NFL to return to the Britain for regular season game in 2008

[BengalszoneBilly]

NFL to return to the Britain for regular season game in 2008

January 17, 2008

LONDON (AP) -- The NFL will return to Britain next season.

The league, which held its first regular season game outside North America in London last October, said Thursday it would come back again in 2008.

The teams, date and venue will be announced during Super Bowl week late this month or in early February.

The New York Giants beat the Miami Dolphins 13-10 in front of 81,176 fans at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 28.

"The game in London was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the entire 2007 season," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "We had an overwhelmingly positive response to the event from all involved -- the teams, our sponsors and business partners and of course the fans themselves."

Wembley officials weren't so ecstatic because the game, played through a persistent drizzle, tore up the field and left it in rough shape for England's crucial European Championship qualifier against Croatia on Nov. 21. The English lost that game 3-2 and failed to qualify for Euro 2008.

Besides Wembley, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, is another possible venue for next season's game.

In 2006, NFL owners agreed to play one or two regular-season games outside the United States for the following five years. The Dolphins and Giants essentially volunteered for the 2007 game and are not expected to be asked to return in the near future.

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

I never have understood this obsession. Sure, in theory the big rest of the world would be a good opportunity for selling more crap, but other countries just don't get our brand of football. Admittedly, it's because they're commie pinko losers, but that's beside the point.

Just give it up already.

[BengalszoneBilly]

I never have understood this obsession. Sure, in theory the big rest of the world would be a good opportunity for selling more crap, but other countries just don't get our brand of football. Admittedly, it's because they're commie pinko losers, but that's beside the point.

Just give it up already.

The Brits are commie pinko losers!?! Sir, you are mistaken.

[Stripes]

I like it, and I hope to see it continue. It would be a bummer for the Bengals to lose a home game in the process, but wouldn't be it cool for the British fans on this website to have an opportunity to visit the game on their own soil?

[BengalszoneBilly]

I like it, and I hope to see it continue.

I too hope for this. For our sport to become a worldwide feature audience attraction, it'll take this, and more.

[DuffMan]

As long as they make a huge robotic Domata Peko complete with hair I'm in....or maybe a Robo-Chad with gold teeth...

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

I like it, and I hope to see it continue. It would be a bummer for the Bengals to lose a home game in the process, but wouldn't be it cool for the British fans on this website to have an opportunity to visit the game on their own soil?

Well, that begs two questions: 1) Do most Brits actually care? and 2) Why do we care?

1) seems to be largely a "no". At best, American football could work as an occasional novelty, but if that's all the NFL gets out of it then it seems there's no point. They finally quit on the world league. Brits, by and large, seem pretty non-plussed by it all. As for the specific team fans...on average they'll probably see their favorite team once every 15 years, at best. I'd rather see the NFL bring some foreign fans to see their favorite team in its home stadium. Teach 'em how it's done.

2) I'm not sure why we care if the rest of the world comes to like American football. Seems to me, even if it caught on the primary effect would be time-zone nightmares if there was a European NFL team. Doesn't sound like much fun. I'm glad football has become as popular as it is because it means that, during fall, there's a game on national TV damn near every day. But I don't think going international would do much for the American game. The owners' wallets? Well, that might be a different matter, but they're not sharing, so I don't care.

Additionally, as mentioned, the primary effect is to take a football game away from 60,000+ people who very much care about the team and give it to 60,000+ people who don't care all that much but came to see the novelty act. I don't get it.

Oh, and Billy: any group of people who would rather watch soccer than see grown men beat the crap out of each other are commie pinkos in my book.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Oh, and Billy: any group of people who would rather watch soccer than see grown men beat the crap out of each other are commie pinkos in my book.

European soccer fans love watching grown men beat the crap out of one another. The only difference where ours occurs on the field by players, theirs goes on up in the stands by those very fans!

[gregstephens]

Please...our football is their wussy form of rugby. God, I love that game. No stops, no pads. Just hit and run. I got an idea. If we are going to send two teams over there every year to play, let's make it the worst and second-worst teams in the league. Brits don't know which of our teams are good anymore than most of us know what Premier League teams are good and bad. Might be an incentive for the Dolphins and Falcons to play better ball...avoid the trip.

[Pidge]

Please...our football is their wussy form of rugby. God, I love that game. No stops, no pads. Just hit and run. I got an idea. If we are going to send two teams over there every year to play, let's make it the worst and second-worst teams in the league. Brits don't know which of our teams are good anymore than most of us know what Premier League teams are good and bad. Might be an incentive for the Dolphins and Falcons to play better ball...avoid the trip.

I love rugby, it will always be my first love. Grew up watching and playing it (to quite a high level - junior national teams) until injury nixed that. It's why I was drawn to watching football when I was in/go back to the States. USA also has very rich tradition of Rugby, mainly on the WC I believe. USA did win the first ever Olympic rugby tournament after all.

There is a real upsurge in Football being played at the Uni level over. There's even a league. Naturally it's very young and the very best players might have an outside shot at playing at a small division II college but that's it.

RE: Getting games to the UK. Well millions tune into the 4 or 5 games we get each week over on TV. The popularity is growing enormously and quickly. Goodell see what the Premiership has done. The money generated by the soccer Prem is staggering. It's the most watched sports league in the world. By some distance.

The NFL, whilst obviously a different beast altogether, might be able to get some of those pinko, commie, dollars in for themselves.

