Bills avoid London in 2019

[GunnerBill]

4 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Well they think so. Sold out stadiums suggest they might be on to something.

 

And they could sell out 4 times over. One of the games sold out this year before they even confirmed the actual date and stadium. Imagine that. Folks are buying tickets to see two teams play somewhere in London at some point in the NFL season and thinking nothing of doing so. I say it every year when this thread appears as well the London games are not just the UK's games they are Europe's games. Lots of Germans, Dutch and Scandinavians in particular flock into London those weekends. They spend fortunes on merchandise and fan events, they go the games, they spend in London's pubs and bars they are carnival like weekends. It is good for the NFL and good for London and both are making money from it. Some of the members here who know me better know that I work for the UK Government - I know for a fact that the NFL model has been discussed in bilateral conversations about a future trading relationship once the UK can do a separate trade deal with the US post Brexit.

 

The viewership is over double on Sky, NFL GamePass (which in Europe does the job of your game pass and your Sunday Ticket in one) subscriptions are up even more significantly than that. I have said it on here before but I moved down to London from the north of England almost 13 years ago. Then to find someone who knew anything about the NFL beyond Ace Ventura Pet Detective, the Miami Dolphins oh and there is a guy name....err... Brady or something? was an absolute rarity. Now it is absolutely common place. I have a team of 10 at work who report to me and among them there are 4 NFL fans (honestly I only hired one of them and he supports the J-E-T-S....). I was wearing my Bills hat the other day in the cold and a guy stopped me in the lift and asked me what I thought of Josh Allen.

 

The millennials in the UK have properly adopted it. My phone was blowing up watching those games yesterday even at 2am and 3am. The NFL's London experiment is absolutely working. And I do absolutely believe there will be a team based here some day. Whether that - a team here - would be a long term viable success I am less convinced. But the London games are here to stay. Commercially they have been a success, in terms of growing the game in the NFL's most obvious market outside continental America it has been a success, in terms of team engagement it has been a success (I believe the Rams asked to come back again) and at a macro political level they have been a success for UK-US relations as well.

 

I do get that NFL fanbases in cities who lose a home game don't like it. I understand that, and I do sympathise with it. You guys get 8 games a year and someone is taking one of those 8 away.... that stings. But the London games are good for business in every single way. The teams that do best here are the ones who embrace that. The ones who come on sufferance usually miss out on the opportunities London brings both in terms of growing their own brand and fanbase and in terms of winning on the field. To be fair to the Bills when they came in 2015 they got everything right..... and Rex as much as I dislike him was perfect for the carnival side of it. They just didn't get it right on game day.  

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

They spend fortunes on merchandise and fan events, they go the games, they spend in London's pubs and bars they are carnival like weekends. It is good for the NFL and good for London and both are making money from it.

Ding ding ding.  

 

 

[KD in CA]

7 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

Crap! We had a blast in London! (And...Would much rather London than Mexico.)

For those that didn’t go last time the Bills were there, I highly recommend it.

 

Yup.  Everything about that trip was terrific.....city, stadium, game experience.....everything except for EJ.

 

 

24 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

Personally, I don’t like the overseas games.  If the NFL thinks the game is exportable with the CTE problems that exist they are deluding themselves.  

 

Because......Europeans are much more sensitive to CTE problems than Americans??  

Edited January 21, 2019 by KD in CA

[BillsfaninChicago]

4 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

I'm right there with you! I've been to two of the Bills Super Bowl appearances and the London trip was right up there with it.  For those who don't think they can afford Super Bowl tickets, I would highly recommend the London experience. It's relatively affordable, and if you can get the time, take the Eurostar bullet train to Paris and back while you're there.  (Two hours each way and $99 round trip.)

Absolutely agree! The trip was actually relatively cheap. Me, my brother, and my dad got a three bed room flat in a great part of the city on Airbnb for less than 200 dollars a night and the flight was around 700 out of Chicago if I remember correctly. Hopefully if not London I can plan a Super Bowl trip in the not too distant future!

[iinii]

8 hours ago, Marv's Neighbor said:

Figures lie and liars figure! 

I have seen some figures that didn’t lie....but I did see them lying down....

[#34fan]

 

If the Bills were on a heater, the fans would go. -No sense even arguing that.

 

London-town was awash in bills fans last time.

[Ol Dirty B]

6 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

And they could sell out 4 times over. One of the games sold out this year before they even confirmed the actual date and stadium. Imagine that. Folks are buying tickets to see two teams play somewhere in London at some point in the NFL season and thinking nothing of doing so. I say it every year when this thread appears as well the London games are not just the UK's games they are Europe's games. Lots of Germans, Dutch and Scandinavians in particular flock into London those weekends. They spend fortunes on merchandise and fan events, they go the games, they spend in London's pubs and bars they are carnival like weekends. It is good for the NFL and good for London and both are making money from it. Some of the members here who know me better know that I work for the UK Government - I know for a fact that the NFL model has been discussed in bilateral conversations about a future trading relationship once the UK can do a separate trade deal with the US post Brexit.

