Kraft: NFL should expand to Europe

[BrownNServe]

They've got their girly-man soccer to watch and shout GOOOOAALLLLL at (once every 2 hours).

right sport, wrong country chief. gotta love the typical response from the average, uninformed American.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Love Kraft as our team's owner but here and the 18 game regular season is where I as a fan part company with owners' interests. I'm already sick enough about player injuries in a 16 game season and in this anti-technology era without a SST, travel across the pond just takes too long.

I would not be averse to the prior suggestions of a separate NFLE that only played the SB champs instead of the booring Pro Bowl.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I doubt there's anything behind this other than increasing his name recognition in Europe and burnishing his Brands, both the Pats' and the Krafts'. His interest in the Liverpool franchise made him reasonably visible in UK sports.

This is just an easy headline for him, enhances his name recognition and probably serves a couple of other agendas that we don't know anything about. I doubt he gives a hoot whether the NFL puts a team in Europe.

He didn't become worth a billion and change by being dumb.

 

[borg]

NFL owners have seen how European soccer has exploded upon the world. Even the US TV marketplace has begun to embrace their leagues. UK soccer is all over cable now, multiple games daily. Americans love to watch the best players play, not the retreads that MLS offers. Gamblers worldwide love soccer too. I suspect the NFL owners that took ownership stakes in teams were eyeing the potential for TV rights sales in markets beyond the Isle...aka the USA.
The NFL is attempting the same. Sports channels worldwide need and want content. The NFL is content.. I suspect that owners will do just about anything to gain entry into the livingrooms of 300 mill Europeans. The market is too big to ignore. Introduce and educate them to the sport and hopefully create demand. Remember, to the fans this is sport, to the owners this is business. The last set of US TV contracts with the NFL grossed $20 Billion. Getting a foothold in Europe could generate significant cash for the league

 

[Snarf]

right sport, wrong country chief. gotta love the typical response from the average, uninformed American.

What the hell are you talking about? Soccer is huge -- no MASSIVE -- in England.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_football

 

[hyperpat]

This is our damn game. Leave it here, and don't try to push it down some Euro-wanker's throats. They've got their girly-man soccer to watch and shout GOOOOAALLLLL at (once every 2 hours).

Ever watched a soccer game down at field level, eh, Snarf? If you've been to even a good high school game you'd know it can get pretty physical. Not suggesting that soccer is as brutal as football, but it ain't "girly-man."

Football and soccer are both great games. Don't understand the need of so many football fans to engage in sixth-grade name calling. No reason to smear soccer just because you don't happen to like or understand it.

 

[Higgins86]

A ridiculous idea. Even PLAYING in other countries is a ridiculous idea.

Why must we try to push EVERYTHING American on other countries?

This is our damn game. Leave it here, and don't try to push it down some Euro-wanker's throats. They've got their girly-man soccer to watch and shout GOOOOAALLLLL at (once every 2 hours).

girly man soccer...I would Love to see you walk into a UK soccer stadium and say that...

 

[Snarf]

<< Ever watched a soccer game down at field level, eh, Snarf? If you've been to even a good high school game you'd know it can get pretty physical. Not suggesting that soccer is as brutal as football, but it ain't "girly-man." >>

lol....

YouTube - Funniest Soccer Dives EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[BrownNServe]

What the hell are you talking about? Soccer is huge -- no MASSIVE -- in England.

Dumbass.

as if that had anything to do with my point. nice try though. soccer is MASSIVE in England, I dont know where youve heard otherwise, the only thing that is comparable to soccer in the England on the scale of popularity in the US is unfortunately NASCAR. My original point, which you seemed to ignore, was that the GOOOOALLL reference, pertains only to Mexican or South American Soccer. Notice the Spanish or Portuguese speaking announcers? not in England unless its broadcast via a Spanish network. kudos on your effort though.

 

[Snarf]

girly man soccer...I would Love to see you walk into a UK soccer stadium and say that...

And one for you too!

YouTube - Best Ever Football Divers!

 

[Snarf]

My original point, which you seemed to ignore, was that the GOOOOALLL reference, pertains only to Mexican or South American Soccer. Notice the Spanish or Portuguese speaking announcers? not in England unless its broadcast via a Spanish network. kudos on your effort though.

Your original point was incorrect too, then. The shout "GOAAL!!" is most certainly heard in Association Football, which is played in England.

 

[JackBauer]

This is our damn game. Leave it here, and don't try to push it down some Euro-wanker's throats. They've got their girly-man soccer to watch and shout GOOOOAALLLLL at (once every 2 hours).

