Flaw in the London arguement (1 Viewer)

[Saintree River]

The problem with the "everyone is going to lose a home game eventually" argument is that it will take 32 years at this rate for that to happen. More than likely the league will have realigned by then. And if London doesnt have a team after, say, 10 years, I doubt they are going to keep doing this. And there is even talk of a 17th game abroad for all teams. IMO this London thing will not happen. It would be the equivelent of NYC getting a soccer team that plays in the EPL (English Premier League). There is a cult following for football there, but not enough to justify changing the way the NFL operates. I can see us being successful in Toronto and Mexico City before Europe.

Bottom line is the Saints are losing a home game and I think this project will be scrapped or altered before even a third of the league has to give up a home game.

 

[FWtex]

I say everyone needs to quit whining over missing one freakin home game. The argument is selfish.

Negative: local fan misses one game.

Positives:
local fans have one less game they have to pay for.
Team makes as much or more money playing the game.
Team gets opportunity to sell more merchandise
Team get opportunity to build bigger fan following
City of NOLA free EXPOSURE in Europe

Its done so deal with it and move on!!!!!!

 

[wbbigtymer]

The team would still have been able to sell merchandise, get exposure, build a fan following, and give the city exposure if this had been a home game for the Chargers (or whoever else) instead of the Saints. All that could have still happened if the Saints were playing in the London game as the "away" team. I don't care about the Saints playing there, I just don't like losing a home game for the city.

 

[ibelieve]

I say everyone needs to quit whining over missing one freakin home game. The argument is selfish.

Negative: local fan misses one game.

Positives:
local fans have one less game they have to pay for.
Team makes as much or more money playing the game.
Team gets opportunity to sell more merchandise
Team get opportunity to build bigger fan following
City of NOLA free EXPOSURE in Europe

Its done so deal with it and move on!!!!!!

Dedicated fans who have been with this team for many many crappy years desereve to have all of their home games. (especially since we have a talented team now)

I really think 99.9 percent of fans would be willing to pay for that home game. Whats the point of being a season ticket holder if your willing to give up games. For those who are glad to get rid of the extra expense I say get rid of your tickets.

Team will get the matching revenue of the game being home and the CITY (which is more important) will lose money.

As far as merchandise goes, who is to say we will sell tons of stuff over there. The Chargers made it one game away from the Superbowl last season, wouldnt they be more in demand over there then?

Having a following over there is meaningless. You might have a hand full of fans that will continue to follow the Saints and purchase merchandise. having 60+ thousand fans and many Charger fans spend the day/weekend in NOLA would surpass having a few new fans in London.

As far as free exposure in Europe. The Saints will get exposure, but I really doubt that is going to incline people to want to visit New Orleans. Lets say the world cup is over here and England plays Italy. How many New Orleans locals are going to want to go visit their country based on that. I would say 0.

 

[Zardnok]

I say everyone needs to quit whining over missing one freakin home game. The argument is selfish.

Negative: local fan misses one game.

Positives:
local fans have one less game they have to pay for.
Team makes as much or more money playing the game.
Team gets opportunity to sell more merchandise
Team get opportunity to build bigger fan following
City of NOLA free EXPOSURE in Europe

Its done so deal with it and move on!!!!!!

Couple of comments here tex...

First, you seem to be forgetting the big negative of the NOLA area losing out on the tourism revenue created when NFL fans come to town to watch a game. Revenue from the restaurants, hotels, taxis, bars, malls, antique shops, and any number of other businesses. Revenue that is essential for the economic recovery in New Orleans.

And secondly, do you really think that Season Ticket pricing will be reduced because one game is over seas? What has Tom Benson ever done to make you think he would forgo the full season ticket price,specially when there is a long waiting list of people who would pay the extra? I think you should move that comment up to the Negatives and change it to "Local fans have to pay the same price for 7 home games as they would for 8."

The other negative you failed to mention was the increased travel time and fatigue with an overseas game. Perhaps the NFL can arrange the Bye week around the London game so we can recover from the travel strain.

 

[Colin311]

I say everyone needs to quit whining over missing one freakin home game. The argument is selfish.

Negative: local fan misses one game.

Positives:
local fans have one less game they have to pay for.
Team makes as much or more money playing the game.
Team gets opportunity to sell more merchandise
Team get opportunity to build bigger fan following
City of NOLA free EXPOSURE in Europe

Its done so deal with it and move on!!!!!!

Has it been said that season ticket holders will be charged one less game?

 

[roturn]

And I want to go...It sounds like a fun trip.

 

[kenny59715]

someone in another thread suggested having this game be an away game for both teams. I like that idea.

 

[Wahoo]

someone in another thread suggested having this game be an away game for both teams. I like that idea.

You might want to think that one through a bit. :blink1:

This is a zero sum game (or gain, if you prefer). It can't happen.

 

[BoNcHiE]

None of us have any idea how much the city/state is getting out of this deal. You can bet they had a dog in the race. For all we know the state is getting a huge settlement or will make just as much off of this game as a home game somehow.

Until the facts are out on friday its argueing over nothing. It hasn't even been confirmed we are the team yet.

