So I was all set to say something mean about Roger Goodell for even suggesting that the Super Bowl be played in London. It’s the biggest game in American football, and you’re not going to play it in America? Would you play an AFL Grand Final outside of Australia, or an All-Ireland Final somewhere other than Croke Park? How about an FA Cup Final in Istanbul? Would that work?
Of course, then MJD has to get all reasonable on us:
If it doesn’t make sense to you that the NFL would play an entire season, and suck billions of dollars out of fans in this country, and then take the biggest, most important, showcase game of the year in front of a country that’s bored by the sport … well, you just haven’t been paying attention to how Super Bowls work.
The Super Bowl is the one game of the year that is not staged for NFL fans. It’s staged for people who aren’t NFL fans … because the NFL would like to convert them into NFL fans. And for this reason, the NFL does everything they can, with musical acts and all sorts of other bells and whistles, to make the telecast appeal to people who otherwise wouldn’t care.
And if these things happen to annoy you as someone who watches the NFL every single week … well, Roger Goodell doesn’t really care. He knows you’re coming back.
*sigh* I suppose. Plus, if a regular season game featuring one of the worst teams in the NFL can sell out in Wembley, so can a Super Bowl.
That still doesn’t mean playing a Super Bowl in Wembley is great idea — unless you liked watching the rain pour down on the game as it did in the last Super Bowl, because it’s February in England, and that will happen. Oh, and England still isn’t going to accept gridiron and start taking it seriously. They already have soccer and rugby, and England Rugby isn’t doing to badly these days. If Roger Goodell thinks he can make the English love the NFL as much as they love the Premier League, he’s more delusional than St. Louis Rams fans who think the playoffs are still a possibility.
14 responses so far ↓
1 pottery » A London Super Bowl Still Seems Like a Bad Idea // Oct 16, 2007 at 11:48 am
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2 Andrew Ross // Oct 16, 2007 at 12:47 pm
The 1947 All-Ireland final was held at the Polo Grounds in New York City…
3 Tom // Oct 16, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Ah but Dave, the new Wembley has a retractable roof. No way such an idea even gets floated otherwise.
4 www.soccersecrets.info » A London Super Bowl Still Seems Like a Bad Idea // Oct 17, 2007 at 1:17 am
[...] Dave wrote a fantastic post today on “A London Super Bowl Still Seems Like a Bad Idea”Here’s ONLY a quick extractIf it doesn’t make sense to you that the NFL would play an entire season, and suck billions of dollars out of fans in this country, and then take the biggest, most important, showcase game of the year in front of a country that’s bored … [...]
5 Greazy Tony // Oct 17, 2007 at 9:31 am
It’s not like your average NFL fan can go to the Super Bowl when it’s in New Orleans or Miami. Tickets are ridiculously expensive, airfare is through the roof and hotels jack their rates. Most fans sit and watch the big game from their homes or a bar, how would that change if the game were held in London?
6 Dave // Oct 17, 2007 at 9:55 am
Tom & Tony: Good points. I had forgotten about the retractable roof at Wembley. Perhaps this just bothers me in ways that it shouldn’t, given the logical arguments.
7 Will // Oct 17, 2007 at 10:36 am
If I may add something counter… Why would the British take a sport seriously that would move its final to another continent? Really though, as long as England has a popular code where men run with the ball until hauled down to the ground, or, alternatively, throw it to a teammate, gridiron will not take off there, except possibly as an Arena League style niche sport.
8 a different Dave // Oct 17, 2007 at 7:43 pm
AFAIK the new Wembley does not have a retractable roof. The seating is mostly covered by a roof, the field is uncovered, the roof does not move. As far as I know.
They discussed this idea also on Fox Fone-In last night, ie, Premier League clubs playing meaningful games in the USA or Asia.
9 a different Dave // Oct 17, 2007 at 7:57 pm
February in England isn’t like February in Chicago or Detroit, though. They play soccer and rugby through the winter there.
Actually Will, England has not just one, but two successful rugby codes (union and league) so gridiron’s chances are just about zero. This doesn’t stop Sky Sports from showing NFL games, but it’s a novelty, not a sport with any potential for setting down roots over there.
10 a different Dave // Oct 17, 2007 at 8:43 pm
My mistake according to wiki the new Wembley roof does slide.
About that 1947 All Ireland football finals at the Polo Grounds:
http://nypdgaelicfootball.org/allirelandinny.htm
http://www.gaa.ie/page/1947_final_in_the_polo_grounds.html
11 joejoejoe // Oct 18, 2007 at 7:58 am
I can see it happening for the same reason a Brazil-Mexico friendly gets played in the U.S. — money.
The Super Bowl is 95% a television event so most fans won’t know the difference if it’s played in London. The fans that attend the game won’t notice much difference in travel and ticket costs. The only fans left out are the ones who go to the game site but not the game to soak up the atmosphere and cities like San Diego, Miami, and New Orleans who are regular host cities and would lose income. The NFL is risking a bit of a political backlash from cities who massively subsidize their operation through stadium construction contributions but if Big Rog is willing to take that risk I say more power to him and a London Super Bowl.
12 Alan // Oct 18, 2007 at 12:33 pm
I missed the part where NFL Europa was a raging success…
Europeans don’t care about gridiron, and while the game may sell out, does anyone think that giving London a Super Bowl is going to convert the British into NFL fans?
The only question here is how much money is Goodell willing to waste going after the International dollar that won’t approach what the league ultimatly hopes for.
13 Tom // Oct 18, 2007 at 5:09 pm
The NFL had a chance to establish itself in Britain in the ’80s, when 10 million plus stayed up all night to watch the Superbowl. Those pre-Premiership years were their window to establish American Football as at least a niche sport. There are large areas of the country where rugby attracts little interest.
But they were too slow on the uptake, and missed their chance with the disastrous World League, and now Association Football dominates everything.
14 PK // Oct 23, 2007 at 8:05 am
I would like the game to come to my place, Hong Kong. i even make a living out of it by doing commentary on TV. — BUT, The SuperBowl HAS to stay in american own backyard, what was the last time your home town play host to the SuperBowl. the Brits sent u David Beckham, i agree that he is a hell of a player, but america doesn’t have to, and shouldn’t send the Bowl over. It’s your game, keep it there.