 

The viewership is over double on Sky, NFL GamePass (which in Europe does the job of your game pass and your Sunday Ticket in one) subscriptions are up even more significantly than that. I have said it on here before but I moved down to London from the north of England almost 13 years ago. Then to find someone who knew anything about the NFL beyond Ace Ventura Pet Detective, the Miami Dolphins oh and there is a guy name....err... Brady or something? was an absolute rarity. Now it is absolutely common place. I have a team of 10 at work who report to me and among them there are 4 NFL fans (honestly I only hired one of them and he supports the J-E-T-S....). I was wearing my Bills hat the other day in the cold and a guy stopped me in the lift and asked me what I thought of Josh Allen.

 

The millennials in the UK have properly adopted it. My phone was blowing up watching those games yesterday even at 2am and 3am. The NFL's London experiment is absolutely working. And I do absolutely believe there will be a team based here some day. Whether that - a team here - would be a long term viable success I am less convinced. But the London games are here to stay. Commercially they have been a success, in terms of growing the game in the NFL's most obvious market outside continental America it has been a success, in terms of team engagement it has been a success (I believe the Rams asked to come back again) and at a macro political level they have been a success for UK-US relations as well.

 

I do get that NFL fanbases in cities who lose a home game don't like it. I understand that, and I do sympathise with it. You guys get 8 games a year and someone is taking one of those 8 away.... that stings. But the London games are good for business in every single way. The teams that do best here are the ones who embrace that. The ones who come on sufferance usually miss out on the opportunities London brings both in terms of growing their own brand and fanbase and in terms of winning on the field. To be fair to the Bills when they came in 2015 they got everything right..... and Rex as much as I dislike him was perfect for the carnival side of it. They just didn't get it right on game day.  

 

I honestly find you as a confounding individual. You moved from the north 13 years ago, yet your team is Arsenal? I don't understand it. 

6 hours ago, BuffaloBill said:

Personally, I don’t like the overseas games.  If the NFL thinks the game is exportable with the CTE problems that exist they are deluding themselves.  

 

Can you make this post make sense?

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, Ol Dirty B said:

 

I honestly find you as a confounding individual. You moved from the north 13 years ago, yet your team is Arsenal? I don't understand it. 

 

Think of it as me coming home. My great grandad moved the family north for work reasons at a time when the north was the industrial engine of Britain. But times change and now London is the only place to be. Hence I moved back south. 

[Doc Brown]

14 hours ago, 416BillsFan said:

Bills won't be forced as they changed the rule recently that teams who made the playoffs aren't forced to participate. The Raiders would be an entertaining choice, but I think we're in for a 49ers snoozer.

We didn't make the playoffs.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

19 hours ago, CuddyDark said:

Now lets hope they can skip that godawful Hard Knocks.

‘Hard Knocks’ could retool, and exclusively follow Hue Jackson, bouncing from team to team.

[eball]

Just now, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

‘Hard Knocks’ could retool, and exclusively follow Hue Jackson, bouncing from team to team.

 

"On the next episode of Hue Knocks, the coach wonders aloud if his cellphone has stopped working..."

[eball]

19 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

Four games in the UK.  The slippery slope continues.

 

Soon, having to make it across the ocean to play a football game will be thought of as "normal" and that's when they will introduce the newest member of the NFL, the London Royals or some such.

 

These billionaires can't wait to add a few zeros in their bank accounts and make the NFL a global phenomenon, or at least a N. American and Western European phenomenon.

 

As I mentioned in another thread, ALL playoff games and the Super Bowl were/are being aired this year in Germany on free TV.

 

The indoctrination continues!

 

 

 

Slippery slope?  There have been at least three regular season games played in the UK since 2014, and never more than five total internationally.  The trend is simply continuing and I don't feel as though it's expanding.

 

Many have predicted the Jacksonville franchise will eventually relocate to London but that is still nowhere close to happening.

 

Right now, it seems there are four teams routinely tabbed to be the "home" teams for these games -- Jacksonville, Oakland, and both LA franchises.  All make sense because of either stadium or fanbase issues.

[T master]

This is just one fan but i wish they would drop the entire deal of going to london all together it rips the season ticket holders off for one game a season but seeing as greed is a motivating factor in all things NFL i know it's not going away any time soon !! 

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

23 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

The team giving up there home game makes more money? The NFL makes money?

 

what about the extra travel expenses?

 

Travel is a drop in the bucket for the money they make on these international games.  

 

Forget the game, forget the market.  Think just about the added advertising for getting a game on TV at the 9:00 am slot. 

