Taking America's Game to the World

ESPN is reporting that the NFL is considering holding more regular season games outside the United States, stating that TV and the old American Bowl series worked well to introduce fans to America's game, but fans abroad are now ready for "the real thing." The league so far seems to have worked out one potential problem by arranging that teams returning from overseas play will have a bye week the following week. There's still a couple issues left to be resolved.

Will every team play a game abroad each season?
-If yes, will teams still play an equal number of home/away games or increase to a 17-game schedule? I can't imagine the Packers would be too pleased to play 8 road games, 7 games at Lambeau, and 1 at Wembley Stadium.

-If no, how does that shake out in terms of playoff races that are often determined on tiebreakers? If I missed the playoffs because a team I was tied with had a friendlier schedule that didn't include a trip halfway around the world to China or Germany, I'd be pretty pissed off.

Is the NFL willing to play games midweek?
- The host stadiums, especially in Europe, are likely to be soccer stadiums. Matchday is traditionally Saturday or Sunday, with many leagues (including the Champions League) holding games midweek on a Wednesday or Tuesday. Would the NFL be willing to have "Monday Night Football" air at 2 in the afternoon?

Will the NFL have control of dates?
- Unlikely. Many fields in Europe are pristine manicured grass carpets. I can't imagine many clubs would invite the NFL in for one game that could very well rip up the turf and paint "CHARGERS" and "REDSKINS" in giant letters in the endzones. Then again, for the right price, I guess anything is possible.

Is there really that big of a market?
Last season, NFL Europe drew an average attendance of 18,000. That's more or less what MLS average attendance is. I suppose NFLE is minor league, and the real deal could bring out the expats. Just like when MLS invites high-profile foreign clubs in mid-summer.

If the NFL wants to do this right, here's what I think needs to be laid down.
1.) NO "top flight" stadiums whatsoever, especially in Europe. If the NFL really wants to do this without taking a huge financial loss (renting out a giant stadium, and selling too few tickets to fill it), I'd recommend taking it to second-flight stadiums or the bottom of the top-flights. That means no games at Wembley or Old Trafford or the San Siro in Milan. The mid-sized clubs are more desperate for revenue, and would likely take whatever the NFL has to offer. Not to mention that 15,000 people in a 25,000 seat stadium looks a hell of a lot better and creates more atmosphere than 15,000 people at the Olympiastadion in Berlin (Capacity 76,000). Yes, NFL Europe plays in premier venues, but their season is in the summer, during the football (round ball) offseason, and has been bleeding money for years.

If the NFL wants a more famous/larger stadium for TV that's a tad bigger capacity and maybe in a more glamorous locale, I'd suggest grounds that don't have regular tenants, like Twickenham Stadium in London, or Croke Park in Dublin, both famous rugby stadiums. There you'd have an easier time setting up dates, and tearing up the field without anyone getting too pissed.

2.) I like the teams coming back from abroad get their bye week rule.

3.) There has to be a rule about teams being from the same time zone, especially if say, the team flies out on Thursday and plays on Sunday (keeping in mind that football (pointy ball) practice facilities abroad would be...limited, to be generous).

If the 49ers play the Patriots at the Tokyo Dome in Japan or at Hampden Park in Glasgow, I don't think you need me to figure out which team is going to be 3 hours more jet-lagged.

4.) Make the tickets cheap, even dirt cheap, like 15 Euros (about $20-25). You're asking a lot of people to try something new that they've never seen before. A side effect of this is you will have more butts in seats, which leads to more concessions and souvenier revenue.

5.) Play SOME games in North America that are easy to get to for American fans. Have the Raiders play in Vancouver. Have the Jets play in Toronto. Have the Cowboys play at the Azteca in Mexico City.

6.) A system has to be established in terms of when teams go abroad, whether that's every team goes once a year, or every other year, or whatever, so fans know how many home dates are going to be in their season ticket package.

7.) It wouldn't hurt if NFL teams were to partner with Orbitz or travel agencies or something like that to make travel to these new exotic locales feasible for the hometown fans.

8.) NO DIVISIONAL GAMES PLAYED ABROAD. PERIOD.

9.) The NFL sets the sites in advance, and the 32 teams have no control over the sites or dates. For instance, the NFL comes out at the end of every season and says, "Next season we'll hold 8 regular season games abroad, in Sydney, Mexico City, London, Madrid, Dublin, Glasgow, Tokyo, and Paris. Teams, dates, and times TBA." That shouldn't be too hard.

I wouldn't want to see teams scheduling games based on what might suit their advantage, like say, the Dolphins or Bucs scheduling a November game for themselves in Sydney or at the Bombonera in Buenos Aires, getting one more warm-weather game in (where it would be late spring). Likewise, I wouldn't want to see the Bears or Patriots scheduling a September game against the Chargers in Moscow. This goes down to even things like teams picking stadiums not known for their care of the turf to gain an advantage (Stamford Bridge in London comes to mind).

10.) Gridiron lines should be laid down with minimal intrusion on the stadium's primary purpose, be that soccer or rugby. This rule isn't borne out of my love for soccer, just good business sense. It's unlikely that stadiums would invite the NFL back if they had to play with "BRONCOS" in giant letters or green paint in the exact shape of the Carolina Panthers logo across their field for the next month. That would end the worldwide experiment really fast.


If the NFL can abide by as many of these 10 concerns/solutions as possible, they should be in good shape, and I can't see how this could be a bad idea.