With the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins all set to square off in London tomorrow, it could mark the beginning of this becoming a regular, maybe weekly, thing for the NFL. Reports are that NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodall is seriously considering having all of the NFL's 32 teams play one of their regular season games outside of the United States.
The plan would call for the regular season schedule to expand to 18 games, which would mean the elimination two preseason games. One of the two extra games would be played outside of the USA. The plan has really been brewing for a few years now since San Francisco and Arizona played the first regular season game outside the country in Mexico City in 2005. The owner of the Buffalo Bills, Ralph Wilson, announced this week he would like to play one of the Bills' future home games in Toronto. Though, the story that got the most reaction this week was when Goodall said he might want to play a future Super Bowl in London. Clearly this is where the NFL is headed, but do we need to go crazy and play a multitude of games outside the USA every year?
I like the idea of having two extra regular season games, and I love that this plan would mean the elimination of two games from an unnecessarily long preseason. However, I wonder how this international experiment is going to work. With 32 teams, that would mean 16 games outside the country. Would it be one international game in 16 of the would be 19 weeks? If that is the case, I hope they cut off the games after week 16, and allow teams to prepare for the playoffs in the states. It would not be fair to have a team go play in Paris, Tokyo, or in Antarctica somewhere in Week 19 with a playoff spot on the line.
It is also a concern of mine of where around the globe these games will be held. Is it fair for one team to have to take an 18-hour flight to play in Tokyo, while another just has to cross the border to play in Canada or Mexico. I know I would be having fits if my New York Jets had to play in Bombay, India, while the Bills play in Toronto.
If I were making this decision, I would call for one international game a month. Sixteen games seem a tad rash to me especially when our brand of football is only popular in the US. Remember the rest of the world has their own soccer. However, if I was to go with the 16 international games, I would make sure they were all scheduled early in the season, and that those playing international games get bye weeks after that game. I can see flubbed schedules now. One week in Moscow, the next in Tampa. Goodluck!
As for the Super Bowl in another country, I think that would be totally ridiculous. I hate the fact it's already more of an entertainment event than a sporting event already, but to move a championship game across the Atlantic Ocean is stupid. It belongs here in America, and should be played in New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, and a bunch of other northern cities that never get a Super Bowl before it goes to another country.
Pat Morgan
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