The main stumbling block in accepting the NFL in previous years is a fundamental difference in the sporting cultures. The Premiership is not a single entity (privately owned clubs or PLCs), relegation and promotion is THE established system here, and in other countries around the world. The whole playoffs system was somewhat baffling. Surely all the teams play each other home and away and the team with most wins/points/whatever is crowned champion? - it's realtively alien to the average Brit that a team that went 10-6 could be the champion over a 14-2 team. Naturally these fundamental differences in traditions and outlooks are becoming smaller and smaller with more exposure to the NFL.

However, Goodell is about making money (which isn't such a bad thing after all). The NFL has zero competition in terms of the game worldwide. It IS the game of pro Football. That kind of monopoly opens up a hell of a money making opportunity.

Unlike soccer leagues in various countries which can paoch players from each other's country or club and have no salary caps limitations thus leading to an imbalance of power.

Without getting into the pros and cons of each system (they work well for their respective sports after all and that's all that matters) there is a fair bit of room in Britain and in Germany for the sport to grow. Now, will there ever be European teams in the NFL proper? I very much doubt it, not for many many years at any rate. There are dollars out there to be had though and that interests Goodell.

On a personal note, I went to last year's game. Wembely is just plain crap, imo. Twickenham is a much better prospect and the field is built for football more. Cardiff has a nice stadium and has a roof (throws up in mouth). As a Bengals fan, I'd hate for the Bengals to lose a home game to an overseas venue just as I'd hate to see Spurs (soccer team) play a home game in the States.

Football should stay Stateside and soccer should stay this side of the pond. Too many people have biases against either sport to really give them a fair go in the first place and traditions, be they cultural or sporting, are very hard to overcome. The same reasons which will prevent the Football really taking hold over here are the same reasons why soccer will never rival even the NHL in terms of poluarity in the States. Too many established sports already flourishing.

One final thing, I hate the constant arguments about which sport is tougher, rugby or football. Both have big hits but there are fewer head on collisions in rugby than in football due to the dynamics of the game. I will say this though, rugby wingers don't need oxygen and little sit down after sprinting 50 yards. They need to get the f**k back into their defensive postions. One last thing before I stop droning one, Martin Johnson (captain of the world cup winning England rugby team) played Football over here in England when he was very young before he played rugby. He was a DE I believe.

[BengalszoneBilly]

I knew it was only a matter of time before Pidge found this thread.

[Pidge]

I knew it was only a matter of time before Pidge found this thread.

For you Billy, and other men with odd shaped balls. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggxA-nV3FU4

[BengalszoneBilly]

I knew it was only a matter of time before Pidge found this thread.

For you Billy, and other men with odd shaped balls. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALLfx2kvlLo

That ROCKED! We could use some of those hitters on the Bengals defense.

[Pidge]

I knew it was only a matter of time before Pidge found this thread.

For you Billy, and other men with odd shaped balls. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALLfx2kvlLo

That ROCKED! We could use some of those hitters on the Bengals defense.

LMAO@ the new sig. I think in Duke and hopefully Marvin White we have a couple of promising hitters. Whether or not they can be effective in coverage and wrapping up the ball carrier is yet to be seen. I'm excited to watch our secondary next year already. I hope those two are given a run in the team. Can't be worse than Dexter and if Madieu is gone, then oh well. Best of luck and thanks.

[Pidge]

So. The Chargers at the Saints in week 8 is Wembley bound once again. The pitch will no doubt have improved. Was only laid a couple of months prior to the Gints-Fins game.

Feel a bit bad for the Saints losing a home game though. After having there 2005 season away from hom and just settling back into the Superdome.

[Scottishbengal]

rugby God, I love that game, no pads.

I think you'll find a lot of Rugby Union and Rugby League players wear chest/shoulder pads and protective headgear.

[Pidge]

rugby God, I love that game, no pads.

I think you'll find a lot of Rugby Union and Rugby League players wear chest/shoulder pads and protective headgear.

When I played rugby I taped my ears. ALWAYS. Seeing one ear get half torn made me vomit. Seeing one get torn off completely made rethink my attire on the field.

The minority wear any kind of padding though, other than those strips of foam in the shoulders of the jerseys. The padding isn't the same standard as football either but then again, the dymaics aren' the same. You can't just lower your shoulder into someone's chest in rugby wthout getting penalised so it far less frequent. If I was still playing I would definitely invest in something for the chest. A shoulder into your sternum hurts like a bitch. Bone on bone is just wrong.

Honeslty, the rules in football demand protection be worn. There'd be carnage every game otherwise.

As for League, we'll I can't fathom how more players don't have their necks broken. The amount of dirty high tackles they commit.

[gregstephens]

rugby God, I love that game, no pads.

I think you'll find a lot of Rugby Union and Rugby League players wear chest/shoulder pads and protective headgear.

I know there are forms of 'padding' in rugby, but not the suits of armor that they wear in the NFL. Rugby padding and NFL gear is apples and oranges. Or is that 'nips and tatties'?

[Monte]

I guess this is one benefit of lots of losing seasons ...not having to play overseas.

[Scottishbengal]

Or is that 'nips and tatties'?

Nips and tatties? It's usually neeps and tatties - but I like your thinking, it's the sort of meal that Billy as the boobiemeister would serve up!

[BengalszoneBilly]

Or is that 'nips and tatties'?

Nips and tatties? It's usually neeps and tatties - but I like your thinking, it's the sort of meal that Billy as the boobiemeister would serve up!

Hell...I'd open up a resturant chain under that name with topless waitresses and make people forget "Hooters" ever existed!

[jonf45uk]

for those who don't think that the british care about a nfl game in england- try getting hold of a ticket!!!

shame its not being played at the millenium stadium in cardiff though

jon