NFL mulling London Super Bowl in distant future
The NFL has discussed the idea of one day playing a Super Bowl in London, according to commissioner Roger Goodell.
Note these are in talks for now.
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NFL pondering possibility of playing Super Bowl in London
- Thread starter Y2kTheNewOldies
- Start date
Note these are in talks for now.
Fully agreed. See the article below for more...If Atlanta paid $46M to secure the bid for the game, they probably made that back 10 fold when it was actually hosted there.
Super Bowl LVII: This Is How Much $$$ The Big Game Makes Every Year
This makes me angry, but if London puts in a bid no one else can match…so we would have the game start around 9:30 am or so?
I don't think this is seriously being considered. Per the article posted above, Goodell was speaking to a fan forum in London when he made these comments. Part of Goodell's job is to be an ambassador for the league, speak like a politician and grow interest in NFL football. Just like any good politician, that involves telling people what they want to hear. In this case, Roger was speaking to a group in London, they asked him if a Super Bowl in London would be possible and he basically said "it's possible, it's been discussed but right now we have no plans to do it" (see his actual comments below). How many times do parents tell their kids "maybe" to placate them, or bosses tell their employees that they'll "consider" an idea or suggestion, when they actually have no intention to actually execute.
Every exhibition or regular American football game held in London so far has been a monstrous success. The way I see this unfolding is by the NFL easing the American public into the idea of an overseas city holding an NFL franchise first. This would include a stadium with a convertible roof which could be the home for Euro and American Football. Chances are the Saudis would be willing to fund such a stadium in London. Once the U.S. fans and sponsors get used to having teams play across the Atlantic, a whole additional market opens up that includes Europe. Now Superbowl too becomes international. The prospects of huge international broadcast rights, sponsorships, and in-game revenue from a sold-out arena each and every game, would be too good to ignore.
The NFL is committed to growing its popularity in Europe.
They have games in Germany in addition to the London games. There's Big Money there. It's very possible that London gets a permanent team one day. A London Super Bowl is certainly not far fetched. Americans massive ego calls the winning team WORLD CHAMPION...
Some years ago, as part of a market research project for play-by-play sports, a sample of people who attended NFL games in Mexico was interviewed. Most of the ticket-buyers were either expats or Mexicans who had gone to school or college in the US. There is very little interest among anyone else.
I'm a soccer fan. I grew up from Junior High on involved with soccer; American football is slightly more boring to me than a daytime soap opera.
The difference is; NFL has already played several exhibition games in London. They've been huge.
When you say "Exhibition", remember these are regular season games. They count in the standings. Miami will play Kansas City in a huge game at Frankfurt Germany in a couple weeks...
No, it would be a night game in London, just as it normally is here. There's a five-hour difference, so a 6:30 London time start would be 1:30 p.m. here. Not optimal, but to start it at the English equivalent of our 6:30 would put kickoff there at 11:30. I can see American TV bullying its way into such a made-for-American-TV start, but Fox or whoever gets the game would have to put a lot of CGI "people" in the stands to give the impression that anyone is in the stadium.
And they're nothing new. The first NFL regular season game in England was played in 2007.
A 9pm start in London would work just fine. That would be 4pm Eastern Time. That's only about 2 hours earlier than normal. Super Bowl coverage is an all day event anyway and it's bloated now...
I spent my youth playing "American" football and a good part of my adult career in Great Britain and Europe playing/spectating soccer.
The main complaint against American football from across the pond seems to be the time between plays and the complexity of the rules (and I will admit it doesn't translate between cultures very well).
The American complaint against (adult) soccer is that it is a primarily defensive game (or as we call it "boomball").
The relative costs of playing the game (as children and adults) also favors soccer as all you really need is a ball versus a complete kit for tackle football American style. And the relativity of the rules of each game also favor soccer - great game for kids.
I do agree that I have quit watching pro football because it is a much slower game but I also don't watch pro soccer due to the constant pratfalls and "injuries" which seem to last only a few seconds. Still love the college game here though.
All that said, the occasional football game on foreign shores does draw well if only out of curiosity. I don't see American football expanding beyond Canada though.
Unless there is the potential for a metric crap ton of new revenue coming out of Europe. Then watch the owners change their tune.
I can hear someone at the league say they want to grow the sport. But the owners want to grow their own wallets. They compete for the right to host the SB because they can make a ton of money even if their team isn't playing in the game. Why would they hand that money and prestige to someone in London?
Guess who makes the final decision? Hint: It ain't King Roger.
Many cities with NFL teams have never hosted a Super Bowl. Seattle, Chicago, Green Bay, Baltimore, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver and others. Minneapolis hosted a couple, but they were in domes. Cold weather in February eliminates many cities anyway. Only sites that have sufficient hotel accommodations and modern football palaces will be considered. Revenue sharing will give them all a taste of the money that will come from a London Super Bowl...
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Keep in mind that London gets cold in February. Temps in 30s and 40s, and they have had snow.
Here's what Goodell said.
So I don't hear a yes in there.