As you probably know the there will be a regular season game played in London in the fall, there is no news as to which teams will be invloved yet although there are rumours circulating over here that the game will be...... New York Giants @ Miami Dolphins. Alternative suggestions are that it could be a divisional game, again involving the Dolphins playing the Bills. Two things here guys. The Dolphins have the biggest fan base here in the UK so smart money says they will be involved. What impact if any do you see this having on their schedule and second, how do feel about the Jets giving up a home game to come over to the UK or Europe to play a game? What I can say for sure is the game, whichever teams are involved will be a sellout 50 times over and is sure to be a success.
Apparently all 32 teams will have a non-US game over the next 16 years - I for one hope ours is in the east of Canada as the road team.
I mentioned this in the thread in the NFL section but i dont understand why everyone keeps imagining why one team has to lose a home game. If it is scheduled as an away game for both sides then surely that makes it sting a little less? With Wembley being over 90,000 and the tickets costing more than double your average ticket in the US its going to be a money maker whoever is involved. And lets be honest here, a small trip over the pond is not much further than a trip to the West Coast. I think NFL fans should embrace this as a chance to take thier real game to the world (not that NFL europe trash) it will enhance sport even further. I for one am all for it and will be buying tickets as soon as they are available.
Ironic how there are so many Dolphin fans in the UK and they have trouble selling out their own stadium (even playoffs) and get run over by Bills and Jets fans whenever they play them down there. On another note, I am NOT in favor of going global with the NFL. It is an American sport. It may start strong but it will slowly recede over time over there.
'Fans' is a loose term , ask most phin fans over here who there favouite player is and they'll tell you ___ ______. Guess :wink: The NFL seem desperate to make the brand global when it already is , if tey want it to grow throughout the world , just stop messing with it. It ain't broke.
Gus, this is an interesting point you make here. Isn't it strange that the coverage from Channel 4 really did establish the game here on a strong footing. I often wonder just how big the game would have been if it had been kept on terrestrial TV?
Except it's already been determined who plays who at home and away - The Dolphins have 8 home games and 8 away games scheduled for next year, NYG is one of the home games. How do you make up the home game if you deem both sides "away"? Similarly if the opponent is Buffalo, and both teams are deemed away, where do you play the second game between the sides? At another neutral venue? It wouldn't work.
We'll never know unfortunatley. It all went tits up with the likes of the vicious boys and the ever so interesting Gary Imlach.... this about sums things up...
Curious how you would know that the Dolphins have the "largest" fan base in the UK? Has somebody done a poll on it? If so please send the link. I have a pen pal in Wales & I asked him about NFL FB & he said it is not as popular as soceer is in the UK.
When he says largest fan base he means in Football not sport overall. Alot of the early shirts available here were mainly Phins , Raiders , Cowboys and 49ers. To get a Jets shirt you had to sell your soul and build a boat.
I think the extra travel time would be an issue during the regular season and could really effect the team the following week after this game
Well I would also ask where that info is that the Dolphs have the "largest" fan base in the USA since they do not even sell there stadium out via season tix sales
A poll conducted by NFLUK.com revealed that the Dolphins had the second largest fan base of all NFLUK.com members (19,000 members, so a pretty useful sample). The Patriots are the top team at 8.5% of the fans (a lot of them are bandwagon jumpers, of course), followed by the Fins at 8.2%. The Dolphins' impressive showing, despite a lack of Super Bowl wins in the last two-plus decades, comes down to them playing in two of the first three Super Bowls shown live in the UK ('82 and '84) and the emergence of Dan Marino as a passing phenomenon in the 1984 season. Other teams to do well in the poll include the 49ers (6.1%) and the Redskins (5.8%), both also teams that did well in the 'early days' as far as the UK is concerned. The Jets get a respectable 2.6%, but poll a much more impressive 100% in my house. http://www.nfluk.com/news-display.php?id=1593
So the Pats are the top team not like what was posted. Also here 19,000 members would be a small sampling as well. I would hazard a guess if you asked those 19,000 members that besides Jason & Zach can they name another Dolphs player they would flunk the test. Also I wonder how many say Saban was still the coach
I'd disagree There is quite a healthy American football scene in the UK with sky showing games live on a sunday and they always feature a Jets-Dolphins game. There is also a mens kitted league with 40 odd teams and a College league also with around 40 teams. Thats how I got into the sport having played at uni. We got a quite a few yanks over on years abroad who loved playing as they never got a chance again after HS
