Part Two of my five-part series looks at the potential impact of a UK franchise on American fans. It's probably the easiest question of all to answer, because in effect, the people have already spoken...
Question 2: Do American fans want a British franchise?
No.
Just because.
There's something inherently jingoistic about sports fans. We hate and love things based on concepts of nationalistic, partisan emotion. A guy might hate the Cowboys because he loves the Eagles, and he will enthusiastically buy into the ethos of his team (which is invariably throwing stuff at people) in a way that suggests he connects with it in a way that defies any unit of measurement. That's how Americans feel about the NFL. It's their sport. It isn't a commodity to go to the highest bidder, it is something that belongs to their country above all else. Even if someone points out the good things about moving a team abroad, many will be against it just because.
Anyway, I don't need to harp on about how Americans feel, because the chances are if you're reading this, you're American and already have a view one way or another. There's plenty of evidence to back this up, but the level of anger and vitriol is also worth considering. As betrayals of fans go in pursuit of money, it would be somewhere near the top, alongside the Colts leaving Baltimore, or the proposed '39th game' that the Premier League considered for English soccer teams. Does the NFL want the notoriety of being that guy who alienates not just fans of the relocated team, but the majority of NFL fans across America?
As much as the NFL tries to make out that 'growing the game' is good for everyone connected with it, quite often this neglects the impact on fans and really means 'growing the game is good for owners' wallets'. It's expensive, time-consuming and logistically difficult to follow your team to London once a year, which is what some teams would be doing. At the moment, if Jacksonville were to relocate, Indianapolis, Houston and Tennessee would be the 'fall-guys'. How will they and their fans feel about the disadvantage of facing the London team every year?
Now arguably, the trip is just as bad should an East Coast team play against West Coast teams, but they're not really regular fixtures. The Giants have played the Seahawks (for example) in Seattle just three times since 2002, and their trip to San Diego in 2013 will be their first since 1998. Even San Francisco - their most regular West Coast destination - is at most an 'every other year' proposition. Regardless of the reality that it may be a shorter trip for some teams, many fans would resent the idea - even if the logistics were able to be overcome - that they were being forced to leave the Continent to follow their own team.
For many people, it may just be a matter of principle, but the hassle of converting dollars to pounds, obtaining visas - or passports in some cases - and travelling huge distances (I'll cover those distances in more detail later) from the West Coast to Britain and back may also be an inconvenience too far. In the end, it would be reasonable to suggest that the impact on American fans would be almost completely negative.
In fact, reading comments from American NFL fans on the subject, it is hard to find anyone who feels that it would be positive for them on a personal level, with the majority opposed to the idea not only on the inconvenience, but more importantly, on the fundamental issue of taking an American sports team out of America.
There's been a bullishness amongst NFL officials since Roger Goodell took over that suggests that frankly, the league doesn't particularly care how fans feel on some major issues, as long as they don't stop watching - particularly when there's more money to be made by ignoring their concerns. This would be the ultimate test of that ethos and would be far more emotive than moving a team between cities, this would be the exact type of issue that fans may make a stand on.
In the end, exporting the NFL abroad is going to be a far more difficult sell if it comes at the expense of U.S. based fans, and it will be a brave commissioner who risks the ire of the people who make up 99% of their revenue.
Part 3 of this series will be up soon and looks at how a UK based team would fare when trying to attract Free Agents and Draft picks. As always, hit me up on Twitter if you wish to angrily suggest that I am wrong in 140 characters or less.
[**Part One - British fan opinions
**](http://old.nflpickwatch.com/5-questions-about-an-nfl-franchise-in-london-part-one/)
[**Part Two - American fan opinions
**](http://old.nflpickwatch.com/5-questions-about-an-nfl-franchise-in-london-part-two/)
[**Part Three - Attracting players to London
**](http://old.nflpickwatch.com/5-questions-about-an-nfl-franchise-in-london-part-three/)
[**Part Four - Travel times
**](http://old.nflpickwatch.com/5-questions-about-an-nfl-franchise-in-london-part-four/)
