Saints Help Land Super Bowl in London?

by Saintsational on May 3, 2009 11:50 AM CDT Comment 13 comments

Blocks of unused seats at the International Series game in Wembley Stadium.

Just ran across this article in the UK's Telegraph and thought it was worth sharing.

Apparently the NFL really is hellbent on expanding football into Britain. On top of the once-a-year regular season game the NFL has been scheduling at London's Wembley Stadium since 2007, the league is now commited to awarding the city a Super Bowl as early as 2014.

Representatives from the Mayor of London's office and Visit London, the city's official visitor organisation, has received assurances from the NFL that, after two sell-out regular-season games at Wembley Stadium and a third scheduled for Oct 25, there is a commitment to bring the championship game to the capital in 2014.

The Saints, of course, were the victors in last years International Series game over the Chargers. Both teams gave the British crowd exactly what the league wanted - a high-scoring, nail-biting game - and based largely on the success of that game, and the Giants/Dolphins game the year prior, the NFL has decided that a Super Bowl in London would be deserved.

So much so that the league is even willing to bend the rules a bit...

...the NFL is also understood to be prepared to change their standard bidding procedures to London's advantage, guaranteeing the Super Bowl to Wembley for a particular year. Normally contestant host cities fight at least a three-way battle before a final decision is made

Well isn't that nice of them?

CSC's Take: There are enough international events taking place in the UK in the upcoming years to help boost their economy and prove their global dominance.

...officials in London are similarly intent on securing hosting rights soon after the 2012 Olympics and before 2018, when England could host the World Cup – thus completing an unprecedented sporting trilogy for the city and the country.

First taxation without representation and now this! Being a bit greedy, aren't we London?

Nothing is anywhere close to being official, of course, but I don't like the idea. The Super Bowl, and all of the hoopla surrounding it, is big business for the cities that host it. We know how much an event like the Super Bowl would mean to a city like New Orleans, which is fervently trying to secure a bid itself, and I would hate to see it be outsourced to international turf instead. One game a year is fine and dandy with me but the UK has not shown enough interest, in my opinion, to warrant or deserve one of America's all-time great events.

Poll

Would you like to see the Super Bowl played in London?

Sure

39 votes

It doesn't matter to me

39 votes

No Way

392 votes

470 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 13 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

I voted no way- yay! first to vote

Here’s a snippet from an espn.com story of a report:

Talks have been ongoing with the NFL, which has identified London as the outstanding candidate city to host the event outside of the United States, according to the report.

Commissioner Roger Goodell said last week that the league is not considering playing its championship game in London. He shot down a BBC Sport report that “’substantive talks” were under way between the NFL and London officials.

“We have never looked at London or Mexico City as a site,” he said.

According to the Sunday Telegraph, the Super Bowl could be worth $521.1 million to the London economy, although the newspaper also quotes an unnamed NFL spokesman as saying: “The suggestions about London are only theoretical. There is no bid document.”

Click here to read the whole espn.com piece, athough there’s not much to it.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this happens, but I don’t want it to happen either. It’s an American game and an American Institution, and an American city and state should benefit economically from it. Done and done.

But if anyone has counterarguments, I’m open to hearing them.

Thomas Morstead is gonna make Mitch Berger look like Rick Partridge.
-- Look it up, young readers.

by HansDat on May 3, 2009 12:00 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

A BRITISH perspective....

Well….not really – just a Metairie boy living over here….a Super Bowl in London would be HORRIBLE! For a BUNCH of reasons…couple of points first though:

1- the Sunday Telegraph (London NP) is the one reporting most of this story & to use a Brit phrase, it’s rubbish….newspapers over here make the National Enquirer look like the Washington Post or USA-Today.
2- they are allegedly shooting for the 14,15 or 17 game. Currently they are TRYING to get ready for the 12 Olympics. I say TRYING because with the economic fallout during the last year, England/London has lost a TON of money that was originally committed to financing & building all of the infrastructure or the games – now a lot of that is up in the air & there are SERIOUS doubts things will be finished on time or up to the original “grander”.

Why it would SUCK?

