An NFL franchise in London? Yer 'avin' a larf, Guv'nor.

Back around 1986, I read an article about the growth of American Football in the United Kingdom. In the article, then San Diego Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts raved about the possibility of an NFL team based in London, citing only logistics as being a potential stumbling block. 

Back around October 2012, I read an article about the growth of American Football in the United Kingdom. In the article, current Patriots owner Robert Kraft raved about the possibility of an NFL team based in London, although with no immediate mention of potential stumbling blocks. 

Similar stories, 26 years apart. In 1986, British fans were at a frenzy; viewing figures on Channel 4 were still standing up well in the 4 years it had been on our screens, the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears had enthralled an enthusiastic (and soggy) British crowd at Wembley Stadium (and that's the proper one, with twin towers...) and the NFL was unleashing a merchandise marketing offensive that was drawing in more and more young fans. Teams were appearing all over the green fields of the British Isles, and whilst the athletic standards were not by any means professional, no one could doubt the enthusiasm that the players played with. 

26 years on, and NFL in the UK is at a similar juncture to the one it was at in 1986. After a lull in following during the mid to late 90's (a lot due to less TV coverage here), the popularity has grown again to such a point that there is talk of basing a pro team in the UK. And for me, that sets alarm bells ringing. In 1986, as an excitable young NFL fan, it was a hugely exciting prospect. But as an older, marginally wiser if no less excitable fan, I can see more reasons to not see this happen than I would like.

Without getting into deep details, my personal view is that it's essentially a bad idea for many reasons. The obvious arguments are the logistics borne from the distance between certain teams, especially those on the West Coast. Whilst the distance from the East Coast to here is relatively similar to the distance between Eastern and Western America, there is still a lot of mileage to cover in a regular season. Some excellent arguments are written here, on the NFL-Ireland site: http://nfl-ireland.com/2012/10/nfl-international-series-london-lacking/. This also perhaps explains the situation better than I can write, and perhaps gives one of the better thought out reasonings of why a London franchise may not be the best thing for global expansion of the NFL. If a new team was to be created, that would mean for league parity another team would come into existence as well - and I feel that would dilute an already tight talent pool still further. When I started watching NFL there were 28 teams. At present there is 32 teams in the league. Would 34 be too many? I think so. 

So while UK fans are split into three probably fairly even camps, the No's, the Yes's and the Couldn't Care Lesses, how about the view from America? Let's take a look at some genuine comments I pulled from various Facebook threads around the time that Kraft paid a huge lip service to the notion. The question here was simply 'Should the NFL base a team in London?' 

Oh dear. American's aren't overly keen on the idea either, it would seem. A point about the second to last comment. I have seen numerous similar statements, that we should be given the pointless and uncompetitive jolly day out that is the Pro Bowl. Evidently, to some US fans, us UK fans would be quite happy with this. We stopped going to preseason games at Wembley a long time ago because they were clearly not competitive or meaningful enough. It's unlikely the British fan would tolerate something like the Pro Bowl.

Moving on, and some more words of wisdom.

The World League/NFL Europe also often crops up as an argument, and there is a point there to a certain degree. But again,  knowledgable fans were still feeling shortchanged in the skill stakes; and nothing was as good as watching real NFL teams that we were more used to seeing in the first place. The NFL should take heed that we are an incredibly fickle sports nation, and view change and development with pessimistic eyes. NFL Europe failed for us because there was little consistency from season to season. Players, teams and venues changed often and made it hard to build a solid fanbase. There was also much less coverage on TV.

I can understand some views that there are more deserving cities in the US alone that would be guaranteed to support and uphold their own NFL team. But what I can't understand is some fans who clearly don't want the NFL to work overseas because it's 'their' sport. You know, the sport that is a mutation of Rugby and Soccer(ball)? It is nothing but an American take on these games, and perhaps this should be remembered by some of them. I also disagree with the common notion that we don't like the NFL in this country anyway. It might still be a lower tier sport over here, but the generalisation that no-one likes it is something that many Americans are wrong about. Although, I have read numerous comments from the other side of the fence, with British people dismissing the NFL as a novelty sport (and the age old cries of padded men in motorcycle helmets of course) - and maybe herein lies another obstacle. There are clearly cultural differences at work here, as much as anything else. Whilst some of us choose to embrace this culture, it does go against the grain of the British stiff upper lip. The average British sports fan doesn't have much interest in the NFL, and the cross Atlantic distrust seems to operate both ways.

