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Sitting near Boston, the flight time from LAX to Boston is similar to the flight time from Boston to Heathrow. The Patriots playing in London isn’t much more travel burden than a road game in Seattle, San Francisco, or LA. If you schedule a London game to line up with the bye week, it’s much less of a burden for the west coast teams.
I think the difference is that NFL football is inherently a television event. With UK 3pm Saturday football matches, it’s not televised.
But one of them has to be the home team doesn't it? What do fans of the home team think about having games played the other side of the world? They must be livid?
But one of them has to be the home team doesn't it? What do fans of the home team think about having games played the other side of the world? They must be livid?
It’s just one game of the 17 and it’s not every year. You get 8 home games. Until recently, it was a 16 game schedule so fans are used to 8 home games. It’s not a symmetrical schedule like the EPL. You play the other three teams in your division home & away like the EPL. You don’t play the other teams every year. The extra 17th game is against a team in the other conference and it wouldn’t normally be a rival.
I imagine that eventually, every team will play that 17th game internationally so there will be 16 international games.
Don’t forget that US pro sports are designed for television. This is all about boosting television revenue outside the US.
It’s just one game of the 17 and it’s not every year. You get 8 home games. Until recently, it was a 16 game schedule so fans are used to 8 home games. It’s not a symmetrical schedule like the EPL. You play the other three teams in your division home & away like the EPL. You don’t play the other teams every year. The extra 17th game is against a team in the other conference and it wouldn’t normally be a rival.
I imagine that eventually, every team will play that 17th game internationally so there will be 16 international games.
Don’t forget that US pro sports are designed for television. This is all about boosting television revenue outside the US.
Doesn't the fact that there are only 8 'home' games make it even worse? It would cause a huge backlash here if they took a home game away from season ticket holders and at the very least there are only 18 home games in a season even 18 would be rare because you'd have to not be in European competition and knocked out of the cup competitions in an 'away' game for it to happen.
I am genuinely amazed that the fans over there don't seem bothered.
A very good example perhaps of the differences in sports culture either side of the big pond!
Quick question, how does playing a game outside the USA boost TV revenue?
Quick question, how does playing a game outside the USA boost TV revenue?
The more eyeballs you have watching the game in a country, the more you can charge for it. NFL games in London, Frankfurt, Munich, and Mexico City are a marketing activity to add more eyeballs. At the point where there are 16 international games per year, I imagine some will be in Asia assuming US-China relations improve.
This is all about money, not fans of a particular team. That's how US pro sports work. It's television-centric. Average attendance for an NFL game is around 69,000. Average TV viewership is around 16.7 million.
Yes American Football isn't world-wide YET but Basketball and Baseball definitely are!
Baseball has following in Japan and South Korea and some of the Caribbean (including Venezuela). I wouldn't say it, in any way, matches the global appeal of "soccer".
The more eyeballs you have watching the game in a country, the more you can charge for it. NFL games in London, Frankfurt, Munich, and Mexico City are a marketing activity to add more eyeballs. At the point where there are 16 international games per year, I imagine some will be in Asia assuming US-China relations improve.
This is all about money, not fans of a particular team. That's how US pro sports work. It's television-centric. Average attendance for an NFL game is around 69,000. Average TV viewership is around 16.7 million.
I think how Americans watch, and support, their sports is so foreign to how other countries watch, and support, their sports that their is a HUGE disconnect.
Hence, the reason why Soccer will never be accepted here....very little of that sport interests, or excites, the average American,.....even those of us that absolutely love sports.
Its just Old World vs New World in every single category (both on and off the field/court/pitch).....it just doesn't translate to those who don't try to understand.
All I can say is the World is rapidly learning how to play the New World Sports coming out of North America,with basketball leading the bunch.
Baseball has following in Japan and South Korea and some of the Caribbean (including Venezuela). I wouldn't say it, in any way, matches the global appeal of "soccer".
You can make a much better case for basketball.
Baseball just has their World Cup this year...many continents were represented.
I think how Americans watch, and support, their sports is so foreign to how other countries watch, and support, their sports that their is a HUGE disconnect.
Hence, the reason why Soccer will never be accepted here....very little of that sport interests, or excites, the average American,.....even those of us that absolutely love sports.
Its just Old World vs New World in every single category (both on and off the field/court/pitch).....it just doesn't translate to those who don't try to understand.
All I can say is the World is rapidly learning how to play the New World Sports coming out of North America,with basketball leading the bunch.
The US is gigantic. An NFL team represents an enormous population and enormous geographical area. It’s a television event. It’s very different from English football where every town and city has their football club. I’m next to a city of 100,000. In the UK, there would be a professional football team that has been there for 150 years and people go out at 3:00 on Saturday to support their local club. There’s another city of 100,000 10 miles away. It would also have a football club and there would be a 150 year rivalry. Boston is 60 miles. They would have a big club that probably plays in the top league. My club probably bounces around with promotion and relegation.
We have high school football and basketball but very few people in the town attend games unless they’re students or parents. There are parts of the country where high school football is much bigger but this is a pro sports place. The same for college football and basketball. It has more local community interest but there are only two division 1 football schools in New England. It’s a very different culture from the UK.
The US is gigantic. An NFL team represents an enormous population and enormous geographical area. It’s a television event. It’s very different from English football where every town and city has their football club. I’m next to a city of 100,000. In the UK, there would be a professional football team that has been there for 150 years and people go out at 3:00 on Saturday to support their local club. There’s another city of 100,000 10 miles away. It would also have a football club and there would be a 150 year rivalry. Boston is 60 miles. They would have a big club that probably plays in the top league. My club probably bounces around with promotion and relegation.
We have high school football and basketball but very few people in the town attend games unless they’re students or parents. There are parts of the country where high school football is much bigger but this is a pro sports place. The same for college football and basketball. It has more local community interest but there are only two division 1 football schools in New England. It’s a very different culture from the UK.
American College Football is probably closer to the Association Football in the smaller UK towns/Cities.
Many of the American College Football teams date back 100+ years also in the smaller towns/cities and they each have their own distinct culture.
The NFL is just a gigantic monster.
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