London wants an NFL team

by Izzo Court 2014-10-22, 15:34

http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/british-government-pushing-to-get-nfl-team-in-london-102214

The British government wants an NFL team based in London.
George Osborne, the British treasury chief, told the Evening Standard newspaper on Wednesday that the government will do whatever it can ''to make this happen.''
The NFL has been playing regular-season games at Wembley Stadium every year since 2007, and this season there are three games on the schedule. But they haven't yet announced any plans to put a team permanently in the British capital.

This just sounds like a terrible idea. Players will have to leave their family and friends to live over in London for 8 months? Just wait for Mexico City to get a team, I'm sure that will go over great with players.

by **Robert J Sakimano** 2014-10-22, 15:35

I once got stranded near the Wembley tube stop - Naesden to be exact... kind of a shady part of town.

by **Travis of the Cosmos** 2014-10-22, 15:37

I mean, on the list of problems with it I don't think moving people away from their families ranks very high. They are already taking California kids and moving them to Green Bay, it's not really that much different.

by LoneWolfSparty 2014-10-22, 15:38

Let's give them the Lions. Throw the Red Wings in too.

#worstfranchisesever

by Izzo Court 2014-10-22, 15:46

gHost Spartan wrote:As the NFL's product continues to deteriorate and as games become longer with more and more commercial breaks, English fans will lose interest. Soccer and rugby isn't molested by artificial time stoppages in play.

Maybe not artificial time stoppages but English Football has that magical element that warps the space time continuum known as "extra time."

by **Travis of the Cosmos** 2014-10-22, 15:50

Izzo Court wrote:

Maybe not artificial time stoppages but English Football has that magical element that warps the space time continuum known as "extra time."

Football's random dartboard of a clock with rules that change depending on how much time is left in the game is waaaaaaaaay worse than stoppage time.

by **Nommad2** 2014-10-22, 16:05

gHost Spartan wrote:As the NFL's product continues to deteriorate and as games become longer with more and more commercial breaks, English fans will lose interest. Soccer and rugby isn't molested by artificial time stoppages in play.

Maybe not, but soccer is also boring as fuck. I think the fans will like the action and scoring the NFL offers.

by **NigelUno** 2014-10-22, 16:11

gHost Spartan wrote:As the NFL's product continues to deteriorate...

Interesting. I thought the NFL was doing OK.

by LoneWolfSparty 2014-10-22, 16:12

NigelUno wrote:

Interesting. I thought the NFL was doing OK.

Even more interesting, its pretty much the same as NCAA football but gHost isn't bashing that.

by **MiamiSpartan** 2014-10-22, 17:14

Nommad2 wrote:
Maybe not, but soccer is also boring as fuck. I think the fans will like the action and scoring the NFL offers.

Yes, Brits are clamoring for all the excitement of 60 minutes being stretched out to 180+, with players only actually playing for about 5-6 seconds, and then standing around for 25 seconds.

I love both football and soccer (probably my 2 favorite sports, with hockey being a very close third). But as much as people that don't appreciate soccer think that it's boring, it's easy to see why people that don't appreciate football would think that's boring as well.

by **Cym Jim** 2014-10-22, 23:49

This is cool. Americans will finally be able to say they're World Champions at something.

by **DWags** 2014-10-22, 23:51

Travis of the Cosmos wrote:I mean, on the list of problems with it I don't think moving people away from their families ranks very high. They are already taking California kids and moving them to Green Bay, it's not really that much different.

Better teeth in Wisconsin

by **Ass Dan** 2014-10-22, 23:52

Cym Jim wrote:This is cool. Americans will finally be able to say they're World Champions at something.

How well did England do in the last world cup?

by **Cym Jim** 2014-10-23, 00:12

MiamiSpartan wrote:
Yes, Brits are clamoring for all the excitement of 60 minutes being stretched out to 180+, with players only actually playing for about 5-6 seconds, and then standing around for 25 seconds.

I love both football and soccer (probably my 2 favorite sports, with hockey being a very close third). But as much as people that don't appreciate soccer think that it's boring, it's easy to see why people that don't appreciate football would think that's boring as well.

60? The ball is in play for about 11 minutes in an entire football game.

by **Cym Jim** 2014-10-23, 01:17

gHost Spartan wrote:

England is not the United Kingdom. During the World Cup, it's only ENGLAND that's playing, not a team comprised of the best English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish footballers.