So, all in all there is still a stalemate. Whilst realistically, the idea of an International team is probably the wrong route to take, the subject will stay hot for a good while yet. In my eyes, if the NFL wants to up it's profile overseas, support the grassroots game. Grow the fanbase by really getting behind the amateurs who play in this country. Go back to flooding the marketplace with merchandise - we are still not seeing goods anywhere near like the volume we enjoyed 25 years ago. Whilst we get more TV coverage, the efforts still aren't enough to make it mainstream. The time difference means that a lot of TV coverage is purely for the hardcore, and without opening other avenues the sport will never flourish at the rate needed to sustain a team here. The arguments for not having a British franchise still clearly outweigh the positives that could come of it. I can't see it happening anytime soon, and to be honest, I don't think it's in the best interests of the sport to entertain it. The International Series every year is irrelevant, people will always attend, but should not be the yardstick used by the League to gauge favour amongst us. But, quotes such as potential London team names:

The London Limeys 
The South Bank Bear Baiters 
The Sex Pistols 
The Lost Empire 
The Snaggleteeth

The Wembley Willies

The London Tallywackers

The Great Brittan Gingivitis

The London Tea Sippers

And the general impression that Americans have of us:

Isn't England full of a bunch of guys that have a tea parties everyday? They don't seem like the type of guys who like a man's sport (football).   seem to open the culture gap even wider. Oh dear. Again.

Genuine quotes - take them as you will. Whilst not directly abusive, they do hint at some of the impressions we as 'Brits' seem to give out, and for some reason it really annoys me. I'm presuming that these people have never been over here. It's frustrating to read so many replies to articles that are along this same vein. I gave up trying to correct them. Whether they are the majority or the minority I can't say. But there is opposition nonetheless, and I do sympathise. I just wish that their claims were backed up with more reasoning.

Amazing to think that really, we are in a similar position to that all those years ago. If it was no more than a notion back then, what's changed today? The world is no smaller, the game is likely no more popular. The rise in interest is only comparable to the first wave of interest - it is not, in my opinion any stronger than that. Maybe the NFL could think of better ways to further it's following overseas; at the moment expansion is not the answer.

26 seasons and counting...

Roughly twenty six years ago, (that would have made me thirteen), I stumbled across a new sport being broadcast on my little 15" Radio Rentals TV one Sunday afternoon. That sport was American Football, and although only half watching at first, my curiosity was piqued to such a point that by the end of the broadcast I knew I'd found something that interested me and enthralled me, even if I didn't have a clue what was going on.

From the highly edited highlight show that November night on Channel 4 onwards, I was totally hooked, and I still am today. 

Back then, coverage was minimal, but at least I could get a weekly fix and discover the sights and sounds of this complex yet fascinating game. 

I was drawn in by the colours, the speed and the physicality. 

The opening credits from Channel 4 in 1986

Almost immediately I began to learn all I could about NFL football, buying magazines, books and anything I could get my hands on so I could understand it better. As I learnt more, and saw more teams, I found myself completely immersed. 

Remember this kitchen appliance?

My favourite player from 1986, Joe Montana 

Aside from a couple of seasons where TV coverage was almost non existent, I have been just as enthusiastic every year since. I have ignored ribbing by friends and workmates about the length of time a game takes/players wearing excessive padding (to be fair, some of those 80's pads were HUGE (link), - and that was just the presenters) and all manner of little digs. But my love has been undiminished, and from September to February, my weekly ritual of game watching continues. Interesting to think though, how things were in 1986.

The average house price was £44,000

A gallon of petrol was £1.89 (or around 38p a litre)

A first class stamp was 18 pence

A Mars bar was 20p

A pint of milk was 25p

A... (Insert sound of needle sliding across a vinyl record here), OK, I'll stop.

'Gumball helmets' were all the rage at school!

Although these prices have been fairly consistent with inflation, to see them seems almost unthinkable. But I digress. As I sit here watching another week's NFL games, with the ability to watch them both on my television, my computer and my phone - all at the same time, I realise how far things move in such a relatively short space of time. 

From  one hour tape delayed highlight shows, to trying to tune my radio to the Armed Forces Radio in bed at 1am for a Monday night game, I've enjoyed every minute. And I love American Football as much as I did all of those 26 seasons ago...

Tomorrow, I'm going even further back in time, and the story of a rather stormy night...

The Angel Croft Hotel, Lichfield and Thursday thoughts.

A few months ago, on one of our lovely early evening family walks, we stopped and had a look at the gorgeous architecture of the long vacant Angel Croft Hotel. As we see so often in towns, a lovely building in a prime location is slowly decaying to dereliction, partly due to recession hampering refurbishment and vandalism.

The building is Grade II listed, dating back to 1750 with some excellent railing works and all round design. 

Looking at the building, it's a sorry state. Broken into countless times, and with water damage caused by stolen copper pipes, paint flaking and grounds overgrown, it's a sad sight indeed.

My wife asked if I would buy it for her (and only half jokingly it seemed), and if I could I would. If I had a lot of money in fact, there are many places I can think of that I'd buy and restore. Hopefully, the hotel will find a backer and be refurbished before it's too late.

From the back, it could look worse. Notice how many different sized windows there are! 

Peeping through the letterbox, the interior looks almost untouched, although most things have been taken now.

I'll try and get down there again this week to update on the condition of the building, a wet summer won't have helped and I fear it's probably going to look even worse.

In other, completely unrelated news, I was woken up today by my wife excitedly telling me that my favourite NFL team, the San Francisco 49ers, will be playing at Wembley Stadium next October, and that I *will* be going. That got my day off to an excellent start I can tell you. I've been following American Football for over 25 of my 39 years, and so I'm very excited as it's only the second time I will have seen my team in all that time, and the first time in a truly competitive, meaningful game. More on this in later posts.