It’s Just American Football, or is it?

Did anyone see the MLB Home run Derby this year? For the first time ever, each of the eight players represented a different country. This is pretty impressive considering there are only seven Hall of Fame players that are not from the United States. This didn't happen overnight, as baseball is a globally-played sport with decades of developmental leagues to develop such a global talent and presence.

But it’s time to move over, baseball, in the land of the free and the home of the brave, because you are a distant number two. The NFL is now the premier sport in the United States and has a dominating hold on that spot.

That being said, have you ever tried to explain football to a foreigner? It is like trying to combine their version of soccer and rugby and adding about 100 rules to learn on top of it. It is not easy. It actually is almost impossible. With the world becoming more of a global market, how can the NFL compete with easier sports to explain such as baseball and basketball? How can they develop talent to one day join the league in the states?

Europe

First, let's take a look at the European developmental League, or the NFL Europe:

Here are some pretty impressive names that only made their way into the NFL because they were given an opportunity in the European Developmental league:

Offense

WR Marcus Robinson, Brian Finneran, Dane Looker, Chris Horn
WR/KR Dante Hall, Michael Lewis
TE Jed Weaver, Ryan Neufeld, Ben Steele
T Barry Sims, Matt Lepsis, Barry Stokes
G Brian Waters, Marco Rivera, Joe Andruzzi
C Ben Hamilton, Andy McCallum
QB Jake Delhomme, Kurt Warner, Kelly Holcomb
RB Aaron Stecker, Maurice Hicks, Jamal Robertson
FB Obafemi Ayanbadejo, Josh Parry

Defense

DE Marques Douglas, Carl Powell, Bobby Hamilton, Gary Stills
DT LaRoi Glover, Kelly Gregg, Keith Traylor, Brandon Noble
LB Keith Adams, Nate Wayne, Donnie Spragan, Fred Jones, Brandon Ayanbadejo, Tim Johnson
CB Kelly Herndon, Corey Ivy, Todd Franz
S Nick Ferguson, Deke Cooper, Chris Young
PK Adam Vinatieri or David Akers
P Brian Moorman or Scott Player
ST Sean Morey, Steve Gleason

This list is loaded with late-round picks, street free agents, and projects who switched positions, but with six or seven Pro Bowl selections, it still looks pretty respectable. Tell Adam Vinatieri, owner of three Super Bowl rings as the kicker for the New England Patriots, that this league isn't worthwhile. Not bad for a league that started in 1991.

Dante Hall was a star for the Scottish Claymores in 2001 before making it as the "human joy stick" with Kansas City. But it has produced results far more impressive than those leagues. Every time a Joe Andruzzi, who battled in Scotland for pennies compared to other professional athletes, signs a $9 million contract, it makes the impact of the league even more profound.

The public notices Europe when someone like Kurt Warner, or Brad Johnson, or Jake Delhomme, takes their team all the way to the Super Bowl. They pay attention for a minute, and then ignore the league's contributions to the NFL.

Ultimately the question comes down to this: did the NFL only put such a league in Europe to develop players? Or did they also have a dual intention of also trying to develop a European fan base? You would be kidding yourself to not consider the latter. 2005 is no exception. Off the field, the league once again survived by the skin of its teeth at the owners' meetings, but given salary-cap pressures, the value of filling a roster spot with a player on minimum salary who has proven he can play easily can make the investment profitable.

Five teams now are based in Germany, a growth area for football (ask the Buffalo Bills about Contantin Ritzman) where new city Hamburg has drawn as many as 20,000 fans for games in the German amateur league. This is just the beginning. Allow this league to develop, and maybe, just maybe, Europe will know of football as a sport that has touchdown passes, not kicked goals. (Okay, they will at least understand the game!)

China

Europe isn't the only area the NFL is focusing on. Take a look at what they are doing in China!

October 11-12, 2003, China's first NFL Flag Football clinic was held in Shanghai. More than 400 players and coaches from 23 schools around the city participated in this inaugural event.

