I think Goodell has lost his mind... http://www.nfl.com/international/st...-nfl-to-expand-to-europe-?module=HP_headlines
The only way I see it happening is if they made a 4-team division in Europe. I guess they'd have to be English speaking countries so it'd probably be London, Glasgow, Dublin, and Pyongyang North Korea
a team less appealing than the bills? impossible. nobody would want to fucking go there via free agency. acually if i was a player..i would rather play in england than buffalo.
Can you just imagine... "With the first pick in the NFL draft, the Dublin Drunks select....." And you thought you saw posturing from Eli Manning 6 years ago?
They could have the Southampton Hedgehogs. Big old Hedgehog on the side of their helmet... DIMSDALE!!!!! DIMSDALE!!!!
I think it could work. You won't need to sell out every game to sustain the franchise, the flights to the east coast of the US are on par with some of the existing travel itineraries in the NFL today. And I mean let's face it a first class luxury charter flight is not going to be a problem, it's really just the time difference and jet lag that will be the problem and players already deal with that today. The UK/Euro specific endorsements possibilities could make it very lucrative for the players, London is a fantastic place to live, and as we've seen in basketball and soccer loads of American athletes adapt to life in Europe and really enjoy the experience. It will be an expensive experiment if they do it, and there is a significant risk that it could fail so I fully understand the traditionalist view on this of "if it ain't broke don't fix it"... but based on my years living in England I could see the Brits embracing this to the extent that it is successful.
Could you imagine the Seahawks playing in London or vice-versa.. That's 8 hours time difference and a fuckton of travel. Plus every game played in London would have to be at night over there. If they played a 4 o'clock game it'd start at 9 over there. Forget about Monday night games in the UK.
There is no question the logistics would be very difficult but the London team would have to preseason in the US, start the season in the US, and end the season in the US. Scheduling would have to happen in blocks, they'd need facilities in the US, and teams traveling to the UK would need to get the next week off whenever possible. They could start the season with a few road games in the west/central, have a block of home games in the middle of the season and then finish up with a block of division games on the east coast. As was pointed out earlier it would probably make more sense to have two teams in Europe as opposed to just one. Obviously Monday night games would be impossible but a Thanksgiving game or a Saturday game is possible. And I think the fact the games would be on Sunday night is actually a plus as it wouldn't conflict with EPL. When I lived in London I watched the 1pm EST and 4pm EST start games every Sunday. There are loads of valid reasons not to do this, I completely understand that. But when I look at the big picture the only show stopper I see is the playoffs, I think most other concerns can be worked around.
Stupid idea as most UK fans strongly support a team in the NFL already. I wouldn't watch a London based team as my team is the Jets . The fanbase following this would be a bunch of spineless Canary Wharf type fuckwits who would be okay if they went 15-1 . Play one game a year if they have to but a franchise is a joke. I have never been to a London game and never will unless the Jets are there as watching the 49ers v Broncos etc is bad enough on tv.