[BillsfaninChicago]

10 minutes ago, JoshAllenHasBigHands said:

 

Travel is a drop in the bucket for the money they make on these international games.  

 

Forget the game, forget the market.  Think just about the added advertising for getting a game on TV at the 9:00 am slot. 

That is actually another reason I like London games. It is pretty nice waking up to football and essential having football on from morning to night on Sundays.

Edited January 22, 2019 by Leonhart2017

[Golden Goat]

5 minutes ago, JoshAllenHasBigHands said:

Forget the game, forget the market.  Think just about the added advertising for getting a game on TV at the 9:00 am slot. 

 

Do they say "dilly dilly" at least once every commercial?

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

46 minutes ago, JoshAllenHasBigHands said:

 

Travel is a drop in the bucket for the money they make on these international games.  

 

Forget the game, forget the market.  Think just about the added advertising for getting a game on TV at the 9:00 am slot. 

Excellent point, my friend. And as an east coaster, I love the idea of breakfast football. Those darned west-coasters have enjoyed this for years.

 

[416BillsFan]

6 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

We didn't make the playoffs.

My bad, meant to write the rule was changed to teams who made the playoffs in the past 2 years aren't forced to participate.

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

6 minutes ago, Joe in Winslow said:

Excellent point, my friend. And as an east coaster, I love the idea of breakfast football. Those darned west-coasters have enjoyed this for years.

 

 

I can't even express how excited I get when i realize there is a morning game on Sunday.  

[Mountain Man]

On 1/21/2019 at 5:14 PM, bladiebla said:

.Expansion to 4 games was said to be the first step towards investigating the viability of an expansion in London as the European franchise. 

You're about 7 years too late. They have been franchise testing year on year.

 

For example, there is no longer a major event on Saturday, teams coming over to London and not having bye weeks after, different stadiums to Wembley, games on back to back weekends (and in the case of last year 3 back to back weekends), no pre game entertainment.

 

They have been normalising the London game experience for a number of years.

 

Far from being the 1st step, we are a long way down the road. I don't think most people in the US realise how far down the road the NFL has gone to a London franchise

6 hours ago, eball said:

Many have predicted the Jacksonville franchise will eventually relocate to London but that is still nowhere close to happening.

The commonly held view in the UK is actually it will be the Chargers not the Jags who move to London. It solves both the NFL's aspiration for a London team, whilst also solving the issue of the Chargers lacking support in LA. 

[eball]

41 minutes ago, Mountain Man said:

 

The commonly held view in the UK is actually it will be the Chargers not the Jags who move to London. It solves both the NFL's aspiration for a London team, whilst also solving the issue of the Chargers lacking support in LA. 

 

 

Interesting, I had not heard that.  Seems like the Jacksonville owner has invested a lot in the London market.

[Mountain Man]

26 minutes ago, eball said:

 

Interesting, I had not heard that.  Seems like the Jacksonville owner has invested a lot in the London market.

He has, and he hasn't.

 

They've spent a lot of time, and there is a lot of social media stuff / events etc. 

 

But in terms of actual money, probably not that much, and little physical infrastructure and stuff.

 

They could shut it all down tomorrow at little cost you suspect.

 

Furthermore the Jags support seems to have peaked in London. They went from being in the bottom 25% in terms of supported teams in London, now they are in the 2nd 25% and if anything, last year and this year their support had fallen at Wembley. A lot of UK fans are sick of the endless Jags media attention in the UK

Edited January 22, 2019 by Mountain Man

[Doc Brown]

3 hours ago, 416BillsFan said:

My bad, meant to write the rule was changed to teams who made the playoffs in the past 2 years aren't forced to participate.

I did not know that.  I thought it was just one year.  Sweet.

[416BillsFan]

1 hour ago, Mountain Man said:

You're about 7 years too late. They have been franchise testing year on year.

 

For example, there is no longer a major event on Saturday, teams coming over to London and not having bye weeks after, different stadiums to Wembley, games on back to back weekends (and in the case of last year 3 back to back weekends), no pre game entertainment.

 

They have been normalising the London game experience for a number of years.

 

Far from being the 1st step, we are a long way down the road. I don't think most people in the US realise how far down the road the NFL has gone to a London franchise

The commonly held view in the UK is actually it will be the Chargers not the Jags who move to London. It solves both the NFL's aspiration for a London team, whilst also solving the issue of the Chargers lacking support in LA.  

Anyone else get the sinking feeling in their stomachs that the Chargers move to London the season after Brady retires and we are realigned out of the division?

 

[Mountain Man]

8 minutes ago, 416BillsFan said:

Anyone else get the sinking feeling in their stomachs that the Chargers move to London the season after Brady retires and we are realigned out of the division?

 

I don't see them touching the East divisions. They are too well established. The AFC South makes sense, and push the Texans into the AFC West.

