tuw
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Hi guys,
First post on here so apologies if i'm repeating what has already been written but think i can help answer a few of your concerns,
When the Giants played at the Packers last week, in the British studio we had the MD of NFL UK who gave out enough info without saying who was playing.
First concern i've seen on here, although there are 32 teams in the NFL 18/19 are currently under contract to play at their stadium so this obviously leaves only 13/14 sides that could have feasibly played over here(Saints being one of them). The Saints were in a short list of 4 potential home teams along with the Chiefs, the Bucks and the Seahawks(i think). Although the NFL guy didn't confirm which would be the home team(obviously this has now been leaked).
The game will be played in the UK but i still haven't read any definite confirmation it will be at Wembley? The 3 grounds up for consideration were Wembley, Murrayfield(Home of Scotland Rugby) and Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. I personally thought the Millienium Stadium would have been given the game as it has a roof and it would prevent the farce that happened at Wembley last season where it rained all week and we saw a truely awful game - the pitch was still ruined when our national football side lost a few weeks later meaning we didn't qualify for Euro 2008(The NFL got the blame - although when England lose its everyone else's fault but our own).
The Saints will be compensated financially by the NFL, if it is at Wembley then you will get 90,000 attendance gate receipts as well as your normal sponsor money(which will be all over the stadium as it would be if it was in New Orleans).
Now, i have been surprised at how many people on here think there will be little interest over here. To give you an idea, when the Dolphins played last season, over half a million people applied for tickets in just 48 hours of the game being announced. Since that game tv viewing figures for the NFL have risen by 80% on what they already were(bearing in mind how many people applied for tickets). Please don't think those that attend would be bored and lacking knowledge on the game, we now have a sports channel that is entirely dedicated to the NFL every Sunday and think upto 12/14 games are shown(via interactive) each Sunday. This weekend will also see the Superbowl on the UK's biggest terrestial channel(The BBC) for the first time ever.
The Saints will get a fantastic amount of support and one thing you will notice(if you attend the game or watch it on tv) is that everybody will be in the ground from the first minute to the last(something i noticed didn't happen at the 2 NFL games i attended recently over in the States).
I can understand the frustrations that you won't be able to watch you side at home - if this happened in English football there would be riots - but its happening and i do think the NFL are an incredibly ambitious organisation that is continually looking at ways to improve their brand. It will never become the number one sport over here but there's always room for another and quite frankly its the only American sport that has a chance(I just can't get into baseball, basketball is ok and hockey never really took off over here).
The Saints aren't one of the better supported teams over here so i think there is a big market for them. They will sell lots of shirts and will definitely increase their fan base(as more and more people are getting into the sport) particularly if they put on a great attacking display.
Also let's not forgot the Giants made the Superbowl after playing at Wembley....could be a lucky omen for future teams.
First post on here so apologies if i'm repeating what has already been written but think i can help answer a few of your concerns,
When the Giants played at the Packers last week, in the British studio we had the MD of NFL UK who gave out enough info without saying who was playing.
First concern i've seen on here, although there are 32 teams in the NFL 18/19 are currently under contract to play at their stadium so this obviously leaves only 13/14 sides that could have feasibly played over here(Saints being one of them). The Saints were in a short list of 4 potential home teams along with the Chiefs, the Bucks and the Seahawks(i think). Although the NFL guy didn't confirm which would be the home team(obviously this has now been leaked).
The game will be played in the UK but i still haven't read any definite confirmation it will be at Wembley? The 3 grounds up for consideration were Wembley, Murrayfield(Home of Scotland Rugby) and Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. I personally thought the Millienium Stadium would have been given the game as it has a roof and it would prevent the farce that happened at Wembley last season where it rained all week and we saw a truely awful game - the pitch was still ruined when our national football side lost a few weeks later meaning we didn't qualify for Euro 2008(The NFL got the blame - although when England lose its everyone else's fault but our own).
The Saints will be compensated financially by the NFL, if it is at Wembley then you will get 90,000 attendance gate receipts as well as your normal sponsor money(which will be all over the stadium as it would be if it was in New Orleans).
Now, i have been surprised at how many people on here think there will be little interest over here. To give you an idea, when the Dolphins played last season, over half a million people applied for tickets in just 48 hours of the game being announced. Since that game tv viewing figures for the NFL have risen by 80% on what they already were(bearing in mind how many people applied for tickets). Please don't think those that attend would be bored and lacking knowledge on the game, we now have a sports channel that is entirely dedicated to the NFL every Sunday and think upto 12/14 games are shown(via interactive) each Sunday. This weekend will also see the Superbowl on the UK's biggest terrestial channel(The BBC) for the first time ever.
The Saints will get a fantastic amount of support and one thing you will notice(if you attend the game or watch it on tv) is that everybody will be in the ground from the first minute to the last(something i noticed didn't happen at the 2 NFL games i attended recently over in the States).
I can understand the frustrations that you won't be able to watch you side at home - if this happened in English football there would be riots - but its happening and i do think the NFL are an incredibly ambitious organisation that is continually looking at ways to improve their brand. It will never become the number one sport over here but there's always room for another and quite frankly its the only American sport that has a chance(I just can't get into baseball, basketball is ok and hockey never really took off over here).
The Saints aren't one of the better supported teams over here so i think there is a big market for them. They will sell lots of shirts and will definitely increase their fan base(as more and more people are getting into the sport) particularly if they put on a great attacking display.
Also let's not forgot the Giants made the Superbowl after playing at Wembley....could be a lucky omen for future teams.