1 – Weather here in Jan & Feb (& even March if they extend the season by 2014) is TERRIBLE. Rain, cold, fog – occasional snow. Remember the 07 SB – monsoon? Like that but about 15-20 degrees colder……FUN!
2 – The field at Wembley is HORRIBLE. It is COMPLETELY NOT geared for NFL. It is made to run on with occasional cuts but no grip for leverage, falling/tackling. During the Saints/Chargers game last year it had 2 WEEKS of dry weather, which is unheard of over here. It started raining the night before the game & was covered yet by the end of the 1st quarter it was already getting tore up…..Winter game – forget it; NFL better ship in an entire artificial field.
3 – UK fans who know NFL football & follow it LOVE it, but there is no team “loyalty”. Loved the fans during the game but you can tell them immediately – they were wearing the Giants/Dolphins jerseys from the previous year. Again, they’re great, but they are NOT numerous. Both games have sold out? Why were their about 10-18k empty seats in 08?
4 – Wembley is a relatively new stadium (6 yrs old) but looks like it is 30 yrs old. You would think that $1.2 BILLION to build it it would be nicer. While it does have easy access to bathrooms & concessions, the field is WAY to separated from the stands – the views are unobstructed but distant. While the Brit public transportation system puts ours to shame, there is NOTHING near the stadium – no place to host NFL Experience tents/activities. The 08 Tailgate party showed this – I’ve been to High School fairs that had more room & things to do.
5 – Last point, this country is all about Football (soccer to you & me), Rugby & Cricket. NFL/NBA – they are oddities here. Something that happens during their seasons downtimes. WHY would we reward them with our BIGGEST NATIONAL EVENT? Would THEY play the World Cup in the US? Of course not. The World Series in Japan? THAT would make sense to a point – at least the Japanese follow baseball – it’s their national pastime too. But not the Brits with American Football as they call it. NFL teams don’t like playing a regular season game in England…..WHY make them play the SB over here? Are we going to add another week in between the CCS games & the SB so they can relocate their entire team facilities over here, get over the jet lag & practice along with all the media? Stupid……

Keep the SB where it belongs (in the Superdome!!) – in the U.S.A……!!!!!

If Rodger Goodell goes back on his word (ie…what he’s saying NOW) – then we should all band together & have ANOTHER Tea Party!!

by UKWhoDat on May 3, 2009 2:26 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs

A REAL British perspective...

Ok, let me just break this down into several key points, without references to the War of Independence or forced sexual liaisons with cats…

1) You did have the soccer World Cup in the US, in 1994.
2) You’re welcome to Wimbledon. We don’t want it. It’s rubbish.
3) You’re seriously bringing “lack of fan loyalty” into whether or not a city hosts the Super Bowl? Have you SEEN the number of corporate “just here to impress our clients” tickets there have been for the last few Super Bowls? The atmosphere in the Super Bowl has sucked for a good few years now, with most proper fans either priced out or unable to get a ticket because they’ve all gone to corporate suckups who have no interest in the game but are just there for the spectacle.
4) Empty seats were due partially to scalping and partially to corporates buying and then not sending people along. I personally know people who were not pleased that there weren’t still tickets available.
5) With the amount of time between the CCS and SB, they already have to up and relocate to a different city, why not a different country? It’s the same complaints, but they’d factor it into the plans and get over it.

With all that said, and much as I’d LOVE to see it played in my own back yard (I live in London, like an hour away from the stadium), I think it’s probably fair to say we ain’t ready for it yet. The field on Wembley isn’t built for football, and the weather in Jan, Feb and Mar really ain’t good enough to guarantee a non-mudbath. I’d also agree with the point about the market, there’s some interest (I coach in the university league here, and play some in the senior league) but I wouldn’t say it would justify a Superbowl over here just yet.

That’s not to say that it shouldn’t be revisited if the UK (or anywhere else in the world) manages to get themselves a proper field, in a stadium (preferably domed) which can handle the attendance the SB should get, and in a market where the demand can justify the expense of delivery.

Just not yet.

by MarcusR on May 3, 2009 4:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

MarcusR

Being a Saints fan from New Orleans, I’d be more interested in talking about the War of 1812 & how it ended in Chalmette as opposed to the WOI!! LOL.!……You lost me at the sex w/cats things….but hey…don’t want to know!