The clinic covered basic passing, receiving, and running routes, as well as game strategy. All the teams played a scrimmage game at the end of the day.

China's national final tournament, the "Warriors Crown" highlighting the best teams from Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou, is held in June of every year. This event is covered by China's largest domestic sports TV channel, CCTV-5, as well as Shanghai's major sports TV channel, G-Sports.

You probably don't know of any Chinese players in the NFL now, but check back with me in 20 years and you will. With over a billion people to choose from, China is the cornerstone for the future of the NFL abroad. NFL merchandisers are already drooling at what the possible market would be for them.

Canada

Now let's take a look at Canada.

The Canadian Football League operates in nine leading cities across Canada. Connecting the strength and heritage of the past with the momentum of today and the promise of the future, the CFL celebrates Canada's game with fans across the nation. The 93rd Grey Cup will be played this year, the Super Bowl for Canada.

About the National Football League's opinion of the CFL:

NFL Canada, a division of NFL International, services the marketing, licensing, retail, broadcast, media, and developmental requirements of the NFL in Canada. "We support the CFL and its unique role in Canada, and share its goal of strengthening the interest and support of football among Canadians," said NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. "As partners we have worked successfully to strengthen the sport of football in Canada, and the NFL looks forward to working with the CFL to build on these programs."

Both leagues will support mutually agreed, co-branded grassroots programs in Canada. In addition to the continuation of Reebok NFL/CFL Flag Football, NFL/CFL Practice with the Pros, NFL/CFL High School Coach of the Year, the new NFL/CFL Junior Player Development and NFLCFLFutures.com, the FDMC will further promote the development of amateur tackle football.

Reebok NFL/CFL Flag Football Canada is an elementary in-school phys-ed program currently active in more than 1,300 schools and involving more than 300,000 Canadian youth. Practice with the Pros pairs NFL and CFL players for free introductory football clinics in CFL cities.

Mexico

Finally, let's take a look at Mexico.

"The broadcast of NFL games on over-the-air television is fundamental to the expansion of our fan base and business in Mexico," said Ricardo Perez Teuffer, Televisa vice president for special events and sports.

Televisa, a major network in Mexico, will carry the opening of the NFL's 86th season and 16 Monday Night Football games, as well as playoffs.

"The most important impact of this agreement is that it will help satisfy our audience that loves NFL football," said Perez Teuffer

"It is once again a pleasure to partner with America's No. 1 sport," said Guillermo Alegret, channel distribution director at TV Azteca. "This relationship will help us continue to build the sport here in Mexico and offer our advertisers increased options for their investments."

In fact, the investment is so solid, the first NFL regular-season game outside the United States is expected to take place Oct. 2, when the Arizona Cardinals face San Francisco in Mexico City.

The game will be a Sunday night contest televised by ESPN. It would be a home game for the Cardinals, who rarely sell out their stadium, but could draw 100,000 or more in Mexico City.

Mexico, isn't the only country getting the NFL, either. More than 60 broadcasters from 223 countries and territories in virtually every corner of the globe will receive NFL programming in excess of 70,000 hours worth stretching across 24 time zones and broadcast in more than 30 languages.

Since 2003, the NFL is on free TV in China, the world's most populous country. Thanks to an agreement with CCTV, China's only national terrestrial broadcaster, the NFL is made available in more than 300 million households with a potential audience of over one billion.

That is penetration of more than 90 percent of households throughout mainland China.

Want to know exactly how the NFL envisions itself in the future? Start by asking the top man.

Commissioner Paul Tagliabue: "I think if you look at other sports, the way they've developed globally, you can see regional leagues develop. You can see NFL Europe become more of a regional league within Europe. You can see regional leagues I think in Latin America, starting with Mexico and running south into Central and South America. Of course, we already have the Canadian Football League. So I don't think you have to speculate to see that this will grow incrementally, slowly in some cases, more rapidly in others. It's something that should be pursued."

Fast-forward to year 2085 and the names on your grandchildren's fantasy football roster will be very different!

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