Bye week boredom OT: franchises to LA and London?

**Lee Van Cleef** · 10-24-2009, 08:21 AM

I wonder if this may be a poilitical move on Goodell's part for some reason because there's no way a London based franchise will suceed, and I think he's savvy enough to realise that. The single game is working nicely, throwing a bone to fans outside the US that can't make it to see a game in person is a great gesture and 6 or 7 years ago I doubt those of us in the UK thought we'd get that.

I think, if the NFL is serious about growing its brand then it should reach out with single games to other countries in Europe. There are existing markets in Germany and such that could be developed by showing the same generosity the UK has received. I'm sure my fellow UK fans don't expect this to last forever, so enjoy it while it's there.

**Greg** · 10-24-2009, 11:13 AM

. . . filfthy Canada . . .

I haven't seen much of Canada, but I once was in Detroit/Dearborn a bit for work. A bunch of us took a ride from Detroit to Windsor in Canada (the only place you head south to go from the US to Canada). It was like driving from a dung heap to a pristine operating room in terms of cleanliness in the streets. From what I have seen personally and on TV the Canadians keep their cities WAY nicer than we do ours.

**Purpleguy** · 10-24-2009, 03:36 PM

Originally Posted by Greg

I haven't seen much of Canada, but I once was in Detroit/Dearborn a bit for work. A bunch of us took a ride from Detroit to Windsor in Canada (the only place you head south to go from the US to Canada). It was like driving from a dung heap to a pristine operating room in terms of cleanliness in the streets. From what I have seen personally and on TV the Canadians keep their cities WAY nicer than we do ours.

I didn't really mean it in a literal sense, well I did with Mexico. I'm just not a big fan of Canada. I have heard that Canadian cities are much cleaner than ours, but they don't even have 25% of the violent crime that we have. It's much easier to focus on littering when you don't have to worry about getting shot.

**Mista T** · 10-24-2009, 05:49 PM

Originally Posted by Purpleguy

I'm just not a big fan of Canada. I have heard that Canadian cities are much cleaner than ours, but they don't even have 25% of the violent crime that we have. It's much easier to focus on littering when you don't have to worry about getting shot.

You should try them out. Of my favorite cities in North America, most are from Canada: Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver are clean & dynamic; Quebec & Montreal have unique charm. We don't get much of a picture of the Canadian cities because our media basically ignores Canada. e.g. Chinatown in Calgary is new & clean, and the Chinatown in Vancouver is huge and vibrant, but all we hear about is SF.

It doesn't help that there's no NFL team up north, so we don't get the blimp shots either.

btw: the Canucks make great NFL fans. There a huge traffic jams into Buffalo from Ontario, where a very large portion of the Bills fan base resides. I was surprised at the large number of Canadians who support the Vikings, a six hour drive south of the border.

**sailorsam** · 10-25-2009, 10:44 AM

imho expansion is not going to happen anytime soon, and London is an awful idea. LA? whatever. I agree with the reference to franchise roulette; Jags go to LA, Jaxonville puts a package together to lure the Rams, St Louis steals the Raiders, etc. and San Antonio still out there.
Canada? too many US cities available. I have to think the Canadians would resent our intrusion, which would probably end their own fun football league (Rough-Riders vs Ti-Cats, eh?) how many Canadian cities could suppor the NFL? Toronto and Montreal?
I wonder if NFL in London is just Goodell's personal thing.

**HoustonRaven** · 10-25-2009, 10:55 AM

London just seems odd to me for reasons stated earlier in the thread.

The TV ratings that were posted earlier is what really caught my eye. No way a team survives without substantial TV revenue.

In a town where the city alone has a dozen or so professional soccer teams, football would just not catch on.

Just my $.02

**SHORTTRACK** · 10-26-2009, 09:11 AM

From Peter King: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...25/mmqb/1.html
6. NFL might try to find a home team for England.

On the heels of a third straight sellout in London Sunday, everyone's looking for the Next Big Thing in international expansion. Two games in England next year, probably, with the prospect of going to four in Europe by 2012. But I'm told reliably (and reported on NBC Sunday night) that one of the options the NFL will consider in the next year is choosing one team to play annually in London, so the league can work to develop a following over there.

If the league can find a willing partner -- Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote Sunday night, "Get ready for the London Shaguars'' -- it could be an interesting experiment. Say the Glazer family, owners of the Bucs and Manchester United, wanted to form some sort of marketing partnership. Particularly with an expanded schedule to 17 or 18 games, would the Glazers want to play a Buc Bowl over there annually? Would Jacksonville trade one of its non-sellouts for a crowd of 75,000 there each year? Or would Buffalo?

**Lee Van Cleef** · 10-26-2009, 10:48 AM

I think that's more realistic than a London franchise, I still don't think it happens.

I still think this whole Europe talk, and a lot of the things Goodell has said this past year, are with a view on the labour talks. Float out some ideas that are going to be very unpopular among the workers before talks? Never heard of that strategy before...

**Bez513** · 10-26-2009, 12:08 PM

Last night on FNIA both Dungy and Harrison said it's a bad idea. I just don't see the a London team traveling 8 times oversees for a game. Peter king said in the next 3-4 years that want more there though...I don't see it either.

I don't remember, maybe someone knows, but what was the attendance like for NFL Europe? I mean the players are not the same caliber but the league is gone now.

LA seems the most logical choice for a team...like Jacksonville. But there would need to be a realignment to make it work and I'm not sure the NFL wants to disrupt the rivalries that already exist.