The NFL's British Accent- SBNation piece on British NFL fandom
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The thing is there's no real way for other countries, outside of Canada, to ever have a way to get local players in.
I think that fact alone will greatly hinder the long term stability of a European team.
shadyspace
Banned
And Mexico.
Only way it would work is if they did it as a D-League and market up-and-comers. Thing with the NFL is that players almost always go straight from NCAA-NFL if they're good enough, making a D-League pointless.
If they changed the field size/rules, CFL fans would revolt. They're very different games really. Plus Canuckleheads are stubborn as shit.
The Roughriders are, by far, the most popular team in the CFL and they can seat 55,000. People have actually made a case suggesting SK could even support another team.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
I haven't followed CFL politics in ages, but at some point there was a partnership between the leagues to control movement of players and things like that.
As for Saskatchewan, the Riders are basically the Packers. Hell, they are even community owned. It's probably the most successful franchise in the league. lol
There's a lot of Americans that *live* in London, too. We're not all tourists.
Also Bills vs Jags is an ok match-up, at least. Its the lop-sided games that make me wonder how that's supposed to ever catch anybody's interest.
Dai Kaiju
Member
Ehhh, they certainly took to baseball but this is kind of different.
Although, I just had an image in my head of their lineman being composed of sumo wrestler types and now I really want it to happen.
Indrid Cold1
Member
Love watching the NFL, not as much as my beloved Liverpool but I am huge fan. Patriots for me. Would love to go to the international game but I absolutely hate London tbh. I'll get there some day though. And that "pulled pork" looks like 2 day old doner meat. Absolutely shite.
"Almost"? That article has been written a thousand times already (most hilariously in the New York Times "Fashion & Style" section), pretty much half the big teams in Europe now come over here in the summer to make money playing friendlies and expanding their brands.
Of course the two groups (Premier League fans in the US and NFL fans in England) are probably very different from each other judging by these photos... I'm guessing no one would describe the NFL in London as "the go-to sport of the thinking class"...
Delta Assault
Member
...Have you seen the pic? If anything, they deserve an apology.
Yes, almost. A league game isn't the same as a friendly, you massive idiot!
I am joking
Japan already has an American Football league. This could be a nice boost for both sides of the Pacific.
shadyspace
Banned
That monstrosity ain't American made hoss.
I wouldn't even say they 'took to' baseball, baseball has been popular in Japan since before there was an MLB. It's not like the situation with the NFL and the NBA trying to go overseas where an established corporate machine is trying to expand it's territory.
Anyway, it is inevitable for there to eventually be an NFL and probably a few NBA teams in Europe, probably in England.
There is enough fanbase there to support a team, even as a niche sport, and having a team there gets them on TV more, and gets a foothold to start building the popularity of the sport there. Even just rotating through the 'curious' fans who go to a game every couple of years along with the corporate suites and TV revenue would be more than enough to support an NFL team in a city like London(not even counting all the people who would travel from the continent once every couple years), it's only 8 home games after all. If they can get good TV deals in Europe, that would do more to increase their revenues than half a dozen more teams in the US would, given how they make their money.
The NBA probably has more of an issue given that there is an established league that they would be competing, so it is entirely possible that they form some kind of cooperation with Euroleague instead of just jumping in. One issue is that basketball is most successful in the poorer parts of Europe, which makes it harder to make the economics work. It's entirely possible we see an NBA team in China before Europe given the popularity there.
FreeMufasa
Junior Member
I went to the games in 2007 and 2008. Played it for a london team too.
Funny thing is most of the fanbase here are hipsters or the really nerd type. Not what you'd expect
Funny thing is most of the fanbase here are hipsters or the really nerd type. Not what you'd expect
Razgriz-Specter
Member
Bottom group looks like the exact bar group that does all the Game of Thrones reaction videos.
Yeah Britain is not a basketball hotbed, Spain or Greece or even Italy would be better spots for an NBA team, but being that they aren't as rich as the UK, harder to make the economics work.
Though really, you only have to draw like 18,000 per game to have a healthy level of support for an NBA team, and tickets are relatively affordable as pro sports go. I think an NBA team could still survive for about 5 years on curiosity along in a market like London, but if they aren't winning big by the end of that, it would die off quickly, whereas the NFL would probably be able to keep some of that curiosity factor simply because it is so different.
