BradfordPatsFan
In the Starting Line-Up
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..... I was looking forward to NE coming here. What a disappointment for Seattle and for the Westcoast Patriot fans...Alot of people were driving up here for this pre-season game. 
I am not a happy camper over this
-Boston Globe
Eventually,there will be football in China. And when that day comes, the Patriots still would like to be a part of it.
The Pats were supposed to visit the Far East in August, but yesterday, the NFL officially canceled the China Bowl against the Seahawks because of the logistical difficulties of hosting two international games - the Dolphins and Giants meet in London in October - just months apart.
The China Bowl instead will be played in 2009 in Beijing’s brand-new, 100,000-seat National Stadium.
“The regular-season game initiative was approved by NFL ownership after we announced the China Bowl,” said Mark Waller, senior vice president of NFL International. “Therefore, we will focus this year’s efforts on the regular-season game.
“Our assessment is that Chinese fans would be better served if our game in China is played at a later date after we have launched our international series of regular-season games and more effectively paved the way for the introduction of our game into China. As a new sport in China, it is critical that we create the best platform for the introduction of the game. We are delighted Beijing authorities have agreed with our assessment and have invited us to play in Beijing in 2009.”
The Patriots had pushed for inclusion because owner Robert Kraft does extensive paper business in China, the team began targeting that market in 2004 with the introduction of a Chinese-language Web site, and the opportunity to expand to the world’s most populous country (1.3 billion) was too good to pass up.
The Krafts were unavailable for comment yesterday, but team spokesman Stacey James said China remains in the team’s plans.
“We remain very interested in participating in the first China Bowl, whenever that is,” he said. “If that’s 2009, we’d be flattered to continue to be one of the teams asked to participate.”
James confirmed that a pair of trips to start working on the logistics of the visit had been canceled. But he noted that the Patriots employ a director of Chinese development who is currently overseas.
“Our approach has been to progressively build upon what we’re doing for that market,” he said. “The Kraft family is really committed to trying to brand the Patriots name not just locally, regionally or nationally, but internationally. China is a tremendous location for growth