Also, England pretty much sucks in every sport. The last time I remember a truly remarkable English victory in anything was the 2005 Ashes.

Well of course, your memory of England stopped after your little visit and hopeless attempt at understanding English music. You clearly failed to notice the 2009, 2011, and 2013 Ashes, along with multiple recent Tour de France, Grand Prix, Olympic successes etc. etc.

You Yanks are still NBA and Professional Bowling champs though, so you have that going for you.

Jolly good Basketball

by **Cym Jim** 2014-10-23, 01:20

[quote="gHost Spartan"]

Not to mention 300 hundred pound "athletes" dressed in body armor. Take that crap off and play. Bunch of pussies the lot of them.

by **Cym Jim** 2014-10-23, 01:24

gHost Spartan wrote:

2005 Ashes was unique, that was my point. I don't think you can honestly debate how special that Ashes was -

"Hopeless attempt at understanding English music" - ? Did you really go there? I consider myself an expert in music, at least in the categories and sub-categories of alternative / punk rock music. I'm not sure why you think I'm somehow deficient in this area.

Just joking - you and I have gone back and forth on the nuances of Britpop and the Madchester scene on the old board. I lived it all man - saw the Stone Roses at Spike Island, the Happy Mondays at the G-Mex, even Ride and Slowdive during early shows. Was at Glastonbury every year for over a decade - I miss those days!

by Jethro Bodeen 2014-10-23, 03:14

Nommad2 wrote:
Maybe not, but soccer is also boring as fuck. I think the fans will like the action and scoring the NFL offers.

Ding Ding Ding! Boring as FUCK!!!! Mind numbing "action": guys running around kicking a ball around a field until, by an absolute fluke, one or two times in most games, the ball is kicked into a goal.

There is more action, violence and ass kicking an any 1 dive play of American Football than in entire games of Soccer. Football is 80 intense, violent mini-dramas that erupt every 60 seconds, each capable of leading to a score or major ground gain. Soccer is string of boring soliloquies that are virtually all pointless.

by Izzo Court 2014-10-23, 07:17

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qjp1Zrvn8VQ

by **NigelUno** 2014-10-23, 07:21

gHost Spartan wrote: The NFL is doing great, you're right, because it's a sport that's supported by fantasy football and gambling. The NFL has done a miraculous job marketing every aspect of the game to consumers. Chick football jerseys, almost year-round coverage, fantasy football, training camp, preseason, the draft... and the media slurps it up. The NFL is a phenomena. The NFL blows away every single other sport in the United States and arguably the world. And the NFL is raking in BILLIONS.

But that said, the sport, football, and the product is getting worse. When I talk to NFL junkies they don't even watch the games, they watch Red Zone; no one has the patience to sit through a regular game. The bars are filled with NFL fans on Sundays, and they just sit there all day and drink. It's incredible. But our attention span has decreased so much that this is in part why the NFL has been able to make these changes. When you're sitting at an NFL game and there's five minutes of TV commercials, what does everyone do? Text. Check fantasy football.

Europe is different. No NFL team would survive in London. The sport would get eviscerated by the UK media. Why watch a strange version of rugby with all the artificial stoppages when you can watch Saints v. Harlequins?

They sure seem to sell a lot of tickets for the NFL games in London. I guess the UK media hasn't done a very good job eviscerating the game for the last 7 years.

And if an NFL team can survive in Jacksonville, it can survive in London (of course they might be moving the Jags to London...that's a different matter).

I doubt the NFL would put a team in London without having a strong business model and some pretty decent data suggesting it would work. My guess is they'll expand the current London schedule to 8 games to test it out a bit more.

by **Robert J Sakimano** 2014-10-23, 07:59

Cym Jim wrote:

Well of course, your memory of England stopped after your little visit and hopeless attempt at understanding English music. You clearly failed to notice the 2009, 2011, and 2013 Ashes, along with multiple recent Tour de France, Grand Prix, Olympic successes etc. etc.

You Yanks are still NBA and Professional Bowling champs though, so you have that going for you.

Jolly good

listen, you whiny little bitch.. I'll have you know that an American team wins the World Series every year..

conveniently forget about that, don't ya?

by **NigelUno** 2014-10-23, 08:04

Cym Jim wrote:

Well of course, your memory of England stopped after your little visit and hopeless attempt at understanding English music. You clearly failed to notice the 2009, 2011, and 2013 Ashes, along with multiple recent Tour de France, Grand Prix, Olympic successes etc. etc.

