Kraft stumping for London team (say it ain't so, Bob)

[AzorianPats]

Why? The NFL is growing massively in popularity in the UK.

Just last April four former NFL players, including Byron Chamberlain (a 2x Super Bowl Champion and 1 x Pro Bowl TE), flew to the UK and hosted two camps. One was a youth camp filled with kids who'd never tossed a pigskin in their lives.

This included children from a local youth charity. Those kids cannot stop talking about the game now and are constantly asking when we are doing it again.

The NFL will fail if they don't target the right people...if they target these guys, then the potential is unreal.

I don't think some of you realise how global this sport already is...there are thousands of teams across the globe playing the sport from as far East as China all the way to the UK and Europe.

In the UK alone there are 76 University teams, 54 adult national league teams, 36 U-19 junior teams, 33 U-17 youth teams and numerous flag teams that compete in tournaments all year round. There is now a Women's program and numerous women teams are sprouting up across the country. I have helped coach one of them.

The NFL won't have to fill Wembley every week because the likelihood is it won't even be at WWembley. The NFL have been in talks with both West Ham United and Tottenham about sharing. Tottenham have plans for a state-of the art-65k stadium whilst West Ham are moving in to the Olympic Stadium which will seat 54K.

American's need to stop thinking of Football as their sport. The first porigins of the game weren't even played in America. It is a global sport that is growing at an unprecedented rate and this is only a matter of time.

Yes it could fail....if the right approach isn't taken. But I firmly believe with the will power of the NFL community here in the UK and the right approach from the NFL, this idea will prosper to the point I could see teams playing in places such as Germany.

Ukpat, speaking for myself, my issues is not growing the game on in international level. I hope the game does grow serious enough in other countries where their can be international tournaments.

My issue is with having a London franchise, in an American sports league. It's just unheard of and makes zero sense. You don't see or hear MLS teams trying to join the EPL or Bundesliga. Or Swedish or Finnish hockey teams joining the NHL.

If the game is growing in the UK, then have an all British/European league. Play that league in the spring/summer months and the NFL can continue the Wembley games 2-3 times a year.

 

[FirstAndGoal]

The best thing that could happen for the NFL is for it to go international and succeed....period.

Regardless of whether people think it could succeed or not, it would be the best thing. If they lose 10% of the US audience but gain 5% of the world audience, they would be ecstatic.

Wake up. They don't care about your personal preferences. They care about the collective preferences because they care about revenue..plain and simple. That's why they care about their image.

Like it or not, that's the truth and that's why the NFL wants to expand.

 

[Ivan]

I notice you didn't answer his question. Have you ever been to an actual game?

My apology, I went out and enjoyed my sunday off instead of sitting inside on the computer.

I have been to about a dozen games and many more sporting events and I expected loud noise both fan and franchise generated and never ever considered the noise as any kind of issue, and I would suggest that anyone who does shouldn't be going to those events.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

So is the new London team going to be part of the AMERICAN football conference or the NATIONAL football conference? They don't seem to fit either category...

 

[SB39]

So is the new London team going to be part of the AMERICAN football conference or the NATIONAL football conference? They don't seem to fit either category...

Well, I've been beating the drum that the most likely destination for them is our very own AFC East, especially if it is Jacksonville who makes the move.

 

[unoriginal]

not sure what your point is; that's a common practice. many of the US team's players are dual nationals. my point was that, while soccer will never overtake american football in popularity (or even get real close), soccer has dramatically changed its profile in the US both with fans and globally.

My point is despite soccer fans claiming it will challenge and overtake our national sports, I have seen nothing to suggest that this will be the case.

Profile counts for little when discussing the top level. It ebbs and flows with time.

Baseball used to be America's pastime when football was small time. In the last 40 years, has the sport of football improved more than baseball? I think that's a yes. But I don't think that accounts for the big swing in popularity.

Football is on top now largely because baseball pressed the self-destruct button three times, in non-salary cap free agency, drawn out player strikes, and the flagrantly ignored roid era they turned a blind eye to to win back eyeballs after the strike.

Soccer will never overtake football, that's true, if everything continues as it is. But if the NFL presses the self-destruct button several times? If the concussion issue becomes extreme, if the players and owners can't collectively bargain, and so on? MLS is growing in popularity, people are familiar with the sport, and they have their playoffs in late fall. In a decade they might be in better position than baseball to profit if the NFL ever shoots itself.

 

[Jackson 2]

So you have been talking to old times who lood back to the good old days when they were 20 and watched the 4 team league in 1924. Such a person would be 110 years old.

So, for the past 90 years, the NHL (notice the name "national") has been international.

I'm one of them.

 

[Jackson 2]

Yes, "essentially, from the beginning". As I said. Do the math.

Anyone complaining about the "good old days" before there was a U.S. team would have to be 90+ years old, and that's if they were intellectually capable of grasping such things at birth. Given even, say, 5 years to really grasp it, and we're talking about 95+ year old Canadians.

Given the data here (admittedly a couple of years off, so the numbers will have varied by a relative handful),

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/0...-has-more-than-5825-people-aged-100-or-older/

I think it's safe to say that the number of "older Canadians" in this exercise is extremely small.

You do the math. For 7 years it was all Canadian. That's not "essentially" international, although it was a nice try.