TwiztidElf
Member
Dafuq?
I'm an Australian casual NFL fan, and I know what Bountygate and Spygate are. Those "fans" should be ashamed of themselves.
I'm an Australian casual NFL fan, and I know what Bountygate and Spygate are. Those "fans" should be ashamed of themselves.
WolfForager
Member
The thing is alot of them probably aren't fans, they're just there for a day out. I think the 'popularity' of the NFL in UK (and Ireland) is, in alot of cases, being mistaken for people getting caught up in the spectacle.
Don't get me wrong there are plenty of fans over here, but when it comes to the time around the Supwerbowl (and these one off internationals), if you compare the number of people talking about NFL with the number of people talking about it during the regular season, there's a vast difference.
sephiroth7x
Member
What is really apparent over here is that this is JUST a novelty.
NFL makes a few trips a year and of course everyone jumps at the chance because it doesn't happen very often. As soon as a team is designated to the UK and people then have the chance to watch every other week and follow a team, the novelty will wear thin and suddenly those packed crowds will turn into half the stadium...
NFL will never get a strong enough foothold in the UK to survive on its own. I can say that quite emphatically. We already have Football (The real football that is the most popular and played sport in the world) as well as Rugby.
I am not denying a market for NFL over here as no doubt there is. But the market is supported by the top drawer performances of the top teams in the NFL. The whole grandiose is seeing the teams and players we can see on latenight TV.
Its a bit like when Man Utd and Man City tour the US at the beginning of the football season in the US. Miami was packed last year... of course it was... that isn't to say that football will ever be as popular in the US as NFL... just won't happen.
NFL makes a few trips a year and of course everyone jumps at the chance because it doesn't happen very often. As soon as a team is designated to the UK and people then have the chance to watch every other week and follow a team, the novelty will wear thin and suddenly those packed crowds will turn into half the stadium...
NFL will never get a strong enough foothold in the UK to survive on its own. I can say that quite emphatically. We already have Football (The real football that is the most popular and played sport in the world) as well as Rugby.
I am not denying a market for NFL over here as no doubt there is. But the market is supported by the top drawer performances of the top teams in the NFL. The whole grandiose is seeing the teams and players we can see on latenight TV.
Its a bit like when Man Utd and Man City tour the US at the beginning of the football season in the US. Miami was packed last year... of course it was... that isn't to say that football will ever be as popular in the US as NFL... just won't happen.
I was over there when the NFL first came on TV. It's how I ended up a Dolphins fan as a kid- because of Dan Marino.
Expansion and the Dolphins becoming a joke franchise wrecked that.
BTW never say never on a sport gaining popularlity- soccer is about at hockey levels now in the US, and as America changes and as football declines, it could fill the void.
I expect Soccer to become the blue state football in a generation, with football becoming more entrenched in red states out of stupid revanchism and the almighty SEC.
Expansion and the Dolphins becoming a joke franchise wrecked that.
BTW never say never on a sport gaining popularlity- soccer is about at hockey levels now in the US, and as America changes and as football declines, it could fill the void.
I expect Soccer to become the blue state football in a generation, with football becoming more entrenched in red states out of stupid revanchism and the almighty SEC.
jimbobsmells
Member
What does this mean:
I tried to get tickets to the last game back in March and it was sold out. Need to buy them almost the second they are on sale (February I think) to get any chance.
I tried to get tickets to the last game back in March and it was sold out. Need to buy them almost the second they are on sale (February I think) to get any chance.
Thug Waffle
Member
well thank god you took the time to shit post in a thread about something you don't give a shit about otherwise nobody else on neogaf would alter the course of their life based on your revelation
I had some at one of the 3 games i went to this year. Was dreadful. Pig deserved better
bean breath
Member
What you might call a derby.
Stahsky
A passionate embrace, a beautiful memory lingers.
To be fair, nobody would expect any better from the terrible catering at Wembley. It's not any better any other time, and has been famously wretched for decades.
I didn't get to go to any of the games this year - they all clashed with other things unfortunately, but did they fix the stupid situation where you weren't allowed to buy alcohol during the third quarter break, because the licensing situation had only anticipated games with halves? Because that WAS annoying.
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