The next international NFL regular season game is in...

[Cringer]

London.

http://www.packersnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070116/PKR01/70116020/1989

NFL will play in London during 2007 season

The Associated Press

LONDON — London was chosen today to host the first NFL regular-season game outside North America.


The NFL received interest from several German cities, where NFL Europe is popular, but settled on London for the first game.


The venue and teams for next season’s game will be announced later. A likely venue is the new Wembley Stadium, which is due to open this spring after years of delays.


NFL owners voted in October to play up to two games outside the United States every season for the next five years. The international series will kick off with the game later this year in London.


Details are expected to be announced before the Feb. 4 Super Bowl in Miami.


The NFL staged its first regular-season game outside the United States in 2005 when 103,467 fans watched the Arizona Cardinals play the San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City.




So long as it's not a Packer game.

[rkmsuf]

this is crap

[stevew]

It will suck that this game will invariably include the Bills. Drop your attendance 6% and only fill 91% of your stadium and it's bye bye one home game.

[MIJB#19]

It's kind of weird to see teams play an official 'home' game that far away, especially in a league-style where every game can make the difference between the playoffs and missing it.

And one has to really wonder why London, with the NFL Europe having turned into the NFL Germany+Amsterdam these days.

It is cool that the NFL thinks of the fans of the game abroad (I guess reality is getting more fans abroad, but let's forgive them), but why not use a pre-season game for this purpose?

[molson]

The Patriots were smart to commit to next year's preseason "China Bowl" - they should be off the hook for these trips for the near future.

[Desnudo]

Raiders vs. Lions, it's fannnntastic!

[MartinD]

From what I've seen up to now, the team most likely to be giving up a home game to go play in London is Miami.

(Sorry, can't quote a source on this, but I have seen this on some fairly reputable sites.)

Martin

[KevinNU7]

I'd like the Pats to play one of those teams the following week please

[Young Drachma]

I just can't figure out why they picked London. I mean, other than the novelty factor. I think I was watching PTI and they were talking about this and it just doesn't make sense to me why the NFL is trying to reach to places where the sport just doesn't penetrate the market in any real way.

Or at least, you'd think they'd be a lot better about picking places. Say Japan or Australia and obviously Germany..all places where the sport at least has a following of some sort.

But whatever. I'm sure it'll be a sellout and then they'll just rave about how great their sport is and how it's global. Whatever.

[Young Drachma]

Here's an article about how London wooed them over there. Interesting.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601079&sid=abpIK5gY4JAg&refer=home

Kirkwood said gridiron could become one of the top five sports in the U.K. because it's played mostly on a Sunday evening, when there's no local soccer on television.

``The sports don't have to compete, they can be complementary,'' he said. ``It's possible to be a Dallas Cowboys and Manchester United fan.''

Livingstone made a pitch to the league in New York in 2005, and NFL officials have been scouting London stadiums. If it's staged at Wembley, which is due for completion this year after running late and over-budget, the game may draw as many as 90,000 fans and could bring an extra 10,000 international tourists to London, the organizers said.

[Young Drachma]

Though, you have to think that after this...baseball might for sure head to England in 2008 (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2155868), with it being too late now to schedule for this year I'd figure.

But at least that almost makes some sense.

[Lathum]

Whatever teams have to go should get an extra bye week or something

[Ksyrup]

They should send Detroit to play the Sunday before the Thanksgiving game.

[rkmsuf]

They should send Detroit to play the Sunday before the Thanksgiving game.

Maybe San Diego will volunteer since they are so classy.

[Ksyrup]

Actually, they should send Baltimore since Billick is such a nice guy he usually gives his players a couple of days off anyway. if they win, maybe he'll give them the whole week off.

[Emiliano]

Nice!

[Rizon]

So the Dolphins get only 7 home games this year, but the other teams in the league get 8? Yeah, that's fair.

[Logan]

So the Dolphins get only 7 home games this year, but the other teams in the league get 8? Yeah, that's fair.

They're volunteering for this.

[General Mike]

They're <s>volunteering</s> getting paid for this.

Fixed.

[Rizon]

They're volunteering for this.

Wayne FTW!!!!!111

PS: Why won't he just GO AWAY.

[Ksyrup]

Perhaps Mike Shula has never been to London and Daddy is trying to arrange for a family vacation.

"Look Mike and David, Big Ben! Parliament!"

[AlexB]

From a true sporting standpoint, I can't see the sense in playing a competitive game outside the home teams' cities.

