Thread: British govt. wants NFL London team

Still scratching my head as to how Toronto doesn't have a team. I get that the Bills rely heavily on Southern Ontario to fill the seats at Ralph Wilson stadium, but if they're a team worthy enough for an NFL team, they should be able to fill those seats solely on the citizens of Western New York. CFL influence in Toronto is a joke. Out west in Canada it's taken more seriously. I think with the Bills under new ownership, it ruins destroyed any chance of Toronto owning a franchise unfortunately.

Well, the CFL's the reason football's the only major US sport with no Canadian teams. And Buffalo (along with many other teams) is the NFLs share in the legacy of an populous industrial northeast and Midwest that no longer exists. If the NFL started over tomorrow, there's no WAY PA and OH would have as many teams as TX, and NY certainly wouldn't have MORE. The Bills would end up in San Antonio and the 20 million people in NYC would have to content themselves with just two local teams and no cross-state rivals to give the Jets a shot at at least 2 wins/yr.

Why rename the 'Jags' team? I should think Brits can get behind the brand 'London Jag-U-ars'

Our government would probably give up the Redskins

Originally Posted by wcben

Why rename the 'Jags' team? I should think Brits can get behind the brand 'London Jag-U-ars'

Patriots vs. Jag-U-ars doesn't have the same ring to it as Patriots vs. Redcoats.

Of course, this is just a joke.

Originally Posted by daveaitken18

I hate that argument - stop calling it a world championship then

Just like basketball I don't think any other country could field a team that would beat us at our own sport. I think a better idea would just be to have every team play a game in London each year. Maybe the Thursday night games.

Originally Posted by CrazyHorse

Just like basketball I don't think any other country could field a team that would beat us at our own sport. I think a better idea would just be to have every team play a game in London each year. Maybe the Thursday night games.

Having watched a few matches of their style of football, Australia could field a team with great LBs, DBs & TEs.

Japan could convert some Sumo wrestlers into OL to build a power running team, & run stopping DL.

Europe & Latin America has no shortage of Ks.

Originally Posted by CrazyHorse

Just like basketball I don't think any other country could field a team that would beat us at our own sport.

Neither do I. But I don't think any one is better at jerking me off than myself, but I don't call myself a world champion.

If however there is sufficient interest , I would be happy to host an international competition and let you know who won.

Thursday Night Football may actually be the one way that makes a London franchise work. I agree with the suggestion about moving the Jaguars to London, making them part of the AFC East and moving Miami to the AFC South. The suggestion that the Bucs could be moved there because of the Man-U connection also makes sense but there's no way you want London in the NFC South. So you'd have to realign the Bucs to the AFC East (or break up the NFC East which probably won't happen), move the Jags to the NFC South and the Dolphins to the AFC South.

The AFC East is a key to making this work because London flights to New York LaGuardia and Boston Logan should be relatively easy. Teams could also get to Buffalo via Toronto or New York.

The London Jaguars would have to set up a base for training camp and exhibition games in the states, hopefully Jacksonville as a make-good for losing their team. Reward them with one exhibition game and one regular season game each year.

The other seven home games London would play consecutively in the middle of the season on Thursdays with their U.S. opponents getting a bye week prior to playing the Jaguars and, of course, would have nine days before their next game to get back on U.S. time. That's plenty of time for the visitor to acclimate in both directions and gives the London team (who has their bye week before the seven-game homestand) a chance to play without jet lag.

So, their schedule could look like this: (taking a fourth place sched with AFC West and NFC North in rotation)

@ NYJ
@ CHI
vs Oakland (at Jacksonville)
@ DET
@ DEN
Bye Week
vs BUF (in London on Thurs)
vs GB (in London on Thurs)
vs NE (in London on Thurs)
vs KC (in London on Thurs)
vs MIN (in London on Thurs)
vs NYJ (in London on Thurs)
vs CLE (in London on Thurs)
@ HOU
@ SD
@ BUF
@ NE

Scheduling would be tricky but it would work.

Now, the problem is that Thursday night in the US is way too late for live crowds in England so the games would be played that afternoon or evening in London, carried live on the NFL Network then replayed for American audiences that night.

I think there would still be major hardships for London players because they'd have to keep up two home bases with two training facilities, etc. I don't think most players will want to be London players.

Just because it can be done - does not mean it should be done,

Just because it can be made to work does not mean it should be forced to.

I think the idea of a London team is terrible - another aspect of where it will fail is in the merchandise. NFL gear is expensive, i pad 150 dollars for a jersey - no casual fan will do that and the London team will have very few "real" fans prepared to pay that - even the cheap jersey is about 70 pounds - which is almost double the price of EPL jerseys.

I really think they are misinterpreting the size of the actual fan base in the UK that would make this work.

Originally Posted by daveaitken18

Just because it can be done - does not mean it should be done,

Just because it can be made to work does not mean it should be forced to.

I think the idea of a London team is terrible - another aspect of where it will fail is in the merchandise. NFL gear is expensive, i pad 150 dollars for a jersey - no casual fan will do that and the London team will have very few "real" fans prepared to pay that - even the cheap jersey is about 70 pounds - which is almost double the price of EPL jerseys.

I really think they are misinterpreting the size of the actual fan base in the UK that would make this work.

Dave, if they can sell out 2 games per year, why couldn't they sell out 8?

They can sell out two games a year - but they struggled to sell out 3. This year i could still buy a ticket for the game this weekend via official channels right up until last week - the year before the two games sold out in hours of going on sale.

That tells me (and i am only a layman) that the UK's casual NFL fan base has already exhausted the money they are prepared to spend to go and see multiple games (for many it will be a "one and done" experience). I paid nearly two hundred pound to go and see three games - not many people can afford to do that, plus travel expenses, hotels if required etc. They can fill one a year - easy, because people can afford it and will travel once a year, but not 8 times.

If you think about Denver as a city - they could sell out mile high just with fans from that city, let alone the wider state - in London, this is not the case, they need people from all over the UK to fill it (especially if they are trying to do it more that once) and there is just not that level of interest in London alone



there is not a "passionate" fan base of sufficient size to sell out 8 times, and even when it is full the 4rth quarter is always empty (in my experience of Wembley games).

Sorry for the tome like length of this reply - i was trying to be coherent and ended up rambling!

actually it was not that long - just took me ages to write!

I don't see how a London team could attract decent FA's. I can't see them wanting to relocate that far away.

Originally Posted by WTE

I don't see how a London team could attract decent FA's. I can't see them wanting to relocate that far away.

I'd rather go to London than Buffalo or Minnesota.