 

[moosekill]

Baseball used to be America's pastime when football was small time. In the last 40 years, has the sport of football improved more than baseball? I think that's a yes. But I don't think that accounts for the big swing in popularity.

Football is on top now largely because baseball pressed the self-destruct button three times, in non-salary cap free agency, drawn out player strikes, and the flagrantly ignored roid era they turned a blind eye to to win back eyeballs after the strike.

Soccer will never overtake football, that's true, if everything continues as it is. But if the NFL presses the self-destruct button several times? If the concussion issue becomes extreme, if the players and owners can't collectively bargain, and so on? MLS is growing in popularity, people are familiar with the sport, and they have their playoffs in late fall. In a decade they might be in better position than baseball to profit if the NFL ever shoots itself.

No baseball is shrinking because the games are boring, often last three hours and more kids are going with other sports, including lacrosse, which directly competes with it, and sports like soccer and basketball, which can be played year round. I don't think the strikes helped, but I don't think they hurt it as much as some might think.

 

[moosekill]

I'm one of them.

So you are 100 years old? I find that really hard to believe.

 

[Jackson 2]

So you are 100 years old? I find that really hard to believe.

As I posted here a couple of days ago, I'm 402. Doubt me at your peril.

 

[moosekill]

You do the math. For 7 years it was all Canadian. That's not "essentially" international, although it was a nice try.

I am sorry but your whole line of reasoning in this is kind of dumb. No one really cares that in 1920 there were 4 canadian teams that started a league that ended up morphing into the NHL. They were playing hockey in the US at that time too, it just so happens that the succesfull teams were started in Canada. It is more that Canadians have one sport that they internationally excell at, hockey, and they get upset that they have a difficult team supporting professional teams in some of their cities, where in places like Boston and Chicago, and New York we don't.

 

[Jackson 2]

I am sorry but your whole line of reasoning in this is kind of dumb. No one really cares that in 1920 there were 4 canadian teams that started a league that ended up morphing into the NHL. They were playing hockey in the US at that time too, it just so happens that the succesfull teams were started in Canada. It is more that Canadians have one sport that they internationally excell at, hockey, and they get upset that they have a difficult team supporting professional teams in some of their cities, where in places like Boston and Chicago, and New York we don't.

Of course you disagree. It's right in line with the current thinking that nothing ever really happened, or certainly mattered, before I was born or started following sports. Be comforted, you're not alone. You're mistaken, misguided and self-absorbed, but you're not alone.

 

[moosekill]

Of course you disagree. It's right in line with the current thinking that nothing ever really happened, or certainly mattered, before I was born or started following sports. Be comforted, you're not alone. You're mistaken, misguided and self-absorbed, but you're not alone.

Boy your logic is simply impeccable. How could anyone possibly argue with you based upon the fact you are making things up!! And if we want to start calling people names, you will be reported, done.

 

[SB39]

No baseball is shrinking because the games are boring, often last three hours and more kids are going with other sports, including lacrosse, which directly competes with it, and sports like soccer and basketball, which can be played year round. I don't think the strikes helped, but I don't think they hurt it as much as some might think.

I agree. It has been 20 years since the most recent baseball strike, I think fans are over it. Hell, anyone under the age of 25 doesn't even remember it.

Baseball is shrinking because the games have become interminable. Too many delays, pitchers taking forever to deliver the ball, batter stepping out of the box, etc.

 

[Deus Irae]

You do the math. For 7 years it was all Canadian. That's not "essentially" international, although it was a nice try.

Umm..... There's a reason that the group meant by the "original six" contains American teams. I'll leave it at that, since you don't seem to know what you're talking about, yet you seem to have chatted with all 5000+ people who are old enough to have been around for the first year.

 

[Jackson 2]

Boy your logic is simply impeccable. How could anyone possibly argue with you based upon the fact you are making things up!! And if we want to start calling people names, you will be reported, done.

Jeez, you must have been really popular on the playground in 5th grade. Just to be clear, what name did I call you?

 

[Jackson 2]

Umm..... There's a reason that the "original six" contains American teams. I'll leave it at that, since you don't seem to know what you're talking about, yet you seem to have chatted with all 5000+ people who are old enough to have been around for the first year.

You'll leave it at that because you were proven mistaken by historical fact. By your calculation, America's involvement in World War began in 1948.

 

[Deus Irae]

You'll leave it at that because you were proven mistaken by historical fact. By your calculation, America's involvement in World War began in 1948.

I wasn't proven mistaken, at all. You originally tried to ignore that I'd noted "essentially". Since that didn't work, you're now going to try to argue with me about what "essentially" means in this instance. That's awesome comedy, but ultimately meaningless, as you know but choose to ignore. Meanwhile, the "Original Six" continues on, while teams like the Hamilton Tigers and Montreal Wanderers were lost to history.

But you go on and pretend that 3 team league was a going concern in 1918.

 

[Jackson 2]

I wasn't proven mistaken, at all. You originally tried to ignore that I'd noted "essentially". Since that didn't work, you're now going to try to argue with me about what "essentially" means in this instance. That's awesome comedy, but ultimately meaningless, as you know but choose to ignore. Meanwhile, the "Original Six" continues on, while teams like the Hamilton Tigers and Montreal Wanderers were lost to history.

But you go on and pretend that 3 team league was a going concern in 1918.

It was 4 Canadian teams and 1917 as I pointed out earlier and only you would attempt to revise history. You're the pretender in this case and you know it.