From a guy who lives a hour's drive from Wembley Stadium - WOOT! I can watch an NFL team, and my Dolphins to boot, for less than the $1000-1500 I've paid twice in the past (when all's said and done, travel, hotel's, extended hols, etc)

I don;t think it's good for the US markets, but will broaden the appeal of the game elsewhere, or least generate more interest. It will sell out, I'm sure, but it is another very obvious example of sport no longer being really about sport, only about the spondoolies.

[gottimd]

So the Dolphins get only 7 home games this year, but the other teams in the league get 8? Yeah, that's fair.

You know its more fair than that, playing what is classified as a home game for your team versus the Giants....in the Meadowlands.

[MIJB#19]

``The sports don't have to compete, they can be complementary,'' he said. ``It's possible to be a Dallas Cowboys and Manchester United fan.''From one bandwagon onto the other!

[ISiddiqui]

LOL

All they had to do was throw the Yankees in there and it'd be bandwagon overload!

[stevew]

I would think this would have to be a thursday night game, possibly to open the season. Or a game setup in a way so that the teams could have extra days for travel, and possibly a bye the next week. Maybe a monday night game?

[stevew]

Dola, does this basically mean that Dolphins ticket holders will get hosed next year....maybe no increase in season ticket prices, but you'll only get 7 games instead of 8. I'm sure they'll manage to throw in some preseason tickets at full price for ya as well.

[KevinNU7]

Dola, does this basically mean that Dolphins ticket holders will get hosed next year....maybe no increase in season ticket prices, but you'll only get 7 games instead of 8. I'm sure they'll manage to throw in some preseason tickets at full price for ya as well.
Most season ticket packages make you buy 10 games (8 reg, 2 pre) and they are all the same price. I'd imagine you'll see people required to buy 9 game packages and they'll probably bump up the prices by 5% or so accross the board, this would increase the cost per game but would cost the buyer less than a normal season which is probably a blessing for Miami fans :)

[KevinNU7]

I would think this would have to be a thursday night game, possibly to open the season. Or a game setup in a way so that the teams could have extra days for travel, and possibly a bye the next week. Maybe a monday night game?
If they have to do it I think that opening the season there is the best way to go. Teams can fly out whenever they want and practice in England for a few days. They play the game, fly back and sleep away Fri/Sat/Sun before starting their normal routine.

[Lathum]

and the winners are......

the Dolphins and Giants.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2751440

[Emiliano]

Euros:

http://www.nfllondon2007.com/

Reserve your tickets if you haven't!!! We could have a FOFC meeting. :D

[Ragone]

giants should have to lose a home game for this.. considering they had that extra "road" game at ny vs the saints 2 years ago

[Lathum]

giants should have to lose a home game for this.. considering they had that extra "road" game at ny vs the saints 2 years ago

As a giants fan I agree with this, I was pretty sure the Giants would be in this game either way because of that.

[cthomer5000]

I would think this would have to be a thursday night game, possibly to open the season. Or a game setup in a way so that the teams could have extra days for travel, and possibly a bye the next week. Maybe a monday night game?

Beacuse of the time difference, I think it'd be bad if they did it on a day other than Sunday.

They can play Sunday night there. 9PM local time would be 3PM EST, 12noon PST.

If they play a monday night game, the game will be on in the middle of the day in the US.

[cthomer5000]

giants should have to lose a home game for this.. considering they had that extra "road" game at ny vs the saints 2 years ago

get over it

[Ryan S]

Beacuse of the time difference, I think it'd be bad if they did it on a day other than Sunday.

They can play Sunday night there. 9PM local time would be 3PM EST, 12noon PST.

It's not going to be a 9pm kickoff, nothing kicks off that late in the UK. It is much more likely to be a 6pm start (assuming it is going to kick off at the same time as the US games)

[cthomer5000]

It's not going to be a 9pm kickoff, nothing kicks off that late in the UK. It is much more likely to be a 6pm start (assuming it is going to kick off at the same time as the US games)

Some Monday EPL games have kicked off pretty late this year, haven't they? like 8.30 local time?

I can imagine the NFL will have a lot of say as to when they play the game, even if it means doing something that is unusual for the sporting culture there.

[Ryan S]

Some Monday EPL games have kicked off pretty late this year, haven't they? like 8.30 local time?

Most Premier League evening games and European games kick off at around 7.30-7.45, with televised Premier League games kicking off at 8pm. I have never known a game to start later in the UK.

[dj_morton]

It's about damn time they brought the real NFL to the UK! It sucks being stationed here with the USAF and missing all the games! They need to bring the Panthers not the damn Dolphins/Giants!