London Calling: The Globalization of the NFL

In recent news, the NFL has decided to open up a possibility for the NFL to expand to Europe. The reason behind this is due to the Jacksonville Jag's owner, Shahid Khan, just bought a soccer team in Europe. Unfortunately the Jags cannot seem to fill out their stadiums anymore and thought it would be better for their enterprise to expand to London. Maybe there would be more money in London, and their stands would be filled. I think they have chosen London because it is the most similar city to any city in the United States. They speak the same language as the United States and economically are similar. Also, it is a tad safer than other options. It is also an international hub, and would attract fans from all over Europe. There are various factors that are facilitating the expansion of the NFL outside of the USA. The NFL fantasizes about being as close as they can to the European Soccer Leagues. The largest reason would have to be revenue. Any chance the NFL has at making more money, they will jump at it. With this expansion, comes many barriers. There are travel expenses that could be astronomical and the time commitment it takes to get from the US to London. This also creates jet lag and fans that live in the US would not be able to afford going to Europe to watch their team play. The time difference would also make watching the games on TV very difficult. I personally think this is a terrible idea and takes away the US traditions from the game. By making it an international game, modernizes it way too much. It is all to make more money by attracting a different fan base. This could change the sport way too much and change the way we watch the game. In my opinion, football shouldn't be about the money made, and should be about the entertainment and experience.