Super Bowl in London? Why not?

Recently the idea of holding a Super Bowl in London has been discussed by those who make such decisions. Roger Goodell has stated in the past that he would entertain this idea. (There are numerous stories online about this dated October 2007.) The idea came up again when NFL official Frank Supovitz told the BBC that the NFL was in "substantive talks" with London officials about bringing the game there.

To that I say, and I know this puts me in an overwhelming minority, why the hell not?

I have yet to talk to one person who agrees with me and their objections are always the same. They say it feels wrong to play the championship of American football somewhere other than the USA. They say having the game in London would make it hard for the average NFL fan to get to the game. They say the game would not do well in London because the NFL is not popular there.

To that last point, the NFL has staged a regular season game at Wembley Stadium in London each of the last two years and will hold another this year. The first two sold out and tickets to this year's game sold out faster than the previous years. The NFL is very popular in London and England as a whole. The BBC and the Guardian both have divisions devoted to covering American football.

Now, most Super Bowl seats are already spoken for. Many tickets are given to corporate sponsors. Every player and coach in the NFL has the option to purchase a certain number of tickets. I believe it is fifteen for participants and up to five for non-participants. It is no secret that many of these tickets end up in the hands of ticket brokers, thus driving up the price. Any fan that is not connected, if you will, who buys a ticket is going to pay a pretty penny. The truth is, for most fans, it doesn't matter if the game is held in L.A., New Orleans, Detroit, London, Tokyo, or the surface of the moon. The total cost of attending the game, including travel and accommodations is prohibitive for the average fan. Most people who can afford to attend a Super Bowl in Dallas can afford to attend one in London.

Finally, the world is getting smaller. I understand patriotism and pride for one's home, but in certain cases. Sport is universal. Competition is universal. We live in a world with information at our disposal instantly. I am able to watch live rugby matches from England and cheer on a team just as easily as a Brit can watch live NFL and cheer. (I keep threatening to start commenting on rubgy in this space, much to Dave's ambivalence.) The NFL wants to go global and spread American football to the world. We should embrace being able to share the most American of games with the world.


Besides, we hosted the World Cup once. Isn't that reciprocal?

- Gabe