WHAT ARE YOU DOING TODAY - WAYDT (PICS)
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Just got home from a 30+ mile ride. Rest of the day is going to look like this
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Can I come on try number 2 please?
You make it out here and I'm sure something could be arranged
Real talk though, I'm just hoping for the sun and wind to agree with us on the same day in the near future. Winter is fast approaching up here and I'd like to try before the temp really starts dropping…My buddies been working on this project for a while and his plans for next season are kind of crazy. His goal for next season is to get someone up on waterskis behind the canoe, with a number of modifications of course...
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NFL at Wembley today. My first live game of American football. Really enjoyed it even if I didn't know what was going on all the time.
Much more of a event than the English football matches.
Some random bits which really confused me, the match would stop then they would have this guy DJ'ing then bring out people throwing t-shirts into the crowd. For no real reason.
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Some random bits which really confused me, the match would stop then they would have this guy DJ'ing then bring out people throwing t-shirts into the crowd. For no real reason.
Re: NFL
Mini X-Post from WAYWT-Other Brands
That's what we call a "TV Timeout." They allow the networks to play advertisements to their televised audience.
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Did wonder if it had something to do with the TV.
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What do Americans think about it being played over here?
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I can't speak for all Americans, but I think the globalization of the game is great for the sport, and inevitable if it wants to continue to grow.
Supposedly, five games will be played in London next year, which is fantastic.
London is the perfect place to launch the sport in Europe. It has all the ingredients for success, and more.
If the NFL can perfect the logistics of scheduling and transatlantic travel by exporting several games a year to London, then we may see an NFL team permanently based there before too long.
There is extreme confidence that LA will finally have another team to call its own, but the possibility of expansion seems less likely because the addition of one team necessitates another for balance.
In an ideal scenario, LA and London would receive new teams, so they wouldn't have to prey on established fanbases.
Regardless, I am really happy to see the sport received so positively at Wembley. I'm also glad to read you had a good time at the game, spitfiredealer.
Imagine how much more fun you would have if you had a permanent team in London that could battle against an American foe each week.
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Am I the only one who sees the logic failure in keeping it the NFL if they are looking toward international expansion? All for the idea, but you shoot yourself in the foot on branding and name recognition, or you fail to recognize the international nature and thus deter further expansion.
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I think the end game of having teams several time zones away (IN Europe) is ridiculous.
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Europe has so many sports as it is. The NFL should keep it to exibition games IMO.
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I think the end game of having teams several time zones away (IN Europe) is ridiculous.
Gotta agree, i think doing what they are doing is a good thing though and certainly a audience for it here. The national football (soccer) team can't even fill Wembley these days yet NFL was sold out.
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Yeah. I enjoyed having a game that early and seeing the enthusiasm. But one team in London for example means teams have to make intercontinental flights at least 8 times a season.
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New York to London is 7 hours. DC to London is 8 hours. Miami to London is 8.5 hours.
New York, DC, and Miami to Seattle is 5.5-6 hours.
This isn't a huge difference on a large, privately-chartered jet.
Next season, there will be 5 games played in London, which means 10 teams will make that trip. If there were a permanent team in London, 9 teams would make the trip (although the London team would make it 8 times).
I truly believe that there will be a London team in the next 5 years. The NFL is the healthiest (from a financial perspective) organization in American professional sports. I think the owners see international expansion as the only way for their profits to continue to steadily grow.
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It IS a huge difference though, because it effectively doubles the worst-case travel scenario. Seattle to Miami is 6 hours. San Diego to London is about 11 hours. Seattle to London is 10 hours. Those are significant differences and would place the road team at a huge disadvantage not just due to air time, but due to offset and how early they'd have to play, how it would mess up practice, etc. And it would be far worse going east than going west, but bad either way.
In exhibition games, both teams suffer these disadvantages. Not so if there's a London team.
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I agree the travel would be very tough for west coast teams, and I don't discount the effect travel has on a team, in general. A lot is made of how much the travel effects teams when they visit Seattle.
There are more than enough teams on the east coast to schedule a full slate of away games in London, however. I admit London would have an advantage at home, but they would also have that same disadvantage when they play on the road.
They would just be another team to add to the "split personality" home/away list (who dats, hawks).
To me, the evidence is impossible to ignore. You don't start with one game in London, and eventually expand to five, unless you are trying to test the feasibility of a permanent home base there. The NFL is not a tradition-based sport. It moves quickly, and changes year-over-year. They aren't always successful, but their flexibility is a large component of their business model.
Imagine the additional revenue of expanding your TV contract to a new country? I'm willing to bet those $$$ are impossible to ignore for the 32 current owners.
Also, remember that the Buffalo Bills just sold for $1.4 billion, in a small market. I can't even imagine what an expansion team in London would sell for. A new team there would create a Ballmer/Clippers effect, that would instantly increase the value of every team in the league.
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