[bozlady]

NFL to shut down European league
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/nfl_ex ... =nfl,37603

I haven't seen any news on this except on Yahoo Sports. Sly, what have you heard?

[SuperJon]

Heard about it the other day.


I say bring it over here and put it in the summer time in towns that can't support a full-time NFL team.

[bozlady]

Yea but it seemed like it was starting to have a growth spurt there in Europe. Even Biff said so when I last spoke with him. The crowds weren't as big as they are in the states but it was starting to grow!

[Sly Fox]

We've heard for a bout a year or two that the day was coming when the league would be closed down. Despite the tons of money being made by the league, they just don't want anything pulling anything out of their wallets even if it is in the best interests of the NFL.

I can tell you that the league is VERY interested in putting a franchise or two in Europe in the not too distant future. Outside of L.A., the league doesn't see any more markets in the U.S. that are expansion targets. They now view Canada, Mexico & Germany as their most likely destinations (Tokyo and London are other longterm possibilities). The NFL is poised to go global but they don't want to do it while damaging curent owners' cashflow.

[SuperJon]

Going global would be the stupidest thing the league can do.

[ATrain]

I'm pretty sure if the league just looked harder they could find more markest here in the US that would support them.

[Sly Fox]

That wouldn't increase television revenues. But going overseas they can sell packages for big bucks to foreign networks. When you factor in all the merchandising and other ancillary reveneues it can be extremely profitable for every owner to head overseas. We're in a global business society and this is just further evidence of it.

[SuperJon]

Business yea, but imagine the jet lag having to go from the west coast to England (9 hr difference) and try to play a game.

[Libertine]

Jeez, Steve Carson can't catch a break. The last pro league he coached in was the XFL.

[Rocketfan]

Business yea, but imagine the jet lag having to go from the west coast to England (9 hr difference) and try to play a game.

You get 6 days to recover if your flying out on a Monday after a game....for all the millions they are making i think they can suck it up.

[SuperJon]

But who would want to watch a game between a team in Europe and a jet lagged team?

[Sly Fox]

They travel on Tuesdays for a Sunday or Monday game and work out at a visiting team practice facility. Any Euro team would be put in an Eastern Conferene division.

all that said, I expect an NBA Euro division first.

[ATrain]

That wouldn't increase television revenues. But going overseas they can sell packages for big bucks to foreign networks. When you factor in all the merchandising and other ancillary reveneues it can be extremely profitable for every owner to head overseas. We're in a global business society and this is just further evidence of it.

The question is though...would the Europeans buy our brand of football and would any Americans care about any Euro teams?

[Sly Fox]

Surprisingly the German really seem to have taken to it even in the watered down Europa version. Most Euros look at the US as a cultural mecca and if we love the NFL then it elevates its significance. And with the NFLE experience of the past 17 years, the familiarity with the product is significant.

[LUconn]

I'm sure most here have read this but it hasn't been brought up here yet (unless it's in that article up top which I havent read)

They were thinking about adding an additional game to the season and it would be overseas for each team. I think it's a good idea, as long as the team's bye week is the next week. It'd be tough to schedule it like that but it's an easy way to defeat the jetlag foe.

[Libertine]

Business yea, but imagine the jet lag having to go from the west coast to England (9 hr difference) and try to play a game.

You get 6 days to recover if your flying out on a Monday after a game....for all the millions they are making i think they can suck it up.

It's not a matter of sucking it up; it's the realities of human biology . Any European team would have a better geographic home-field advantage over US teams than a smoggy day in Denver.

[Libertine]

Apparently, NFLE has been putting all the fans in the entire stadium on the opposite side of the field from the TV cameras. The crowds aren't nearly as big as they appear.

[bozlady]

http://www.nfl.com/international/story/10240905

[SuperJon]

Apparently, NFLE has been putting all the fans in the entire stadium on the opposite side of the field from the TV cameras. The crowds aren't nearly as big as they appear.

Sounds like Liberty and the Big South tournament.

[shukcb04]

the norfolk/va beach area could easily support a major professional team, it's the biggest metropolotan area in the US without a major pro sports team.

[Sly Fox]

the norfolk/va beach area could easily support a major professional team, it's the biggest metropolotan area in the US without a major pro sports team.

Uh, not even close.