The Super Bowl in London? That’s just sixes and sevens nonsense.
The Guardian is the latest to report the long-running rumor over the NFL some day exporting the game to London to increase global branding. Annoyed its European spring league failed, the NFL is further upset over losing international appeal to the NBA.
The NFL denied the report of a possible championship in London in 2014, 2015 or 2017. The league called the notion theoretical. That the NFL dismissed it in a tweet on Twitter must be its way of labeling the thought as silly.
But is it? You better believe the NFL is chewing on this. They’d send the Super Bowl to Mars if it was financially worthwhile. The game will probably be played outside the U.S. one day just as preseason games are currently and regular-season contests will soon. Indeed, Buffalo is already playing annually in Toronto.
But, the Super Bowl abroad would be outrageous.
A foreign city doesn’t deserve the Super Bowl. They don’t even play the sport. This isn’t protectionist, but respectful of the fans who support this league. You wouldn’t see the European soccer championship played in Washington.
The Super Bowl generates more than $150 million in direct spending to the host city. Why would the U.S. want to send that money abroad?
The economic impact would be further impacted by an early starting time. The Super Bowl is a dinnertime event on the East Coast. People spend all day readying for it. The game would have to be played in the evening in London so it would be mid-afternoon on the East Coast and late morning on the West Coast.
Bars, restaurants and food delivery outlets thrive on the mid-winter event. Moving it so much earlier will cost these businesses tens of millions of dollars.
The NFL plans to expand the regular season with teams playing one game abroad. That’s fine given the current eight home games remain protected. The ninth game would be akin to a college bowl game where fans can vacation while seeing their team abroad. It would be fun to see the Washington Redskins play in London, Madrid, Paris or Rome. Covering the 2002 preseason opener in Osaka, Japan, was a career highlight personally.
The Super Bowl needs to stay in the U.S., though. The game means everything to Americans, even those who don’t regularly follow the sport. It’s not a sideshow for European fans.
Rick Snider has covered local
sports since 1978. Read more at
TheRickSniderReport.com or e-mail [email protected].
