As many people may already know, the NFL continued its tour in England yesterday by sending the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos to Wembley Stadium in London. This has gone on for several years now but I still have one problem with this although it has many benefits...you can't watch this game! While many of us were able to watch the Star Spangled Banner Sunday, CBS cut right back to the Miami Dolphins/Cincinnati Bengals game.Now, as already mentioned, the NFL has sent one game for the past few years to England in an attempt to globalize the league, but us Americans cannot view this game. The league is trying to spread to another market but why are we not aloud to watch the game and analyze its effort in globalizing American football? Another reason I am not a fan of globalizing the NFL is for the sake of the home team. Yesterday, the 49ers were the quote-on-quote home team even though they played in London. This takes one home-field advantage season game away from the 9ers and more importantly the 49ers fans. However, the league's effort in globalizing the NFL deserves an A.
The NFL set up a giant tailgate outside Wembley Stadium to give the fans the great American experience that comes with football. Set up 6 hours before kickoff, the London fans were provided with Coors product beer, hambergers, a performance by the 49ers cheerleaders, and NFL merchandise. Mark Cruick-shank, a Broncos fan out of Aberdeen, Scotland attended his third consecutive NFL game at Wembley Stadium and was quoted saying, "Americans know how to do it right...its an even not just a game."
Given a few different stands on globalizing the NFL, it is up to you to decide...should the NFL continue to travel to England?
