By now you have probably got the idea: I'm not keen on the NFL relocating a franchise to London, at least not while the fundamental issues I've detailed previously remain unresolved. This last section though, will cover something a little more... existential. I'm talking about the integrity of the_sport_, not the 'business model'.
Question 5: What effect would a London team have on the integrity of the game?
At the heart of the NFL's success is not a marketing gimmick, or an attempt to cash in on a new market, but the ability of sport to captivate us. It's often overlooked that British fans who follow the game aren't mindless drones who have been entranced by the glitz and glamour of an American product, but true sports fans who enjoy the X's and O's as much as your average U.S. fan. In essence, we gravitate towards the NFL because it is a sporting event that has drama and genuinely amazing achievements.
In fact, as an NFL fan what I've generally found is that new fans who are drawn in by a curiosity about the 'experience' are often the quickest to walk away or forget about the sport. It isn't something you can 'fake', or pretend to be interested in, because compared to every other sport going, the play-by-play action is incredibly complex.
To be a fan of the NFL requires investing time learning rules and terminology that changes year-on-year (hell, even players have to learn new rules), but at the heart of all this is that the two teams who take the field are engaging in a sport. It isn't a ballet or a play that you watch passively, it is a contest, and the integrity of that contest should always be beyond question.
Too often, NFL execs talk about a 'product', as if the NFL has become nothing more than a clever marketing ploy or something to be enjoyed from afar, without really engaging with it. That's not how American fans see the game, and I know it isn't how existing UK fans see it either, so why treat it as a product that can be changed to suit the whims of the Commissioner or other executives in the league office?
My gripe with the NFL's plan to bring a franchise to Britain is not on any other basis except that the sport we love would be compromised in some way, based on the mutterings from those with knowledge of the NFL's plans.
Whether it is through the salary cap being changed to reflect British tax laws, changes in the schedule to accommodate the UK franchise, the extreme travel times for both the London team and opponents, the inability to attract free agents or any of the other myriad problems that the NFL faces, the overall message that is emanating from the NFL at the moment is this: We are prepared to compromise the integrity and rules of our sport in order to make money.
Now think about that for a second. The custodians of this great game, the Commissioner, the owners, the NFLPA, they are willing to change the fundamental rules that ensure parity and fairness, in order to shoehorn this product down the necks of a largely ambivalent British public. The same sporting memories and future accomplishments that hook kids as youngsters all across America, are secondary to trying to exploit a largely apathetic market in another country?
Why would I, as an NFL fan in Britain for over twenty years, support that?
All of the reasons I have given are valid practical or logistical problems that the NFL has shown little or no desire to address. I have no problem with a UK franchise that doesn't dilute the sport that millions of people around the world have somehow managed to enjoy, despite not having a team within 1000 miles. In fact I would actually enjoy such a venture, but nobody has put together a convincing way for it to work without effectively selling the NFL's soul.
The majority of fans - who have stated that we do not want this - are being ignored.
Players and coaches who have expressed their concerns are being ignored.
So far, the only people that are being listened to are a few sycophants in the NFL's UK headquarters who believe that they can exploit the British public's curiosity long enough to convince the owners that it is a new world of untapped riches.
Sport doesn't work like that and we all know it. The organic way that we fall in love with the NFL shouldn't be replaced with what amounts to a shiny, vacuous product. I also can't help but feel that when the NFL officials have visited Britain to assess the public's mood, they've been given what amounts to the 'hard sell' by the NFLUK team, with any dissenters or empty seats given a wide berth. It would be easy to view the Wembley games in isolation as a success, but to say they are symptomatic of large-scale potential is premature at best.
British fans should be treated with respect, because they're capable of understanding the game, but it must be acknowledged that even in the digital era that allows us to watch every game live, most people have chosen not to embrace it because they enjoy Soccer, Rugby or Cricket more. It's not because the NFL is bad, it is because it is unique. It will always polarise people, who dislike the breaks in play, can't understand the rules or who simply don't find it entertaining enough.
That's the cold hard truth that people don't seem willing to admit, either because they have become fixated on this UK franchise above all else, or because they have forgotten why they fell in love with the NFL themselves. The NFL bringing a franchise to London won't make fans, it will breed contempt throughout America amongst existing supporters who feel ignored or even betrayed by money-grabbers who don't understand the game or its fans.
Until someone shows me conclusive evidence that a London franchise is a good idea, I'll continue to believe it is a bad one. It's time to stop talking in 'vague terms', stop sending the Jaguars over as a Guinea Pig for further expansion, and tell us how they envisage an NFL team in London actually working.
Anything else is pointless speculation that hurts the game more than it helps.
*That's the last part of my little serious rant. The rest of the parts are available below. I will update the blog and my twitter with responses to the many questions I've been getting. *
Soon it'll be pickin' season and we'll have a whole new expert league to keep tracking, a whole lot more NFL personalities to bait on twitter, and the potential for law suits across the entertainment community. Adele, I'm looking at you. Take it easy - oh and one more thing: Stay out of trouble.
Part One - British fan opinions
Part Two - American fan opinions
