Sunday, October 25, 2009

Football in Europe?

Sure, there's the European Football in Europe but American Football? I really don't like that they're trying to have teams travel across the pond and play. There is no way that these teams are performing to their maximum. I mean is there any way that Tom Brady will do half as well as last week? (That's an obviously loaded question) But kidding aside this is ludicrous. I support games played in Mexico and Canada, technically those places are in the Americas, but not London. Just because certain NFL markets can't sellout is no reason to force our players overseas and risk their path to the Super Bowl.

The first regular season game in London was under rain and the only game I've seen with WORSE playing conditions is the Dolphins-Steelers game at Heinz Field in 2007 that was simply a catastrophe of field-prep from the groundskeepers and facility management. (Part of the reason for the sloppiness was five high-school and college games played there the days preceding.) **Funny enough that Dolphins got screwed on both occasions neither of which in Dolphins Stadium which is known for its share of rain.**

Field conditions aside the travel has got to be tolling. When playing in Canada and Mexico you change 4 times zones at best. But when traveling from the East, teams are changing 5 times zones. If this concept catches on and they try and send West Coast teams like the Raiders, it would be 8. We'd be better off traveling the 5 or 6 for the New York Giants to play in Hawaii or oddly Anchorage. I understand Commissioner Goodell's desire to spread the game internationally and I'm all for preseason games being played anywhere on the planet, THEY DON'T MATTER. Don't be screwing with different teams chances to win the crown. Thankfully I never see the Cowboys giving up a home game to play overseas but that doesn't mean that Jerry Jones won't bite on the fat check that the NFL will wave in front of his face to play an away game on foreign soil.




So in minutes they'll kick of the NFL's fourth regular-season game on non-US ground and the third in London's Wembley Stadium. The Old Wembley Stadium was the home of the failed NFL Europe team London Monarchs. I mean FAILED, it wasn't even one of the six teams in operation at the time of the league's folding. So why would the NFL feel the need to go back and play their games in London. If played anywhere in Europe they should play in Germany where the game was most popular. Germany had five of the six teams. This is likened to the NHL choosing to no play their games in the more populous places in Western Europe, but instead playing in Sweden and Finland where the game is most popular. Regardless of which county they choose to play in please keep the game in North America where it belongs.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Expect Odd Things Archive