You Yanks are still NBA and Professional Bowling champs though, so you have that going for you.

Jolly good

Olympic success? In what? Tennis? Ice Dancing?

by LoneWolfSparty 2014-10-23, 09:29

NigelUno wrote:

Olympic success? In what? Tennis? Ice Dancing?

Dentistry?

by **MiamiSpartan** 2014-10-23, 12:36

Cym Jim wrote:

60? The ball is in play for about 11 minutes in an entire football game.

Agree. I was just speaking of the game clock of 60 minutes being stretched out to 3+ hours, but notice that I pointed out that there's only about 5-6 seconds of action out of every 30 seconds that players are on the field (not counting commercials and time outs). Still, American football is a fantastic and thrilling sport, as is soccer. Both very different, yet still awesome in their own way.

by **Cym Jim** 2014-10-23, 12:58

NigelUno wrote:

Olympic success? In what? Tennis? Ice Dancing?

We had more men's golds on the track than you at the last Olympics London wants an NFL team 2599972566

by **Cym Jim** 2014-10-23, 12:59

MiamiSpartan wrote:
Agree. I was just speaking of the game clock of 60 minutes being stretched out to 3+ hours, but notice that I pointed out that there's only about 5-6 seconds of action out of every 30 seconds that players are on the field (not counting commercials and time outs). Still, American football is a fantastic and thrilling sport, as is soccer. Both very different, yet still awesome in their own way.

Agreed - going to the Broncos game tonight with my dad London wants an NFL team 969504605

by **The_Dude** 2014-10-23, 13:09

Ass Dan wrote:

How well did England do in the last world cup?

by **The_Dude** 2014-10-23, 13:15

gHost Spartan wrote: The NFL is doing great, you're right, because it's a sport that's supported by fantasy football and gambling. The NFL has done a miraculous job marketing every aspect of the game to consumers. Chick football jerseys, almost year-round coverage, fantasy football, training camp, preseason, the draft... and the media slurps it up. The NFL is a phenomena. The NFL blows away every single other sport in the United States and arguably the world. And the NFL is raking in BILLIONS.

But that said, the sport, football, and the product is getting worse. When I talk to NFL junkies they don't even watch the games, they watch Red Zone; no one has the patience to sit through a regular game. The bars are filled with NFL fans on Sundays, and they just sit there all day and drink. It's incredible. But our attention span has decreased so much that this is in part why the NFL has been able to make these changes. When you're sitting at an NFL game and there's five minutes of TV commercials, what does everyone do? Text. Check fantasy football.

Europe is different. No NFL team would survive in London. The sport would get eviscerated by the UK media. Why watch a strange version of rugby with all the artificial stoppages when you can watch Saints v. Harlequins?

Great post.

Lets even take a look at the Nebraska/MSU game. That game went on FOREVER!

No wonder people left...blowout, 40 and wet (miserable), and the game took like 3:45 to play.

by **NigelUno** 2014-10-23, 13:21

gHost Spartan wrote:

Sure...."they" i.e. the Premiership, also sells a lot of tickets in the US when Man U, Arsenal, and other EPL teams play exhibitions here during the summer. And while Wembley may be sold out for the odd NFL game in the UK every year, that doesn't mean they're going to pack that stadium for 10 weeks every year. One of my friends from overseas study loves the NFL and he lives in Southampton and every year makes the trip up for an NFL game. But I doubt he'd do that every single week.

But hey man, this seems to be an issue you feel very strongly about so we'll just accept your statements and move on. I guess we all know that we can trust and rely on the NFL's judgement.

If they talked to your one friend, they'd probably abandon the idea.

by **StylesGShmooth** 2014-10-23, 17:48

Cym Jim wrote:This is cool. Americans will finally be able to say they're World Champions at something.

I know. All those Gold Medals we had to carry over from Merry Ol England after the Olympics made us to tired to say anything about it.

by **SeeRockCity** 2014-10-23, 19:29

gHost Spartan wrote:As the NFL's product continues to deteriorate ....

London wants an NFL team Qui-Gon_mind_trick

by **NigelUno** 2014-10-26, 11:55

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11767027/nfl-play-five-london-games-2015

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