If it happens, i'd definitely do a 200 mile round trip to go.

Although most of us would never switch teams, there are plenty of potential fans who would latch on to them. With only 8 games a year in London it'd be well supported. I can only see NFL getting more and more popular here.

That was a good article, thanks.

Interesting article tucho in that they mention the Australian example of an extra allowance for Sydney. That is massive news here today, dominating the press as it has turned into a complete farce as Sydney have basically used the extra cap space as a means of signing marquee players, not as a means of squad retention as it was intended. The allowance will in all likelihood be scrapped with all the presidents of the other clubs outraged.  Will be interesting to see if the NFL are taking note of these developments are tread carefully in that area if the London thing gathers momentum.

Gordon - Vegas may never have a pro sports team, that's not to say that it shouldn't, and certainly a better option than the other side of the Atlantic. In a city that lives entertainment, not sure how an NFL team could possibly fail there.

My gut feel is that it will never happen for the numerous reasons listed above although I'd like it to just to see how it pans out.

I love in London so would go to a lot of the games if not all. In terms of 'support' I'd slill be a Saints fan but would certainly have London as my 'other' team.

Can't see our cheerleaders matching up to the Saintsations though.  Our overly PC society would mean that we have to let in a load of fatties

imho

therhino - ref your quote below, whilst it may be better option in your opinion (and many others) the anti-gambling lobby in US (yes it's huge, see poker sites for evidence) will ensure it never happens.  And for 'city that lives entertainment' certainly in the non-gambling related areas you won't find many better options than London

'and certainly a better option than the other side of the Atlantic. In a city that lives entertainment, not sure how an NFL team could possibly fail there.'

Crowds won't be an issue, reckon they could sell out Wembley 8 times no problem even if the team sucked


>>>Never in a million years.

TBH the attendance thing wouldn't be an issue IMO. You would get enough day-trippers from UK & Ireland & even mainland Europe to fill the stadium 8 times a year, not to mention a contingency of away team fans and original home team fans who would travel to London the odd time to see the game and take in a holiday as well.

It's the other logistical issues which will scupper this deal, not least the restrictive work practices which go with a closed shop such as the NFL. There is not a hope in hell of this standing up in court in Brussels.

Bill Barnwell did a good article on the problems (and possible solutions / work-arounds) earlier this year

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9615240/nfl-targets-london-franchise

yeah wembley holds 90,000. no way they sell out 8 times a year hosting a sh1t team like
the London Jags or whatever.


>>>They won't, simple as that, the novelty will wear off, the team will struggle to attract players, and it'll be a white elephant before you know it. It'll fail just like NFLE failed. 2-3 games a year, maybe even 4, they have an 'event' kind of a feel, 8 games every year does not. Then we're into the team having to wipe it's own face every single year, when it goes 2-14 and people are staying home to watch their own team instead, and people think 'Well, I went twice last year, it's expensive, i'll give it a miss this year'.

Hosting an NFL team 5,000 miles away from the rest of the league is an ENTIRELY different proposition from putting on a few regular season.

It wouldn't sell out every game year after year when the team keeps losing and the players don't want to play in London.

I don't think that's a great comparison really, there are barriers to LA Galaxy joining the Premier League.  Firstly they would have to start at the bottom of the English football pyramid, and secondly UEFA doesn't allow teams to just start moving countries.  The NFL meanwhile is a franchise-based league, they can start up a new team wherever they want and you don't have to get promoted through about 10 divisions to get there.  As for a UK league, that's been tried and it's clear people have no appetite for watching 2nd-rate stuff.

Whether it will happen I don't know but it's all about $$$ at the end of the day so if they can overcome the hurdles then they'll do it.  Surprised some people seem to be so passionately against it, almost offended at the mere suggestion!  Can recall a similar reaction when they first held a regular season game here and that's been a roaring success. I think a London franchise would be similar (and if not, they can always move it back to the States...teams move all the time).

^ Oh you mean like the world series of baseball, contested by u.s teams and the bluejays?

Which Welsh mob?

I too reckon the novelty would soon wear off and crowds would be thin.  It would no doubt be over-priced and Wembley is just to unattractive a place to get to, even if you live in London, nevermind say up north or in Europe.  Sport in London would be much better if there was a decent sized stadium right in the centre.  Can you imagine how fantastic that would be for the city?

They folks at NFLUK and SKY do make me laugh with their naivete.

The US market is not saturated when it's second biggest city is without a team.

Goodell confirms he would like franchises in both LA and London.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9880622/roger-goodell-los-angeles-vs-london-nfl-wants-both

I don't think Canada is an option for NFL bar the odd Buffalo game because of the CFL- I was under the impression the NFL were duty bound to respect its existence.

...and Goodell (who is increasingly becoming pain in the ass) speaking in London would say, "we never want a team in London"...unlikely. Anyway, the good news is

1. Its not his decision
2. The logistics of it are just too much hassle for everyone involved to be worth it


I even wish they would just stop having these stupid Wembley games - it just doesn't feel right. Like soccer in the US (just something alien about the whole thing).

You are correct, Gridiron is not a world game like football is, it is a purely American and will never flourish outside of the US, just like Australian Rules will never flourish outside of Australia. A London team won't pioneer anything, will just serve as a model of what not to do.

On the long commute - Other Pro Sports teams have longer trips to play games.

My local Ice-Hockey team here in Zagreb play in the Russian KHL and have to travel several times a year to Siberia and also Vladivostok which as you may know is just next to Japan.