London to Host the Super Bowl???

[Amazinz]

As long as it was aired live during a U.S.-friendly time zone, I don't care where they play it.

[Dan Lambskin]

Football is OUR sport. We can't say the same about basketball, baseball, or hockey. Other countries can compete with us or beat us in those sports, but not in American football. I'm not interested in seeing it become a world sport. It is ours and it is completely American (mine mine mine).

As for the NFL allowing the penultimate game of the season to be played on foreign soil - I can't even believe that is being proposed. But if my earlier selfish reasons aren't enough, how about our economy. The city that hosts the SB has a ton of money poured into their economy through jobs and tourists who spend money in hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, etc. Plus the publicity the city gains is huge.

i thought we were talking Superbowl, not AFC or NFC championship games...although i would like that idea even less, since those teams earned their home field advantage

[knapplc]

Football is OUR sport. We can't say the same about basketball, baseball, or hockey. Other countries can compete with us or beat us in those sports, but not in American football. I'm not interested in seeing it become a world sport. It is ours and it is completely American (mine mine mine).

As for the NFL allowing the penultimate game of the season to be played on foreign soil - I can't even believe that is being proposed. But if my earlier selfish reasons aren't enough, how about our economy. The city that hosts the SB has a ton of money poured into their economy through jobs and tourists who spend money in hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, etc. Plus the publicity the city gains is huge.

i thought we were talking Superbowl, not AFC or NFC championship games...although i would like that idea even less, since those teams earned their home field advantage

I did that with "penultimate" the other day. People forget (as did I) that "penultimate" means the second-most ultimate, or, the #2 most ultimate thing. It's a cool-sounding word, though.

1) the NFL is an American only sport, it is not a world sport, and it's kinda weird to crown the winers 'WORLD' Champions

I don't have a problem with crowning the Super Bowl winner "World Champions." The Super Bowl is the ULTIMATE championship in professional football, so why not call them that?

[joejlitz]

Football is OUR sport. We can't say the same about basketball, baseball, or hockey. Other countries can compete with us or beat us in those sports, but not in American football. I'm not interested in seeing it become a world sport. It is ours and it is completely American (mine mine mine).

As for the NFL allowing the penultimate game of the season to be played on foreign soil - I can't even believe that is being proposed. But if my earlier selfish reasons aren't enough, how about our economy. The city that hosts the SB has a ton of money poured into their economy through jobs and tourists who spend money in hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, etc. Plus the publicity the city gains is huge.

i thought we were talking Superbowl, not AFC or NFC championship games...although i would like that idea even less, since those teams earned their home field advantage

Somebody get that guy an editor's pencil!

And somebody check Amazinz's Visa. I think it's expired by now.

[spodog]

This won't happen in our lifetime.

[Cowboys 4 life]

Quote in USA Today from Mike Lopresti, "The queen can help host the Super Bowl in London if we can have Wimbledon one year."

I'd rather watch a 24 hour marathon of the Sonny and Cher Show!

Are you kidding me. No way dude. The Super Bowl is worth a Wimbledon and a British Open. I wouldn't make the trade for less.

[Amazinz]

This won't happen in our lifetime.

Unless you are like 87, I would take that bet.

[moochman]

The day they have a Superbowl in London with be the day I sign off on the SuperBowl. It's bad enough the game is corrupted by an extra week off, but if it's moves overseas it will become not unlike an Olympic event. Live at 5am.
Sorry, American fans built this league, I don't think it's much to ask that they not be forgotten in the search for more billions.

[Tyeattolah]

The day they have a Superbowl in London with be the day I sign off on the SuperBowl. It's bad enough the game is corrupted by an extra week off, but if it's moves overseas it will become not unlike an Olympic event. Live at 5am.
Sorry, American fans built this league, I don't think it's much to ask that they not be forgotten in the search for more billions.

Yeah, what he said!

[eaglesrule]

Man, I could go either way on this. I will say more so than hoops, hockey or even baseball, the World Champs thing is appropriate for football. If the rest of the world combined to make a team and then play us with a team made up of either the Super Bowl champs or an all-star team, they couldn't come close. Honestly, this sounds like hyperbole, but I honestly believe that a High School All-American team could beat the world challengers.

That being said, the Super Bowl is the least fan friendly game of the season. You absolutely cannot move the championship games, that's just absurd. But considering the majority of the people who even get to attend are friends of the league and corporate interests, who cares where it is held? I am just curious if London would even want it. Obviously Fleet Street and their corporate interests would be down, but honestly does the run of the mill Londoner even care? I'd think our Football is way behind soccer, rugby, go.lf, boxing, cricket, etc.

I think of all the sports basketball is the most likely to see some or all of its championship played overseas, as it is only a matter of time that there is a euro conference. There are simply too many good players that come from overseas, it has many of the same ideas etc. of soccer, and it has the benefit of being played when soccer isn't. Baseball has an international following, but I think it's limited to basically us, C and S America and Asia. Hockey is kind of the reverse. Hoops can be played anywhere, as could Football, but I just don't think the world cares, we love it, but I swear half of it is ritual and tribalism, which Europe already has with their soccer squads. Those two games have more of a communal aspect. I get really down when the Eagles lose, because it has a slow build through the week. I get a little ticked when the Phillies lose, but really, with so many games, of course you are going to take your share of lumps. Since moving to DC I love the Caps (never warmed to the Flyers for some reason), but again, the sheer number of games leaves you caring, but not as viscerally as you would for football. I think the closest thing I can think of is Villanova Hoops when there is a key opponent, those can feel similar.

But I think that is what makes the NFL, and like I said, it would be hard to usurp in Europe because there is already an established tradition with their clubs. And incidentally, they have one of the coolest features of pro sports -- relegation. Imagine if the Lions were demoted. That key game of demotion would be so huge.