This is the second time Tampa have volunteered to be the team to move a home game to London. I would think that has more to do with the speculation over them moving than the poison dwarf owning them.

Same reason that the Bills are the only team ever mentioned when anyone talks about an NFL team in Toronto.

[DraftBoy]

Re: NFL to eventually expand to London?

Does the game sell out every year?

[mysticsoto]

Re: NFL to eventually expand to London?

Does the game sell out every year?

TB had a streak of 10 consecutive blacked out games!!! They finally got one sold out this year on a Monday Nighter early October.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/45799/the-streak-is-over-for-buccaneers

[SABuffalo786]

Re: NFL to eventually expand to London?

It'd be a massive failure. NFL outside of North America = non-factor.

[mysticsoto]

Re: NFL to eventually expand to London?

It'd be a massive failure. NFL outside of North America = non-factor.

But imagine if the NFL became popular outside the US and we played other countries. Eventually, countries could compete in the Olympics...I think that would be awesome!

Nowhere close to that right now though, but it'd be a baby step to expand to 1 place outside the US.

[casdhf]

Re: NFL to eventually expand to London?

Who cares if we expand outside the US? We have the best game in the world, lets just keep it.

[Billz_fan]

Re: NFL to eventually expand to London?

ugh, can you imagine the travel times etc ? The miles over the oceans ? I don't want to sound morbid or whatever but I just have the feeling that it would lead to planes full of football teams in the ocean every so often.

If the NFL wants to start a separate league over there and then eventually have the winners of the 2 league's meet in the ultimate Super Bowl then I could get on board with that , maybe.

[Dujek]

Re: NFL to eventually expand to London?

Does the game sell out every year?

Normally it's sold out by the end of August. This year, because of the lockout, there are still some tickets left.

They'll all be sold by game-time though. 90,000 plus in Wembley.

And Notre Dame are coming to Dublin next year. Not sure whether they're playing at the Aviva (55,000) or Croke Park (85,000).

[trapezeus]

Re: NFL to eventually expand to London?

rather see a team in hawaii than london.

[Forward_Lateral]

Re: NFL to eventually expand to London?

It's impossible. You'd have to give the team that plays them a bye the next week. The London team's road trips would also be ridiculous. There's no possible way an over seas franchise would work.