We all know that the NFL would like to, at some point in the future, go global and have teams overseas. There are many reasons as to why the NFL would like expand internationally but I think the main purpose and the motive behind it is to bring additional revenue to the league.
Already, there are games that take place during the season that are held in London and some teams have a game there for the next several years. When discussing the possibility of a team overseas London is usually the city that is mentioned because of the fact that Wembley stadium is already there and seems to be suitable for NFL games and it is also available during the NFL season. Another reason London has been chosen as the expansion site is because it is a major city and easily accessible to the people of Europe. However, there are some concerns that are holding the expansion back.
For one, according to the article, the league is not sure that Europeans would be willing to travel to London multiple times a year to attend games and fill up the stadium. In addition to that, there must be a large enough fan base. If people are not attending the games the expansion would not be successful. Another concern is the time that it would take away teams to travel to London and the toll that would take on the players and their performances during the game. Along with these things, I think the popularity of soccer overseas especially in Europe would have an affect on how successful an NFL team would be there. It would be very hard for a nation deeply rooted in English football to convert or become a fan for an American football team. I find this quite interesting and feel as though this is just America being America trying to impose what we like and our values on others, with the main goal being to make more money. I think this is the dark side of the expansion ideas. It's not like the people of London are such big American football fans that they want a team, it's just the NFL and the people in charge trying to make as much money as they can. The actual game of football and the love for the game is absent here. It's taking away from the game itself. I also think the NFL does not want to lose its popularity to soccer.
I think its very interesting and accurate that you say "it's just America Being America". I read an article once that was talking about how America is just a big bully. While this may be a bit overboard in my opinion, there are some slight truths to the argument. America's a place where we go big or go home.
ReplyDeleteChristie Herwig