Matthew Baldwin believes American Football is coming home to Britain
The NFL recently announced that the Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to play four, regular season, American Football games in London over the next four years.
Some readers might remember the good old days of NFL Europe and the World League of American Football. A few of you may even recall London having a franchise called The Monarchs, which won the first ever World Bowl. This latest initiative by the Jacksonville Jaguars could be the precursor to reviving the NFL franchise here in London.
The Jaguars’ owners are known to be unhappy with recent attendances in Jacksonville. There was a time last year when they had 10,000 tickets still available a few days before the game, and that was with one-third of the stadium covered by a tarpaulin! Also, they are competing for fans with the likes of the Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Florida Gators – all of them bigger draws than the Jaguars.
Could a move to Jolly Old England be on the cards? What would it take for an NFL team to take up permanent residence in England? And what are the obstacles?
Chain Reaction
If we assume that the Jacksonville Jaguars are going to come, their move across the Atlantic would likely prompt the NFL to shift various teams around the divisional system, which is split up into regions (North, South, East and West). The Jaguars are currently in the AFC South, but play on the East Coast, which doesn’t seem too bad. But when you factor in that their opponents include the Houston Texans (from Texas, geddit?), the time zones involved are already getting complicated. That’s not all. Suppose you moved the Miami Dolphins to the AFC South from the AFC East in order to make up for the Jaguars joining the AFC East (because London is, at the very least, east of everywhere in the USA), this would wreck the intense rivalry between the Dolphins and that other Eastern team, the New England Patriots. Just one move on the part of one team would set off a whole chain of unintended consequences.
Too Small to Call ‘Home’?
It’s one thing selling out a handful of American Football games at Wembley, especially if the teams involved are big brand names with worldwide recognition, e.g. the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers. Unfortunately the Jaguars are little known in the UK. They were only established as a club in 1995 – 11 years after American Football was first seen in Britain, too late to cement much of a following among the relatively small number of NFL fans in Britain. Would they survive the indignity of a home ‘crowd’ smaller than the visiting support? Or turn tail and streak back to Jacksonville?
Which Pitch?
Still more fundamental, where would they play? There are only two suitable venues: Wembley Stadium and the Olympic Stadium. Wembley has been the ceremonial ‘home’ of the NFL in Britain, but when the International Series first arrived there in 2007, it met some resistance. Even more so after England failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals, and the pitch came in for a good kicking. It was said that dear old England would have stood a better chance if Wembley’s hallowed turf had not been ruined by all the foreign games being played on it. With an American Football team playing there up to 10 times a season, as well as Rugby League and even Rugby Union around Christmas time, this would add up to a very well-used and cut-up pitch – and a whole host of unhappy England fans.
As for the Olympic Stadium, I’m not sure that it’s fit to host an NFL game. There were questions raised about the running track when talks were flying around about Tottenham/West Ham/Leyton Orient taking ownership of the ground, and whether or not it was suitable to have a running track at an English football game. I believe the same applies here. Wembley is a suitable venue because it is built the way most NFL stadiums are built (minus the seats at the front that have to be removed due to the equipment blocking the view). Whereas having a running track around an NFL pitch just isn’t suitable for viewing the game.
Before I’m Sixty-Four
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell can see that British interest in American football is growing rapidly, although he reckons it may be some time before the League comes to London town on a permanent basis. On ESPN Radio’s Mike And Mike In The Morning, the commissioner said: ‘We’ve just got done with another very successful game there and we’ve determined that we’ll have two regular season games there next season. The fans are reacting very positively to the game. The more we give them, the more they want and that’s why we’re expanding the series’. He went on to say, ‘I think we’re quite a way from having a franchise’ in London, but concluded, ‘I don’t rule it out as a possibility down the road.’
There are various stumbling blocks along the road – the three I’ve mentioned, and plenty more. But I truly believe that within my lifetime (I’m 20), the NFL – National Football League, will become the IFL – International Football League, with London as one of its various homes.