National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

The New Orleans Saints will “host” the San Diego Chargers today at London’s Wembley Stadium in the second-ever NFL regular-season game to be played outside of North America. The N.Y. Giants launched the series last season with a 13-10 win over the Miami Dolphins. NFL owners have committed to play up to two games outside the United States each season for the next four years.

Forgive my lack of enthusiasm for this event, but I’m still struggling with the concept of the Saints losing a home game at the Louisiana Superdome. I guess I feel like there’s got to be a way to attract new fans without alienating the current ones. And in all honesty, it’s a pain-in-the-butt for the players and coaches, even if some of them are saying the right things to put a positive spin on the whole situation. In the preview that was distributed to me for this game, Chargers head coach Norv Turner said it would be “exciting for everyone involved.” Running back LaDainian Tomlinson added that he thought it was the London game that turned the Giants’ season around last year. And he hoped this game would do the same for the Chargers this season. Saints defensive end Will Smith was not one of those players acting excited:

“Any time you lose a home game it’s tough. It’s not your crowd. It’s not your stadium. It’s not your home game. It’s just another thing we have to overcome.”

It might be a good business decision to expand the National Football League to other parts of the world. In fact, I’m sure it is or the league wouldn’t be doing it. And part of me feels like it should be an honor to be a part of this game. But it seems like more of a bother to most players than it is a privilege. Bottom line — the only way either team feels anything good from this trip is if they leave with a win.

Source: NFLUK.com, CBS Sports

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NFL International Series: Chargers, Saints

The first 40,000 tickets that were made available for the NFL’s second overseas regular-season game on October 26 at Wembley Stadium in London, England between the San Diego Chargers and New Orleans Saints sold today in 90 minutes. The tickets were available to fans who were randomly selected from an overwhelming number of registered ticket requests. Today’s sales at Ticketmaster matched the pace at which tickets were bought for last year’s game between the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants. Because of the demand for tickets, the NFL has released an additional 5,000 tickets to go on sale immediately. There has also been an increase in the number of tickets that will be offered in the second sale of tickets to fans who registered in February when the game was first announced.

Last year’s Wembley game was such a huge success that the NFL has committed to playing at least one game in the UK for each of the next three seasons, beginning with this year’s matchup of teams who have each come within one game of reaching the Super Bowl in the past two seasons. The Saints’ Reggie Bush and the Chargers’ LaDainian Tomlinson are scheduled to make a promotional visit to London next month.

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NFL International: 40K Tickets in 90 Minutes

It was everything I thought it would be. And wouldn’t be. The National Football League had its historic moment. The game was, for the most part, uneventful. And we can all go home now.

The N.Y. Giants traveled 3,500 miles to beat the Miami Dolphins 13-10 in a rain-soaked slop-fest. As the weeks and months pass, I’m sure Commissioner Roger Goodell will be looking at the positives and negatives that surrounded this game. Most of the negatives, I am guessing, had to do with jet lag, transportation and the general inconvenience of traveling so far to play a game. And the positives? Well, the importance of an NFL regular season game was introduced to a whole new audience. But I’m not sure this qualified as anything better than what a previous overseas preseason game or NFL Europa produced.

I like the concept. I really do like NFL International. And I think sharing the National Football League with the rest of the world is great. But when and where is the right time? And how often? These are questions still unanswered. Perhaps the Pro Bowl would be a consideration for international travel. The game couldn’t be much worse than this one and at least fans would get a chance to see the NFL’s best players. I also think a domed stadium (or a retractable roof) should be a prerequisite to hosting an NFL game of any magnitude. I think the NFL will fine-tune its international interests and we’ll eventually arrive at something the whole world can somehow enjoy.

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NFL History is Made ‘Across the Pond’

Forgive me for not being more excited about an historic moment for the National Football League today. In a few hours, the Miami Dolphins will “host” the N.Y. Giants in the first-ever regular season NFL game played outside North America. There will be 86,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. The game will be seen in 215 countries and 39 broadcast partners will carry it around the globe in 21 languages. But do international football (not futbol) fans think they’re getting the best the NFL has to offer? The game looks like a stinker. The Dolphins come in at 0-7 without their number one quarterback (Trent Green, injury); number one running back (Ronnie Brown, injury); and number one wide receiver (Chris Chambers, he plays in San Diego now) and are this loss away from “mailing it in” for the 2007 season.

As I look through this weekend’s games, this has to stand out as — ok, I’ll say it — this much-heralded “event” is the worst game on this NFL weekend’s schedule. I mean, Cleveland at St. Louis is a close second, but it’s too bad the NFL can’t give the world its best available product today.

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London Calling: N.Y. Giants, Miami Dolphins

We’re just a couple days away from the historic first regular-season NFL game played outside of North America. The game between the Miami Dolphins and N.Y. Giants lacks a tremendous amount of excitement with the Dolphins coming in at 0-7. But Commissioner Roger Goodell made some interesting comments about digital media today at “Sport 2020 – The Changing Face of the Global Sports Industry” conference from the Landmark Hotel in London:

“We will connect with more fans globally through digital media. Digital media expands the potential for communicating about our game and with our fans. The Internet is the new town square, a place for fans across the globe to gather and enjoy the NFL. I participated in a session at Google’s headquarters in California earlier this month, appropriately titled ‘Sports of the 21st Century, Sports and Fans – A New Connection.’ We discussed how this is the golden age for the fan. It’s a great time to be a sports fan with more points of contact than ever. It’s a self-service, on-demand environment with fans connecting on their own terms. They can get information when and how they want it. That changes our business model dramatically. Thanks to new technology, we can bring fans closer to football and deepen their interest in the game.”

