London mayor meets with NFL officials to discuss a team in Olympic Stadium

[6.19.2016]

I guess I should have put a chuckling smiley next to Shittsburgh... It was a joke, Jesus. I don't even have a rabid hate for the Steelers like most Browns fans(they have a well run organization). I just think its funny to take shots at Pittsburgh anytime I can work them in(never thought I'd have to defend any of them...On a Cavs site no less). I wouldn't want any current team to move overseas.

It has always looked like Steelers fans who care about the NBA (not nearly all of them care at all) root for the Cavs.

Besides them being moderately close, Pittsburgh has a lot more in common with us than they do with, say, Philly.

I think Buffalo will at least increase their Toronto presence over the next decade and possibly eventually move there altogether. Toronto's economic trajectory is much more favorable than Buffalo's, and the upstate NY/Erie/etc. fans who have enough money will still cross the border on Sundays.

 

[Sly]

I think is a bold, bad idea. The NFL exists as the dominant American sport. It will never be more important than soccer in England, or Germany, and it wont top Hockey in Canada. Baseball and basketball have attempted to crossover into Canada many times. Most players wont want to go there, and after the initial excitement, the fans wont either. It's like if the state fair were operational once a week for a few months a year. You would never have capacity crowds, people would just show up on convenient day. The thought of pushing a single team onto an entire small but heavily populated country seems to have some merit, but I really don't think they've been exposed to the sport for nearly long enough. I talk to people around the world all the time, and they think it's basically rugby for pussies since they wear all the padding. Football is full of obscure rules that even lifelong fans don't always comprehend when they see it. If you take you new girlfriend, that cares nothing for sports, to a game. You are going to get the same response as what the people around the world will give you. They'll like the excitement, the atmosphere, but they wont have a clue what's going on.

I really think they should continue with the baby steps and add more games, if they're going to push a team there. If they pushed to an 18 game schedule and added a second bye week, they could put several games a year there over the course of 5 years and see if the fans could handle selling out every game. I think football is fine the way it is, but if they're just going to give them a team regardless of what we think, then I at least want them to be smart about it.

 

[Ohdang]

Did you read ANYTHING of what I just posted? I mean, I know it's Wiki, but everything is sourced, etc. It wasn't successful because they were losing $30,000,000 a year. It wasn't successful because it wasn't REAL NFL football with REAL NFL football players.

REAL NFL football is successful over there. Fake NFL football is not.

You say they failed because they lost money, and you're reasoning behind it is because they had scrub players. I happen to think you're wrong and will give you examples why.

I think Europe has proven they are perfectly fine with second rate athletes with the way they embraced basketball and the scrubs who play it there. They like the game, so they watch the game, scrubs or not. They don't really feel that way about American football, doesn't matter who is playing there they just don't like the game that much. I don't know why they like soccer and basketball the most and care little for football and baseball, but they do and there must be some reason for it. Maybe like someone else said they just think its rugby for sissies. And well, baseball is just boring to watch so I can't blame them for that.

They show up for one game per year because its an event, a spectacle, its like the super bowl with all the stuff going on surrounding it. Most of the people in the stands don't even understand the game. Its like me going to Wrestlemania when they have it in Cleveland; not really a fan of the WWE but there's a lot of cool shit to do and people to see and it only happens once in awhile. I never go to their normal shows when they're in town because I just don't care that much.

Also, look how big college football is here. Another example of people watching inferior athletes just because they like the game, just like they watch basketball in Europe and baseball in Japan.

I don't think talent had much to do with it at all. They just didn't like it that much. You know who does seem to like it though? Germany. They had the majority of the teams in the World League/NFL Europe when it existed. Country doesn't seem nearly big enough to have its own league though. I think if anyone deserves a team in Europe based on fan support, its them.

Lastly, I was watching World League games when you were still in daddy's nutsack, so don't try to talk to me like you know more about it than I do because you read a wiki page. Get the fuck outta here!

 

[Shakalu M.D.]

Lastly, I was watching World League games when you were still in mommy's turkey baster, so don't try to talk to me like you know more about it than I do because you read a wiki page. Get the fuck outta here!

Fixed.

 

[southernflyer]

Why don't they try a Canada/Mexico expansion first before going to a different continent? Haven't the Mexico City and Toronto games been just as successful as London?