Edited January 22, 2019 by Mountain Man

[416BillsFan]

2 minutes ago, Mountain Man said:

I don't see them touching the East divisions. They are too well established. The AFC South makes sense, and push the Texans into the AFC West.

Interesting - in the AFC I see the North as the only division approaching untouchable. Moving the Texans to the West makes sense, but with the Dolphins moving to the South, & London Chargers to the East.

[Mountain Man]

13 minutes ago, 416BillsFan said:

Interesting - in the AFC I see the North as the only division approaching untouchable. Moving the Texans to the West makes sense, but with the Dolphins moving to the South, & London Chargers to the East.

That's probably the logical route if they want them in the East. 

 

If it were the Jags, I suspect they would just do a simple swap 

[bladiebla]

On 1/21/2019 at 8:01 PM, Mark Vader said:

Do you believe that the London Monarchs becoming an NFL franchise is imminent? Be they an expansion team or the Jacksonville Jaguars?

Yes, I reckon it's imminent but it may still be 10 years away. The NFL really does seem to be playing the long term game here. There is a very big practical issue at hand too; I can see players having some objections to be forced to move to Europe because they got drafted by the Monarchs for instance...

 

Relocating/renaming an existing franchise seems to be the way the NFL prefers to deal with adding teams, it is where I would put my money if forced to bet. However they may well have some sort of big expansion scheme up their sleeves combined with a division reshuffle.

 

[Mountain Man]

1 hour ago, bladiebla said:

Yes, I reckon it's imminent but it may still be 10 years away. The NFL really does seem to be playing the long term game here. There is a very big practical issue at hand too; I can see players having some objections to be forced to move to Europe because they got drafted by the Monarchs for instance...

But equally, it'll be a big attraction to some players. Look at other sports, like soccer and rugby, players relocate all over the world for long periods. The reality is now sport is a global industry, relocation is normal.

 

I'm not saying it won't be an issue for some players, but undoubtedly it's being blown completely out of proportion.

 

It's remarkable how perceptions of London change. A lot of players and journalists who come over comment on how much better it is than they expected.

Edited January 23, 2019 by Mountain Man

[Mark Vader]

1 hour ago, bladiebla said:

Yes, I reckon it's imminent but it may still be 10 years away. The NFL really does seem to be playing the long term game here. There is a very big practical issue at hand too; I can see players having some objections to be forced to move to Europe because they got drafted by the Monarchs for instance...

 

Relocating/renaming an existing franchise seems to be the way the NFL prefers to deal with adding teams, it is where I would put my money if forced to bet. However they may well have some sort of big expansion scheme up their sleeves combined with a division reshuffle.

 

I definitely see the long term approach the NFL is taking with this and taking a step back by coming at this slowly.

Goodell made a big mistake by throwing the idea of having the Super Bowl in London. Way too early for that to happen.

Thank you for pointing out that the attention these games bring to not only the people in England, but from other countries as well. I'm fully aware of how popular American Football is in Germany. We all remember how many German teams were in NFL Europe.

 

I could see a team eventually moving to London, though I agree with you that it may not happen for awhile. The idea of another big expansion from the NFL makes me cringe. The talent level in the league is depleted enough as is.

 

Another thing  to keep an eye on is the amount of European football players that are getting recruited by Power 5 college football teams.

Here is an article about that....https://247sports.com/Article/Power-5-programs-looking-to-Europe-in-college-football-recruiting-122518257/

With so many players from other countries getting a real shot at playing in the USA, it seems as if this is the future for football. From the article the popularity and talent level is growing more so, and it will only get bigger.

[bladiebla]

20 hours ago, Mark Vader said:

Another thing  to keep an eye on is the amount of European football players that are getting recruited by Power 5 college football teams.

Here is an article about that....https://247sports.com/Article/Power-5-programs-looking-to-Europe-in-college-football-recruiting-122518257/

With so many players from other countries getting a real shot at playing in the USA, it seems as if this is the future for football. From the article the popularity and talent level is growing more so, and it will only get bigger.

 

Nice article. The amount of Swedish and German players makes sense as those countries also have the strongest amateur competitions in Europe. It surprises me to see the French absent from that list as they have been dominating the European fields for over a decade now. Might be a language thing; Omelette du Fromage!

[PetermansRedemption]

On 1/22/2019 at 11:31 AM, Joe in Winslow said:

Excellent point, my friend. And as an east coaster, I love the idea of breakfast football. Those darned west-coasters have enjoyed this for years.

 

I’ll third this sentiment. I love the London Games and wish there was one on every Sunday of the regular season. Can’t beat a Sunday that goes 9AM London Game, 11:30-ish buffalo kick off live, 12-1 nfl today, 1-4 Bills, 4-8 red zone, 8-11 Sunday night game.