Personally, I’m getting almost all of my football information online, mostly via the 32 NFL teams’ Media Web sites. And when I’m sitting in the press box at Buffalo Bills games, I still have the NFL.com Game Center on my laptop screen to double check plays, yardages and running stats. And when I venture outside of football as a fan of the NBA or PGA Tour, I look online first. It’s just not as common as it used to be to get last night’s scores in the morning paper. In fact, you probably got last night’s scores … last night.

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NFL Commissioner Hypes Digital Media

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL

As predicted, NFL Europa is history. The NFL has determined that it will switch the focus of its international business strategy to presenting the NFL to the widest possible global audience, including broader media visibility and the staging of international regular-season games. Mark Waller, the senior VP of NFL International said:

“The time is right to re-focus the NFL’s strategy on initiatives with global impact, including worldwide media coverage of our sport and the staging of live regular-season NFL games. We will continue to build our international fan base by taking advantage of technology and customized digital media that make the NFL more accessible on a global scale than ever before and through the regular-season game experience. NFL Europa has created thousands of passionate fans who have supported that league and our sport for many years and we look forward to building on this foundation as we begin this new phase of our international development.”

In addition to the 2007 game in the United Kingdom (Dolphins vs. Giants), the NFL is preparing to stage regular-season games in future seasons in Germany, Mexico and Canada, with Germany being a strong candidate to host a regular-season NFL game in 2008.

I don’t like the idea of playing regular season games outside the U.S. because it means fans are losing an opportunity to see their favorite team play a home game. I’m a Vikings fan. I’ve always been a Vikings fan. And if I lived in Minnesota and planned to attend all the Vikings regular season home games (there are only eight), I know I would be upset if one of them was rerouted to Europe for the benefit of NFL International. I know what the NFL is trying to do — to broaden the fan base on a global level — and I’m all for it. But when they do so at the expense of the fans here in the U.S. who helped make the game what it is today, it’s upsetting. Without the support of the fans here in the U.S., the NFL ceases to exist. When you take away one of the few opportunities a fan gets to see their team play at home, even if it’s just one game/year, it’s troubling.

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NFL International to Focus on Global Impact: NFL Europa Discontinued

Members of the Miami Dolphins made a visit to Wembley Stadium in London a couple days ago to promote the NFL’s first-ever overseas regular season game. The Dolphins will face the New York Giants on Sunday, October 28, 2007. Naturally, DE Jason Taylor was the focus of attention because he’s the league’s defending defensive MVP and the leader of the team. But there’s more. I was reading an article at SI.com that reported PR powerhouse Rogers & Cohen were working with Jason to generate even more interest in this game. Sandy Friedman, the executive vice president for music and sports at R&C, while looking at a photo of a tuxedo-clad Jason and his beautiful wife, said to Jason and his agent:

“We sell Tim McGraw and Faith Hill as the First Couple of Country Music; that’s how we want to position you [as an NFL couple] over there. The trick is getting you off the sports pages and into the other parts of the paper — and that’s what this allows us to do. They’ll eat this up on Fleet Street. They love couples! We’ll make sure you’re seen with all the right people in all the right places. Because what you’re giving us, with the business interests and lifestyle and charitable efforts and entertainment ventures, is perfect for the business we’re in.”

So, you see what’s happening here? The powers-that-be are trying to generate interest in football from people who might not care about football. Which is fine. The NFL is worldwide and now that they’re playing regular season games outside of the U.S. for the first time, more efforts like this will be made to market NFL players globally. And to a diverse audience. It’s exciting for the game of professional football. But it’s kind of goofy at the same time if Jason and his wife are red-carpet posing in the tabloids. Nevertheless, I’m all for it if it brings more positive visibility to the game.

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Marketing the NFL in London: Dolphins, Giants Already Promoting October Matchup

“Today’s first sale was exclusively to fans in the United Kingdom and Europe. The speed in which such a large number of tickets were snapped up through our partners at Ticketmaster demonstrates the great excitement and appetite for the game in this country. We know that the last few tickets available in this first batch will be gone very soon. Those who missed out this time around have the opportunity to be selected to participate in the next sale. This experience proves to us that fans will have to be quick to secure the remaining seats. This is a game for hardcore fans from all over the world. It will be unique to any regular-season
game because it is an opportunity for fans of the sport on a global basis to meet up and celebrate the game. Obviously the predominant number of fans will be from the UK, but there will be large numbers from the U.S. and Europe as well.”

Sales in the United States to Dolphins and Giants fans are expected to begin within a week, with additional tickets being released to fans in the United Kingdom next month.

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40,000 Tickets in 90 Minutes

“This shows the appetite for professional football here. We also have had fans calling from across Europe, and from as far as Australia and New Zealand. I believe that the UK’s hottest sporting ticket this year will be for the NFL game at Wembley.”

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NFL in UK a Guaranteed Sellout

“I am an American living in London, England for the last 10 years or so and, while it is getting easier to follow the NFL from here, your podcast is going to help a lot. Very useful to hear your views on the free agent and trade moves as well. Keep up the good work.”

As of this post, the UK is neck and neck with Japan on our list of countries downloading the podcast, each gathering around 6% of our total listening audience. We expect those worldwide numbers to rise as the NFL continues to gain momentum outside the United States.

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London Calling For NFL