You proved my point with your 1st line – couldn’t even remeber the 94 WC…..guess I’m not alone either. Not our sport. Not a big tennis fan either so I have to agree w/you on #2….want our US Open??

though, you bring up a couple good points. First off, I tried to go out of my way to NOT seem negative about the UK fans, cause the ones who were there were GREAT! When I say “fan loyalty” I’m talking about “team loyalty”. Completely agree with you on the Corp “block ticket” sales & the scalpers & how they have ruined the game atmosphere, but the point I was trying to make was that loyal fans will always try to follow their teams given the chance (college football even more so). No one is gong to follow their team to London for the SB if they don’t have tickets – cost too much to get there & stay there & it’s not like they have a tailgate party or SB party to go to locally. A SB in New Orleans, AZ, Miami, etc.. – if you’re a fan of the team playing in it & you don’t/can’t get a ticket, you still might go with a group of friends to share the atmosphere, hit some of the SB Experience events & have a party to go to @ your hotel or “home team” themed sports bar. Takes less time to get there & less money. Not saying it couldn’t be done in London, it would just be a lot harder & expensive.
Your last point I kinda have to disagree with too. For the Saints/Chargers game the NFL actually flew the teams weight rooms over so they could use “their” equipment. 2 weeks between games currently gives them a week to recover & start game planning the SB, then a week to travel to the host city, get settled in & switch hit between practice & dealing with the media circus. Also, being in the states & having the game played in an NFL city gives the teams access to facilities geared for either college or pro teams. There is nothing currently like that in the UK much less London – now that could probably change after the Olympics, but for now, there would be a LOT of logistics needed to support them. Big difference between a different city & a different country (of course, if you’re the NFL, who cares about the difference in cost between shipping stuff via truck 10-12 hours cross country as opposed to flying it across the Atlantic).

But again…..you bring up some good points. Cheers!

by UKWhoDat on May 3, 2009 7:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hell no

Thats are game if they want to see it come to the US.

by Realsaint on May 3, 2009 3:29 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I like the idea of expanding and eventually having a Euro division or somesuch… but I agree with several others that they aren’t remotely ready and they need to prove that they can get ready — especially so with a proper field — and then they need to win it fairly.

If they win the competition for the game fairly, fine. Until then, no way!

by FriarBob on May 3, 2009 7:24 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

just testing the water

the nfl is just getting us used to the idea, it will happen, but not any time soon. it’s all about the money boys.plus it (the story) helps build a fan base in england, it’s corporate foreplay… if you guys know what foreplay is?

by r c a on May 3, 2009 7:38 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

when they start a football league...

then we could talk about it more seriously. idk exactly what kind of football activities they have over there, but it’s nowhere near where the nfl is in america. our economy is down and the superbowl vamps that city’s economy. leave it here. IF london could start a football league liek the nfl and get some good teams together i’d say we could do that. i think that if they do that, it’d be awsome to see the superbowl and the winner of the european equivalent of the superbowl play and alternate homefield(1 year in europe, 1 year in the us). untill then, keep it here b/c american cities need it!

Superbowl bound!!!...I hope? Go Saints! :D

by skinnykinney on May 3, 2009 8:12 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

NO! Has Rodger Goodell lost his Freakin mind?

No hell no. Don’t mess with an American tradition. Come Superbowl Sunday I want to hear The Star Spangaled Bannor I want to see a Flight of F-16s roaring over the field and when I’m standing around the BBQ pit talking about the previous years game , I’m not going to be interested in talking about how stupid Howie and Terry were arguing about the proper way to hold a tea cup. I may sound close minded but if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

by Lyle Lirette on May 3, 2009 8:35 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Money Talks

If the money was right, they would play the SB in China.

Wasn’t there already a NFL Europe?

by Steve the fan on May 3, 2009 9:36 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs

boom rec'd it

Europe doesn’t deserve the Super Bowl. Even if they pony up the dough.

Restore the wetlands!

by stujo4 on May 3, 2009 9:51 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

This seems REALLY tone-deaf

I can’t figure out why the NFL would be talking about this when we’re in the middle of economic armageddon. I’ll bet you anything if they announced this, there would be serious political repercussions – i.e. congressional hearings, greandstanding, rage on the floors of congress, etc. In addition to that, BIG PR hit. Not smart in the face of upcoming labor strife.

by SaintBevo on May 4, 2009 7:04 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs