NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
Dear NFL, it’s time to stop thinking outside-the-box and stick to what you know. No more International Games, keep the NFL where it belongs. No offense to Brazil, Mexico, London, or wherever the NFL has tried to plant a flag. What it boils down to is that you’re robbing fans and even players of the game we love.
We get it, it’s a business decision. You’re trying to build fan bases around the world but as you can already see, the fans are tuned in no matter what. But all this exposure is coming at a cost.
Fields are terrible. You’re playing in stadiums built for another sport, not the one you’re trying to showcase. Football is big in other countries but not American Football. If it was, there would be leagues already there. Roger Göodell, you’re hurting the fanbases who have supported their teams since they could walk and talk. Enough is enough. This is what Hurts had to say regarding the field in Brazil:
I mean, y’all saw out there that it was kind of rough to get traction,” Hurts said as transcribed by ESPN’s Tim McManus. “Definitely challenging on that field. It’s not the type of field we’re used to playing on. We’ve had that type of field before. They had to play on it, as well. I’m just happy that we found a way to figure it out as a team, overcome it.
Watching the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers, GMs were left holding their breath after every snap of the ball praying no one got hurt. Imagine what would have happened if Jalen Hurts or Jordan Love went down with a leg injury due to the field. How would you explain that? Oh wait, that did happen.
The game is being sold no matter where the players play but at some point, you have to realize you’re robbing fanbases of a home game to cheer their team on. But what you’re offering are ratings for Peacock, Amazon, or whatever streaming service has that game that week. It’s all about the bottom line as always. Forget the fans, they can just turn on a TV and support their teams from 2000 miles away, right?
London games are on at 9 am (EST). It sounds good to get some football done early Sunday morning but these games have been trash. It’s the players we root for but it just feels lackluster at best.
Who comes up with the schedules? While the first game did have some intrigue with solid teams, what’s coming later this season is laughable at best. The Jacksonville Jaguars are playing back-to-back games in London. One will be against the Chicago Bears and the other will be against the New England Patriots. Neither squad is a team where fans outside of their fanbase are running to book flights or pay another month of a streaming service to watch.
Outside of the Jags and Pats, the NFL will send the New York Jets and the Minnesota Vikings to London to do battle. To close out the International Schedule will be the, wait for it, the New York Giants and the Carolina Panthers in Munich. Who the hell wants to watch two teams possibly fighting for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and two teams who could be fighting for their first win of the season?
Playing games on an International level is one thing but then not putting your best assets forward, well that’s just stupid. There are too many risks here and the NFL is only thinking about the bottom line. Keep the games at home where they belong.
