By David Street @david_street17
The idea seemed crazy at first. NFL in Europe? But this is an American game! Well, as we’re learning, not exactly. The NFL may be an American-based organization, but it’s on its way to turning into a global empire. Regardless of whether or not you like that, the NFL is a business at the end of the day. The people running it are going to do whatever they can to make money. But here is why I, at least partially, don’t have an issue with it.
First, let’s consider NFL fandom
There’s NFL fans all over the world and not just in the states. Heck, there’s fans of certain NFL teams that don’t reside in the states or areas where those teams play. You think the Cowboys, commonly referred to as “America’s Team,” only have fans in the Dallas metro area? If NFL fandoms were reduced to only people living in those areas, they would shrink immensely.
That same logic applies to fans outside our borders. The Super Bowl is always one of the most watched events in the world. Naturally, when a massive event like that is annually broadcast to a worldwide audience, a global fanbase is going to build. It makes sense that the NFL would bring some of its games over to the other side of the world.
NFL relocation and NFL expansion in Europe
Anybody who keeps up with the league knows that this has been a talking point for quite some time. One team that particularly always gets brought up for relocation to Europe is the Jacksonville Jaguars which is not surprising at all. They’ve played in Europe (more specifically London) at least once every season for the last 10 years. Even if the Jaguars ultimately do end up not relocating, an expansion into Europe still seems inevitable.
I think one very strong argument you can make for the NFL officially having European teams is this: when a team wins the Super Bowl, we call them “world champions.” But that phrase really doesn’t even make any sense. How can you call an NFL team “world champions” when they’re an American-based team playing against other American-based teams in American venues? At least with the NHL, MLB, and NBA, it makes some sense since those teams are playing against teams from Canada. The NFL is the only league of the Big Four Professional Sports Leagues that doesn’t have any teams outside of the United States. A group of NFL teams based in Europe would make the concept of “world champions” make more sense, especially if there ever was a Super Bowl between an American-based team and a European-based team.
The Case Against the NFL in Europe
All that being said, I know there’s good arguments against the NFL in Europe. Perhaps the best argument is that people that live in the United States don’t like waking up early on the weekends. There’s a reason why NFL games that are played here in this country start at 1:00 at the earliest. That’s the earliest time that people here can tolerate. Also, people will probably and rightfully point out that it’s still the National Football League, not the International Football League.
At the end of the day, though, the NFL is a moneymaking machine that will go where the fans are. Will we ever get permanent NFL teams in Europe? We truly don’t know. But we should not be surprised if it happens sometime in the future.
Follow David on Twitter: @David_Street17