Sunday brought about the second NFL International Series game to be staged in London, a game in stark contrast to its predecessor last year. A year ago, a rain-soaked Wembley played host to a tight battle between the best and the worst that the NFL had to offer last season. As a result, it's clear how the NFL should've marketed the proposition of playing in London to NFL teams. Quite simply, all they need to say is, "We guarantee you the Super Bowl or the upcoming first-round draft pick." For the record, it's very unlikely to play out like that this year.
After last year's game many pundits were cynical of the quality of the game, probably because the Giants and the Dolphins only managed to muster up 23 points between them. However, it is to my understanding that the International Series games are to help promote the game outside of America. So let me tell you, as an Englishman, we love nothing more than our sportsman battling for the smallest margins in a game that could swing either way.
Nevertheless, the 2008 London game demonstrated the offensive prowess of two of the finest teams in the NFL. In an enthralling matchup, the New Orleans Saints narrowly defeated the San Diego Chargers by a score of 37-32. Therefore, they scored 69 points, three times more points than were scored in last year's London game. Will this outcome please the NFL? Probably. This year's game was clearly the perfect advertisement for offense, while last year's was an advertisement for British weather. Maybe that is why I preferred last year's encounter.
Regardless of what happens on the field, does the NFL have to stage games abroad? Well, since I live in the UK, I can safely say that American football is a big deal over here. Ever since the NFL aired on British TV back in the late 1980s, the sport has garnered a somewhat cult-like following. More recently, the league's popularity has soared with the help of Sky Digital showing a total of six different live games each week.
Despite so many games British television, Sunday's game was a key event for American football in the UK. For the first time in a little over 10 years, an NFL game was aired live in the evening on terrestrial television. So while hardcore fans flocked to Wembley stadium to witness a piece of history, many Brits will have had their first taste of American football.
What I am trying to say is that I am both for and against these International Series games. Okay, maybe that is not the most conclusive piece of writing you will read this year, but that is how I feel. I am for these games as it allows British people to attend a regular season NFL game without having to fork out the cash to fly across the pond. As well as that, new fans of the game are undoubtedly created.
So that's the positive but the negative is a far more serious issue. While I agree that gaining a bigger fan base is a good thing, so is a fair season. In order for these games to take place, one team must relinquish one of their home games for the season, putting them at a disadvantage when compared to other teams.
No matter what your opinion of the International Series games is, it appears that you may just have to get used to them. It seems that NFL games abroad are going to become a regular fixture on the American football calendar. If indeed there is another regular season game overseas next year, I implore the NFL to forget about the UK and give the game to a far more deserving country.
It's about time that Germany had its chance to shine. American football is very big business in Germany; in fact by the time NFL Europa folded, five of the six teams were based in Germany. Perhaps more amazingly, all five German teams saw an increase in attendance in the league's final year in operation. What further proof could be needed to showcase the Germans' thirst for American football?
Unlike many other European leagues, the German Football League thrives with the season culminating with the German Bowl that is attended by around 20,000 people. It would be a real surprise to see that many fans turn up for the final in other leagues around Europe.
Germany is full of American football fans, but that is not the only reason why the NFL should pay a visit. Germany, unlike the UK, is part of mainland Europe, meaning that access to the game would be made slightly easier for inhabitants of other countries in mainland Europe. After all, American football has a strong following in countries such as the Netherlands and Spain.
The NFL's venture into Germany could be complete because the country contains numerous stadiums that would be sufficient to host such an event. The Signal Iduna Park stadium in Dortmund, the Olympiastadion in Berlin, and the Allianz Arena in Munich are all capable of holding 70,000+ people. Therefore, they are all prime candidates to stage an NFL game at some point in the future.
As this article draws to a close, it's time to raise your glass to the NFL for staging regular season games abroad. It's time to raise your glass to the teams that were willing to make an extra special journey for the fans across the pond. And finally, it's time to raise your glass to a regular season game in Germany!
October 29, 2008
jeff:
Dude, Enough of the hype about how big the NFL is in UK (or anywhere outside the US)
Fact, NFL Europe failed and hardly anyone plays the game or understands the game.
Fact- after all the hype last year 128,000 (yes 128,000!) people watched the NFL London game last year on live TV. So wait, we were told that 500,000 people wanted tickets in right away but only 128,000 watched. Stop the hype. The NFL is not the NBA or NHL. Those sports are played at a high level in many Euro countries. Those sports have a tradition in many of those countries. Football does not. w