NFL Puts On A Show In London

The San Jose Mercury News discusses the NFL's first regular season game held outside North America: "To introduce the NFL's overseas arrival, an on-field pregame show included a pop band, the white-booted and short-shorted Miami Dolphins cheerleaders, four dozen people twirling gigantic Dolphins and New York Giants jerseys, and a circling blimp. Players were announced with fireworks and bursts of flames. The NFL does not do subtle, and it was not about to start now. Renditions of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' and 'God Save the Queen' were sung. Finally, after 30 minutes of warm-up acts, months of planning and years of wondering how far the NFL could stretch its horizon, the game began with a football booted through the rain. Camera flashes lit the inside of Wembley Stadium in London like glitter. And like that, the NFL had reached a new frontier, playing a regular-season game outside of North America for the first time....It was not the high-scoring game that league executives and fans might have preferred - the Giants won 13-10 - but it was well received by the 81,176 people in attendance. They cheered every deep pass whether it was completed or not, and rose in anticipation any time a runner found open turf. Fumbles and bobbled balls were a crowd favorite. 'We've loved American football for 20 years,' said Peter Fairclough, a 60-year-old electrical manager from Rotherham. 'We have a Super Bowl party every year.'"

My response: I saw some of the London footage. Although I expected the crowed to be mostly American tourists, the crowd was mostly British as they quite well knew the British national anthem. The NFL isn't displacing soccer anytime soon in Europe - and probably never - but it can perhaps craft a better niche for itself. NFL Europa, which folded earlier this year, didn't do the trick so maybe the NFL's plan to host two regular-season games abroad each year will help further build fans, Too bad Da Bears did not put on a (good) show yesterday against the Detroit Lions. We have gone from last year's Super Bowl contenders to a sucky team. Our top priority should be to get a good quarterback.