
Dallas Cowboys 31 Jacksonville Jaguars 17
By Simon Milham, Lindy’s Sports, London, UK
LONDON–It seems like yesterday since the NFL staged its first regular-season game outside of North America.
October 28, 2007, was to herald a sea-change for pro football. It mattered not that the Miami Dolphins and the New York Giants served up a relatively dour affair on a gloomy autumn evening at Wembley Stadium.
Seven years on, the NFL has taken giant strides towards putting in place the building blocks for a UK franchise. Dare they dream?
NFL UK Managing Director Alistair Kirkwood, who joined the NFL in 2000 as Vice-President of Strategic Planning, can take much of the credit. Under his guidance, the NFL has achieved consistent growth in the UK over the past decade and has now staged eight successful games at Wembley Stadium.
Last year, London staged two games which sold out quickly. For context, the FA Cup Final, England’s soccer showpiece between Manchester City and Wigan, did not.
This year, for the first time Wembley staged three games, the last of those Sunday, as the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in what was nothing more than a routine 31-17 victory – a game that was effectively over by half-time on the back of two second-quarter touchdowns of 35 and 68 yards to Dez Bryant to make it 24-7.
It seemed the Cowboys enjoyed their trip – at least 20 players broke a curfew on Friday evening, but they were not about to blow a lead.
The Jaguars’ defensive line failed to create any consistent pressure on Tony Romo, and counterpart Blake Bortles looked, at times, like a deer in headlights. A garbage-time touchdown and a two-point conversion added a little respectability to the score.
Next season, the NFL will stage its first division game in London, as the Miami Dolphins ‘host’ the New York Jets (Week 4), followed by the Buffalo at Jacksonville (Week 7) and the Kansas City Chiefs at Detroit (Week 8).
The Bills vs. Jaguars will prove the real acid test. Neither are marquee franchises and if the crowd figures are near the 83,000-plus mark topped in nine of the 11 International Series’ games, the viability and sustainability answers will be writ large.
It does not hurt the UK’s case that the Chancellor, George Osborne, stated on a number of occasions that the NFL will receive backing for the UK government to support a franchise.
“Go back to 2007 and it is easy to forget what a major leap forward the NFL took, but even now 50% of the players coming over do not have passports,” says Kirkwood.
“When we started it was a case of saying ‘let’s see what happens – we can’t afford to mess it up.’ “The next year was really about trying to avoid the sophomore slump. Over the next few seasons it was about building credibility in the States.
“Last year we went to two games – a quarter of the season – and now it has grown to three games. We are now at a stage where we can try to prove to the stakeholders that we have something viable. In the last year or two it has been interesting seeing if we can accelerate growth and where it can be taken afterwards.
“We are in a period where we can look forward, and I see my role as building up the fan-base so that the ownership can make a decision (on UK franchise).
Some people forget how seismic it is to bring the game over here. Some people are much more casual about the logistical issues we would have to put a team here. It is going to be extremely difficult. If we were to put an international team based in London into the domestic league in the States, it will have to be in a way that we were absolutely certain it will work perfectly because you can’t risk the success in the States by doing an experiment over here.
“It would have to work in every single way. The League is growing in popularity in the States and it is way beyond my pay-grade to determine what the NFL should or shouldn’t do.”
In another first for the NFL, North America watched its first NFL game live at 9:30 a.m. ET on October 26 when the Detroit Lions won with a field goal as time expired to cap a 22-21 comeback win.
The viewing figures were good enough for NFL insiders to deem it a successful experiment, one that is likely to be repeated on at least one occasion next season.
With the Olympic Stadium, Wembley Stadium and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff all capable of staging NFL games, and given attendances of over 83,000 for this season trio of London games, the big question has gravitated from ‘if’ the UK will receive an NFL franchise, to ‘when’ the NFL will take that step.
Unlike in many US States, it is legal to bet in the UK and bookmakers William Hill cut their odds from 6/1 to 3/1 that a UK franchise is introduced to the League by the end of 2020, while it is 25/1 for a Super Bowl to be held at Wembley by the end of 2025.
While a Super Bowl seems far-fetched, there is a growing belief that the wheels are in motion for a franchise with Jacksonville the most likely, Hills making the Jaguars just 5/1 to end up in London before 2020, despite protestations to the contrary from owner Shad Khan, who also owns nearby Fulham Football Club (who lost their Premier League status in May and who have struggled in the Championship).
Hills make the Rams and Raiders both 7/1 shots to become the London franchise before 2020.
Kirkwood adds: “If we keep being given these valuable games, we must ensure we make as much progress as possible and grow the fan-base so ownership can decide, probably before the end of the decade, what they want to do. If we do everything right in the next three or four years, we stand a very good chance, but we have quite a way to go. ”
The path to a UK franchise might be long and cobbled, but it is certainly well lit. London’s calling and the NFL can’t help but listen to the din.