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The “magic date” (albeit never an official target) for an NFL franchise has always been 2022. In January, Mike Waller was quoted by the BBC as saying that plans were “on track” for a London team by that time. In my Q& A with Sky Sports NFL presenter Neil Reynolds, he said 2022 was “very realistic.” And judging by the comments from NFL owners in recent months, London is at the forefront of their thoughts and discussions. Naturally, “pushing the button” on an NFL franchise in London doesn’t mean it will materialize overnight, but as discussions become more concrete, it will trigger the start of an ignition sequence preparing for launch to the next footballing frontier. Consider: If the owners put London relocation to a vote and announced the establishment of a franchise by the time of its next Annual Meeting in 2017, that would give the league five full seasons to launch. Five full years to build the hype, five full years to find a team, five full years to resolve any lingering logistical issues, five full years to experiment with new time slots in London that appeal to US broadcasters. As for questions about whether or not Brits want to have their own NFL team, well … to quote Buddy Garrity in Friday Night Lights, “everybody loves football, they just don’t know it yet.” |
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London Calling. - ( New Window )
What happens when a team has to play at London in the playoffs then turn around and play in San Diego the next week? Stupid.
By 2020, the Jaguars will have wrapped up an 8 year span of playing one "Home" game in London and should have built up some local fan base as being London's team by playing there yearly.
Next logical step would be to split Home games with 4 games in Jacksonville and 4 games in London in the 2021 season. Pending the success of that split schedule, could open the door for Shahid Khan to permanently move the franchise to London by 2022.
Not that anyone expected them to.
If London plays a west coast team or vice versa how is that going to work. West coast team often play at 4pm, that's 10pm London time.
Will there be SNF or MNF or THNF in London? If so, that's 3pm in the East cost and noon on the west coast.
and vice versa.
it just doesn't make logistical sense.
the one game per season novelty is wearing thin and then they expand that, they see $$$ like with every other decision they make.
I hope the NFLPA holds out against this and the 18-game season, and expanded playoffs when the CBA expires in 2020 which would be ahead of the 2022 date.
Best option for Khan is to do the split Home schedule between Jacksonville and London till 2030 and start the 2031 season full time in London without paying any penalties to Jacksonville for leaving.
Khan dismissed the notion that travel and logistics – or playing a home game away from EverBank Field – puts the team at a competitive disadvantage.
“I think it can be a competitive advantage,” Khan said. “When you get there, how you prepare, what you do – we’re going to be playing another team there, too. They’ve gone through the same elements. I think that’s frankly way overhyped. It’s just a different venue with a longer plane ride.”
I think the NFL gets to keep its credible, "Fund a new stadium for our NFL team or they'll leave for LA" threat.
So, seriously, how else can they "grow"? I honestly can't think of anything without adding games or adding a large number of new teams in the colonies, which of course will dilute the product even more. I guess making a viable "D" league?
ESPN-FC: NFL has significant input into new Tottenham stadium
Daily Mail: NFL 'very involved' in Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium, says chairman Daniel Levy
What the new Tottenham Spur stadium will look like
Will anyone even want to play there?
Were you asleep during the NFL Europe years? If you were, don't worry, so was most of Europe.
Europe is not a fan of the NFL. American football leagues exist on a small scale, playing on pretty much the equivalent of high school fields surrounded by crowds that reach maybe into the hundreds.
The slow increase has been to get the players used to making this trip, the more they do it and it becomes routine the less it's going to matter. It's not like these guys are traveling in a couch bus over the Atlantic
So, seriously, how else can they "grow"? I honestly can't think of anything without adding games or adding a large number of new teams in the colonies, which of course will dilute the product even more. I guess making a viable "D" league?
Cut 2 preseason games and 1 one regular season "neutral site" game for each team.
Half of those games came be played in London if so desired, and half could be used as a real "international" series. Playing games in Toronto, Berlin, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Beijing....
NFL Europe/a failed miserably, except in Germany. I'm sure games in Germany would be pretty spectacular.