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Thread: the NFL in London
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09-28-2013, 10:20 AM #49
Re: the NFL in London
I don't understand your question ... The NFL already does provide a credit to the "home" team: no charge for the deleted true home game. Plus the privilege of being able to buy replacements seats at Wembley (which, however, cannot be resold, so screw the brokers).
I am a lot more bothered by having to pay for two sham exhibition games than missing one true home game (which I would likely not miss anyway). That is why I favor the 17-game or 18-game season and halving the exhibitions. I would also like to see the NFL rotate all the imitation exhibitions out to neutral sites, which was the practice in the NFL's early years, or, if not, price these fraudulent games at 1/2 price or remove the mandatory purchase. London games are merely a sideshow compared to the exhibition rip-off, in my opinion.
:T2:In a 2003 BBC poll that asked Brits to name the "Greatest American Ever", Mr. T came in fourth, behind ML King (3rd), Abe Lincoln (2nd) and Homer Simpson (1st).
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09-28-2013, 10:37 AM #50
Re: the NFL in London
My family has PSLs...can't say I'd be thrilled if we had a "home" game there....as sometime said, we have one of the best HFAs in the NFL. Also, I prob couldn't afford to just up and take a trip London! But that's just me :)
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09-28-2013, 10:39 AM #51Regular 1st Stringer
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Re: the NFL in London
Well thats the thing; the Ravens/Bisciotti can argue they shouldn't lose their home game based on ticket sales alone but as we all know the NFL could give two shits what the Ravens want since we had to play an away game on Thursday night in Denver.
I'm saying the Ravens could give season ticket holders deep discounts on merchandise or something similar. Like I said above, the Ravens have a case against losing their home game based on their home sellout crowds. If the NFL decides to screw the Ravens again then the NFL should work out some kind of financial plan with the Ravens' for the lost revenue by offering Ravens fans something besides first dibs on tickets at Wembley.
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09-28-2013, 08:49 PM #53
Re: the NFL in London
I don't visit the British Isles that often, but most Brits I have met seem to consider the NFL to be more than merely a "fanciful distraction". Today's crowd of 1/2 million had to impress owners of some teams that have problems with fan support, such as Oakland, Jax, and San Diego:
More than half a million people were drawn to the NFL Block Party on Saturday afternoon, as Regent Street, in London's busiest shopping district, was closed down for the day to play home to football fans celebrating before Sunday's game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings.NFL fans wearing every one of the 32 team jerseys (yes, I counted them myself) were out in force, enjoying a string of delights put on by the NFL and eating American-themed food.
The main attraction, though, was a stage upon which appeared a host of big-name talent from the Steelers and Vikings, including both teams' head coaches, likely future Hall of Famers in Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu of the Steelers, and Vikings stars Adrian Peterson and Jared Allen.
All of the players and coaches who appeared on stage exited stunned by the level of support, as fans from across the world turned out to see them and cheer them on before the game.In a 2003 BBC poll that asked Brits to name the "Greatest American Ever", Mr. T came in fourth, behind ML King (3rd), Abe Lincoln (2nd) and Homer Simpson (1st).
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09-29-2013, 05:59 AM #54Hyperbolic curmudgeometer
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Re: the NFL in London
I'd like to see the details. I have a funny feeling that everything in Regent Street was heavily subsidized by the NFL just so they could make this sort of cockamamie claim. You could get 500,000 Brits damn near anywhere in a New York nanosecond by passing out free food.
At the time the NFLPA agreement was being negotiated, Goodell enticed the players' cooperation with boasts of tripling NFL revenues to over $20 billion within 10 years. At that time I predicted that this could only be achieved by four types of expansion: 18 game season, add more teams, more playoffs, and geographic expansion into Europe's TV market (larger than ours). "That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!"
IMO they've already topped out with both demographics--the more players taken off on carts (as the league errs on the side of caution), the more it will underscore the essentially violent nature of the sport & repel both groups, and Hispanics are pretty good at knowing when they're being pandered to (it doesn't help when the poster boy for the Latino NFLer is under indictment for murder). But that won't keep them from continuing to chuck that particular ficken....
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09-29-2013, 07:46 AM #55Pro Bowl Poster
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Re: the NFL in London
I'm not convinced by that. Football, yes, it'll be difficult to out compete that - but that's the same for a huge amount of the globe.
Cricket/rugby could be fair game for the long haul, though. Both sets of those fans like it for things that overlap with NFL (yes, even cricket - a lot of it is based on strategy and can be quite stop-start. If you can sit through a day's play where it's back and forth on the field because of weather, where overs take five minutes because the captain keeps messing with the field placings and a scoring play may be once every 3 overs - I think you can enjoy even a 9-6 turgid play, flag fest of a game). Cricket also has serious issues to overcome to even keep going in the long run (which is saddening, really). It may not yield talent for the game, but it may in some small quantity for viewership.
Rugby's more difficult, sure, but the simple fact is the NFL has something that rugby doesn't - money. To a top rugby star, where a transition to the NFL is not too far away providing groundwork has been done beforehand, what would you prefer? The highest paying player in rugby is on a salary of just over a million per year. Even a scrub special teamer can get that in the NFL. To get that money, you'll have to move to France these days - US or France? The more Brit players you get, particularly if successful - or from any country you wish to grow a fanbase in - the bigger the following will be. There was more than a bat of an eyelid over the Okoye/Watson moves to the league.
There isn't much of a link between universities and professional sports has had been stated. That gives the league a golden opportunity if it wishes to move to that direction as well - as was stated before, invest time into the grassroots will yield the dividends later if the league and/or teams do it correctly.
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Re: the NFL in London
Well, I am sure of one thing, this London game is going to suck ass.
"Please take with you this final sword, The Excellector. I am praying that your journey will be guided by the light", Leon Shore
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09-29-2013, 12:32 PM #57Veteran Poster
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