One of the worst ideas I've ever read. The Jets are ranked in the top 10 as the most valuable franchise, and you want to MOVE them to London? Are you retarded?! Shit teams get moved, not good ones.
Anyone with half a brain knows the home team will be one that will find it hard to sell out their home stadium. So figure a small market team or the dolphins will be playing home in London until the NFL decides it wants a franchise there.
altough I would love to see my beloved Jets more often (it only takes a 30 minute plain flight from the netherlands), I completely hate the idea!! Like previously said this is very bad for the players and ofcourse for the franchise, just pick this year a team like the Bucs, or Jax, Fins or Browns etc.... This won't happen and it still gives a good excuse too visit NY more often ;-)
Wow - I am really impressed with our brethren from overseas. Very unselfish of you to NOT want the team to visit. I hope I have the honor of running into you at a game sometime. Just to touch base on this topic rather than start a new thread, what was it that caused the NFLe to fail? Was it really poor attendance? Underfunding? Just curious. If Germany is the biggest market, why not continue to push it there and expand in England or other Euro countries. Even Italy has its own local football league, why not get involved with them and expand the marketing/hype? Most US based fans know that football anywhere else in the world is soccer (futbol, round ball, or calcio). I myself am still gloating about MY WIN in the World Cup in 2006 but you other chaps will have your chance at the WC again this summer! I have a bunch of friends and family in Italy and there are also quite a few "Football Americano" fans there as well (and you can't believe the number of Yankee fans there - UHG). The local league is small (IFL), but 10 teams isn't bad - although they are only drawing about 10k fans per game at most. I bring this up only because I am surprised that the NFL, in all its wisdom, would not start off with a smaller fan base and grow it over time much like the NFL grew from its roots back in the 1920's to 1950's into the monstrosity it is today. I can't understand why they don't dot all of Europe with US football. How about a team for Lisbon, Barcelona or Madrid, Roma or Napoli, or Paris (ok forget I mentioned Paris). Even Morocco? From the western edge of Portugal to Hungary and the eastern Euro block, you are only looking at 6 times zones. It seems they are being selfish trying to force a sport through the doors of Europe and expect 50k+ fans at every game in every market. Doesn't seem smart to me. I would certainly like to hear your opinions and thoughts on this... For my US counterparts that have no clue: http://www.ifleague.it/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=36&Itemid=47) Then go buy the book called "Playing for Pizza" Great fictional story based on non-fiction facts. FORZA ITALIA!!!
The Jets are the fifth most valuable franchise at 1.2 billion according to Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/02/nf...-sportsmoney-football-values-09-nfl_land.html Jets Page- http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/30/football-values-09_New-York-Jets_304841.html Here is the full list: 1. Dallas Cowboys 2. Washington Redskins 3. New England Patriots 4. New York Giants 5. New York Jets 6. Houston Texans 7. Philadelphia Eagles 8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9. Chicago Bears 10. Denver Broncos 11. Baltimore Ravens 12. Carolina Panthers 13. Cleveland Browns 14. Kansas City Chiefs 15. Indianapolis Colts 16. Pittsburgh Steelers 17. Green Bay Packers 18. Miami Dolphins 19. Tennessee Titans 20. Seattle Seahawks 21. Cincinnati Bengals 22. New Orleans Saints 23. Arizona Cardinals 24. San Diego Chargers 25. St Louis Rams 26. Buffalo Bills 27. San Francisco 49ers 28. Detroit Lions 29. Jacksonville Jaguars 30. Atlanta Falcons 31. Minnesota Vikings 32. Oakland Raiders
NFLE failed for a number of reasons. Attendance was poor only if equated to attendance figures in the US. Most teams were bringing in 10k plus crowds, the German teams would regularly bring in 30k plus. The Claymores in Scotland averaged about 11,000....might sound small, but there would usually be only 2 or 3 soccer games each weekend with bigger gates than that. However, given the size of the stadia required, crowds looked sparse. The single biggest reason was unrealistic expectations amongst NFL owners I feel. They weren't seeing much return on the comparatively small investment they made, so pulled the plug. I'm conflicted on the London issue. I agree with much of what Gus has stated, but, would find it difficult to avoid going if the Jets were here. No way I see a home game being given up though. We'd be the road team in this. What I think the NFL don't see in this push for 4 games/a franchise is that the demand at the moment is artificially inflated. The game draws fans from all over Britain and indeed from Europe, fans of all 32 teams, because it's a proper competitive game, and it's a one off each year. Exhibition games died on their arse in this country 20 years ago as fans got sick of only seeing the star players for one series if they were lucky. This way, we get the big names. It draws people in, it becomes a weekend event for the majority of fans at the game. Increase the number of games available, and people will get more choosy. They will cherry pick. Mainly because added to the not inconsiderable ticket price, many have to travel and spend 1 or 2 nights in a hotel. Not necessarily feasable for more than 1 or 2 occasions in a season. I travel from Edinburgh to get to a Wembley game, it's almost as cheap to come to New York, and if I could afford that for 8 games a year, that's what I'd do. The rumour is that there will be two games in the UK next year, and of September and end October. I can see the current logistics working well enough in those time frames as regards bye weeks after etc, but if the 4 game experiment is to follow the same model, I cannot see any team willing to travel/give up a home game at end November/end December when homes games are getting fewer and playoff chances could be on the line. Squeezing all these games into the first half of the season would have an adverse effect on the demand for tickets. It all reeks of the usual Peter King nonsense....
If it was scheduled to be a west coast road game, like Oakland or something, I'd be in favor of it, because the trip would be virtually the same time-wise. As a side note, during the game Sunday I did notice a lot of Jets jerseys in the crowd, so maybe we have more fans over there than we know
London is a parasitic sess pit full of foreigners, run by foreigners for foreigners. Everything I ever loved about London has now been destroyed, its filthy and expensive as well. I guess if your loaded its a fun place though.
As I have never been to LA LA land I'll take your word for it, but yeah I think maybe a good comparison, except add in rain for smog
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I've been lucky enough to live in both cities (well, Santa Monica, but I saw a lot of LA) and the two are completely different. London feels like you are in a city, LA feels like you are just driving past one of those revolving-scenery backdrops they used on old westerns whenever anyone was in a stagecoach. London is exciting, expensive, over-crowded, horrible to get around unless you can afford cabs, quite dirty, historic, sometimes scary and a bit claustrophobic. I wouldn't live there again but am happy to visit every now and then.
I think I can get into this. Luxury package includes air transportation on The Concorde, two tickets in the Houligan section and return passage to NY on the Titanic.
As Meatloaf once uttered, 2 out of 3 ain't bad. Concord = mothballed Titanic = now a site for morbid curiosity. Houligan = A soccer Hooligan who can escape with ease.
As a season ticket holder would never want the Jets to play a home game in London. I think this entire London movement is just part of Goodells Liberal Agenda to spread the game around the world. It isn't played anywhere else in the world unlike every other sport which plays regular season games across the border(NHL in Europe, NBA travels to China every year, MLB had the Opener in Japan) The NFL is the most popular sport in the US for many reasons, besides the financial aspect which is his only motivation I feel for playing games in London, there is no need for it.
Goodell flat out said that the NFL wants a franchise in London. not a team that moves, an EXPANSION team. Don't shoot me... this is what Goodall has said on the record.
