NFL regular season game in Europe next year

[italian pat patriot]

Only if you promise to paint your whole face Silver and stand up in front of the TV Cameras with a big sign that says....HI NEM!!!

i will try ! ciao

 

[italian pat patriot]

We had a great time in Fierenze and Venezia as well. Like NEM said, wander around in Venezia; it's an island so don't worry about geting lost. The museums in Fierenze were awesome. You can have your hotel buy tix in advance and you walk right in avoiding hours of lines.

Get Rick Steve's "Italy 2007" tourbook and phrase book, then you'll learn stuff like how to order in Italiano, "Mangio solo insetti." You waiter will love it!

Firenze and Venezia are really beautiful - i totally agree.

ps= better to say ' Mangio solo spaghetti ' then saying ' Mangio solo insetti '
(personal suggestion)

 

[Kasmir]

I've been to both cities multiple times. Florence (and Tuscany in general) are extraordinarily beautiful, and Venice these days is sadly really more of a museum than a city, but the magic of Venice is indescribable and cannot be captured by photo or film. The ubiquity of the canali and the innumerable ponti over them is overwhelming; best of all, there are no cars or trucks disrupting your experience (except in the very NW of the city where the effin Austrians built a causeway to the archipelago in the 19th century).

And if you're knowledgeable about the 1000 year history of the Venetian Republic, there's an overwhelming sense of vanished power and lost empire emanating from the remaining grandeur.

There's no place like Venice.

 

[italian pat patriot]

no-one seems interested on the thread but everyone is interested to talk about Italy (Venice, Florence, etc, etc)...

no...just kidding-just joking...

i love Venice and Firenze too

i have been in Venice 2-3 times and many more in Firenze

i still miss Rome...i can not believe it...

i have travelled quite a lot and never to Rome...

10 yards penalty !

 

[alamo]

Screw that crap, the time zone change is just too difficult. The NFL is pissing me off more and more. I'm sure both teams will have their bye the following week but still . . .

The problems won't be as great as you think if they are managed properly. It's an away game, not a vacation. There is absolutely no need to adapt to the time zone... you are there for 1 1/2 - 2 days only just like with away games here. Schedule the game for evening local time in Europe, it's afternoon here. Keep the players on their home schedule... have them sleep until noon local time the day of the game, no different than sleeping until 7am at home. It can be done without a bye.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

no-one seems interested on the thread but everyone is interested to talk about Italy (Venice, Florence, etc, etc)...

no...just kidding-just joking...

i love Venice and Firenze too

i have been in Venice 2-3 times and many more in Firenze

i still miss Rome...i can not believe it...

i have travelled quite a lot and never to Rome...

10 yards penalty !

Rome is on my to do list. Really enjoyed Tuscany...Siena, Cortona, Pienza, San Gimignano, Montepulciano. Also loved beautiful Vernazza in Cinque Terra. Took busses and trains, no car, no problemo. Walked so many miles but didn't put on an ounce even with all we ate. No insetti, though.

Here's Vernazza...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/118/287807922_8128a626e4_b.jpg

 

[EnglishPatriot]

Not in 2007 cause they are going to China.

But, maybe one of their ROAD GAMES in ENGLAND in 2008, would be an ideal game.

After all what would be better than New ENGLAND playing in OLD England....and from what Iunderstand, the Pats are one of the most popular NFL teams over there.

You're the most popular, actually.
I must say this idea usually gets tirades of abuse from the majority of American fans and I can totally understand why. The timezone is a big factor. Talking for the UK, the Pats are our "local" team and we're 5 hours apart. That's an extra couple lumped on top of what we'll get at San Diego if I'm not mistaken.
Imagine what it'd do to Seattle
But if the Patriots were to play in England, I'd cut off my arm if it improved my chances of getting tickets.

 

[Pats726]

The problems won't be as great as you think if they are managed properly. It's an away game, not a vacation. There is absolutely no need to adapt to the time zone... you are there for 1 1/2 - 2 days only just like with away games here. Schedule the game for evening local time in Europe, it's afternoon here. Keep the players on their home schedule... have them sleep until noon local time the day of the game, no different than sleeping until 7am at home. It can be done without a bye.

Hmmmm I wnder what the players and coaches will say to that?? Done wiyjout a bye...maybe I am naive..but that sounds pretty ridiculous...maybe you haven't traveled much OR you just don't understand all ofr what is needed for the players...

 

[tatepatsfan]

Visited my girlfriend in Firenze last March, also saw Roma, both were absolutely beautiful. Firenze was goregous - one of my favorite spots I have ever been too.

Have to say though, in terms of big cities, I prefer Paris to Roma.

And for the thread, I think playing one game a year in Europe is a darn good idea. Anyone remember the wacky idea the NBA is throwing out there about having an entire division in Europe? Now that is nuts. One game a year would help expand the fan base, and come on guys, how cool would it be to take a vacation to Europe and get to see the Pats play!

 

[Gumby]

From a purely self-centered pats fan perspective it would be great if the Pats were to play buffy or the phish here in germany so I could go.

But then I think about the rigors it would put on the team and I have to applaud what someone else said:

BUFFY VS MIAMI. :bricks:

The article also mentioned that they weren't picking what teams by any preference except for SCHEDULING.

That says to me that they are trying to incorporate the game in with 2 teams who both get a BYE WEEK either the week following the overseas game or the week prior to the overseas game.


The worst part about the whole deal is the team that loses the HOME GAME. At least for their fans. But it all comes down to NFL marketing and accessories sales.

I can see BUFFY being a prime choice to be the Home team. After all the owner's whining about his small market team......well what way to better increase his market share of tshirts and hats etc than to get a whole bunch of ignorant fans from a half a world away who wouldn't know how ****ty the product is to get latched on buying Buffy stuff.

 

[EnglishPatriot]

Then again, if the primary concern is improving the NFL's marketability, what better way than to cart off the team with the most fans in any given country (eg UK - Pats)?

On that same line, Miami have to be real possibilities, as do SF, because they are the teams that people here have heard of.

 

[italian pat patriot]

Rome is on my to do list. Really enjoyed Tuscany...Siena, Cortona, Pienza, San Gimignano, Montepulciano. Also loved beautiful Vernazza in Cinque Terra. Took busses and trains, no car, no problemo. Walked so many miles but didn't put on an ounce even with all we ate. No insetti, though.

Here's Vernazza...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/118/287807922_8128a626e4_b.jpg

Cinque Terre must be beautiful...i have never been there...i should go
no traffic at all there