I should think soccer is the most popular sport in the world for a reason, and I doubt that reason has anything to do with the rest of the world being "girly men."

 

[BrownNServe]

Snarf - we get it, you dont like soccer, but since you prove your point of girly-men so well with videos, heres one i think you would like. lets see you hop on the field with these guys, no pads, no helmet.

YouTube - FOOTBALL FIGHTS - FOULS - KICKS - HEADBUTTS - BEST OF SOCCER

 

[BrownNServe]

Your original point was incorrect too, then. The shout "GOAAL!!" is most certainly heard in Association Football, which is played in England.

well then i guess its right in line with how they shout TOUCHDOWN in the nfl, isnt it?

 

[borg]

I suspect that getting the European sports fan to embrace the 3 hour game experience on TV will be challenging. The game breaks, TV timeouts, and length of the game will be an obstacle for viewers used to continuous action under two hours.

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

If they did it (and I'm NOT saying they should), I would suggest setting up a division of 4 teams in Europe that play 2 games/year against each other (half their games), 4 home games with US teams (set the schedule of these 4 games to coincide with those team's bye weeks so that they get a little extra time to travel and prepare for the game), and 4 back-to-back games against US teams here in the US (That way they only have to travel over the Atlantic twice... to get here and then a month later to go home).

Of course, there is the impact on playoffs to be worked out, but I think this would work better than setting up just one team overseas or trying to set up an entire league and/or conference.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Three thoughts.

1) "Soccer" is a global sport with a fan base in the billions. That fan base is increasingly moving into the money economy in places where it was mostly impoverished 20 years ago. The NFL would love to figure out how to tap into that, from a long term perspective. Sophisticated companies, especially Emerging Market based globals, are increasingly trying to figure out how to market to this demographic.

2) The logistics of a team in the UK or Central Europe are daunting, as others have observed. But there were those who said the same thing when the Dodgers and Giants moved to the left coast decades ago when transcontinental flights were a lot slower and longer than they are today. The logistics of having an NFL franchise across the Atlantic are no doubt much more problematic, but that does not mean they are insurmountable. BTW, too bad the Concorde has seen its day, as the three hours from Boston or New York to London was a lot shorter than even the fastest eastbound flights from the Coast.

3) The bottom line is that there is a huge potential market for the NFL product, but it will probably take a decade or longer to figure out how to make tapping it both economical for owners and reasonable for players. If the "will" is great enough, then a "way" will be found. Both the "will" and the "way" are now being tested and tentatively explored.

 

[Greatriots]

I should think soccer is the most popular sport in the world for a reason, and I doubt that reason has anything to do with the rest of the world being "girly men."

I respect "Soccer" as a sport, but its popular because its cost effective, simple, and fun. Nothing more

All you need is a ball and you're good.

Basketball is climbing globally, because its relatively cost effective. Baseball is pretty popular around the world for the same reason(All you need is a bat and a ball).

Poor families don't have $200-$300 to blow on Football equipment which you're gonna grow out of anyways. On top of that, Football isn't exactly an established Sport where its acceptable enough to spend all of this money on equipment anywhere else except our neighbor Canada(And possibly Mexico and maybe some surrounding US islands).

 

[olschool]

Nothing wrong with a good game of runnin around kicking a ball back and forth, ya bloody wanker!

:americaflag:

How drunk do you have to be, to invent a sport where you don't use your hands ?

Next will be a sport where you don't use your legs.

Oops, that's Nascar.

 

[BritPat]

I'm not entirely sure why they keep pushing this idea. Would any of the UK Pats fans on here drop their allegiance to the Pats and start supporting them? I've yet to meet a NFL fan over here that would. Would the casual supporters out there be a big enough fanbase to fill a stadium 16+ games a year, year in and year out?

If you've followed the discussion on a British Franchise on NFLUK.com, you'll know that everyone on there at least thinks the idea is utterly daft, and indeed no-one would stop supporting their team and follow a tea just because it was British.

I'm a Brit, but the NFL should stay as American as possible, heck, I don't even like the idea of an International series.

They've got their girly-man soccer to watch and shout GOOOOAALLLLL at (once every 2 hours).

What the hell are you talking about? Soccer is huge -- no MASSIVE -- in England.

Association football - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Your original point was incorrect too, then. The shout "GOAAL!!" is most certainly heard in Association Football, which is played in England.

And you wonder why the rest of the world sees Americans largely as loud-mouth idiots?

Footy is the most popular sport in the world, so the rest of the world is man-girly? Ye gads you're thick.