 

[jayd265]

And I want to go...It sounds like a fun trip.

me too. price for me and my wife to fly there on oct 24 and fly back on the 27 would be $2300 and thats with hotel. just need the price of the tickets and ill be set LOL

 

[City Champ]

this totally deserved its own thread
/sarcasm off

 

[bop]

I say everyone needs to quit whining over missing one freakin home game. The argument is selfish.

Negative: local fan misses one game.

Positives:
local fans have one less game they have to pay for.
Team makes as much or more money playing the game.
Team gets opportunity to sell more merchandise
Team get opportunity to build bigger fan following
City of NOLA free EXPOSURE in Europe

Its done so deal with it and move on!!!!!!

For your negatives you forgot

-Saints are at a competitive disadvantage having 7 home games to every other teams 8.
-Injury risk playing on that pathetic field in the elements has got to be higher than playing on a familiar surface in a controlled climate.
-If the field gets as bad for our game as it did for the game this year then it becomes less about which team is playing better and more about who can keep their footing and hold on to a wet ball. Gotta be a disadvantage for a team that plays half its games indoors and coulda been in a dome that week. If we go over there and stumble around in the rain and fumble 5 times and lose and end up missing the playoffs by 1 game you'll be eating your "deal with it and move on."
-Team gets reimbursed but city misses out on 1/8 of the much needed revenue that hosting NFL games provide.
-Season ticket holders are paying the same amount for less games, unless this has changed or does change in the future.
-The city and team lost ALL their home games just a couple seasons ago and the timing of this is terrible. We could have easily been the away team and kept our home game.
-For the first time in team history we have a season ticket waiting list. If we want the team to stay in New Orleans we need to keep this up. Paying the same price for less games (if this ends up being the case) might put a lot of people off.
-We dont exactly have the wealthiest fan base in the NFL you know. I bet a lot of people who have season tickets save up and make sacrifices to pay for their spot in the dome and now they are having a game taken from them to be played in front of a bunch of people who for the most part couldnt care less about American football.

Im sure I can think of more negatives but I'll stop. No matter how big or small you think some of these issues are, or whether or not they even happen like the weather problems or the paying for 8 and getting 7 deal, the point is we wouldnt even have to worry about them at all if the NFL had let New Orleans keep the 8 games it was supposed to have. I mean, its not like we are asking for something extra here.

As for your "positives"

"local fans have one less game they have to pay for."

Has the team even said this? Either way, Im sure Saints fans are saying "Woo-hoo! Now we dont have to go to that game!" Yeah, right. This aint baseball where teams host 81 games a year and missing one isnt a big deal. There are only 8 chances a year to catch the Saints in the dome then its "see you in 8 months."

"Team makes as much or more money playing the game."

The team will be reimbursed what they would have made had they played the game at home and have their travel expenses paid. Thats not a positive, thats a wash. Then when you factor in that they have gotta leave their homes and families to go halfway around the world to get the same money they could have made right here at home, its not even a wash. Its a negative.

"Team gets opportunity to sell more merchandise"

Yes, for one weekend Saints merchandise will probably sell well in London. Unless they buy Chargers merchandise. Did you forget about that? What if more of them decide to root for the Chargers? What if they like the Chargers colors better or something? Anyway, do Saints fans in New Orleans not buy Saints merchandise? If the game was at the Dome merchandise would be sold, and Im pretty sure most of it would be Saints merchandise.

"Team get opportunity to build bigger fan following"

Yeah, like Americans would love soccer if only some big time European teams would come over here to play a match once a year. Again, what if they like the Chargers instead? Im aware that there is a small percentage of American football fans over there, and that an even smaller percentage of those fans list the Saints as there favorite team, but people in Europe mostly just do not care for football. See the failure that was NFLE for an example. How many people in Europe do you really expect to be swayed into becoming football fans because of this game? The real Saints fans over there probably wont even be able to get into the game anyway because of the way they do the tickets and the stadium will be full of people who dont care but went because it was the hot thing to do and be seen at. Maybe we will gain a few fans but the impact will probably be so small that it wont outweigh the negatives.

"City of NOLA free EXPOSURE in Europe"

Im sure the people in Europe already know of New Orleans as one of the most popular cities in America to visit as a tourist. If they decide to come over here for a vacation and spend some money in the city do you really think it will be because they saw a football game? How much, if any, time will be spent showcasing the city as opposed to hyping the game anyway? Again, I dont think the impact will outweigh the negatives.

The only "positive" I see in this is that the NFL and its owners get to try and line their wallets by attempting to tap an untapped market. In doing so they are alienating their fan base and, IMO, hurting the integrity of the game by putting teams at a disadvantage because they have to travel across the world to play a "home" game. Especially if they start having more than one game a year in another country which I hear they intend to do. Also, when are we gonna start seeing the teams like the Pats, Steelers and Cowboys lose a home game to go to London if they must continue this? I mean, seems like these teams would draw more attention than the Saints and Dolphins.

Heres an idea. Want to reach out to the European market? How about letting different European cities host the Pro Bowl every year, featuring all the big stars of the NFL? Games that count should not be tampered with.

 

[skymike]

I say everyone needs to quit whining over missing one freakin home game. The argument is selfish.

Negative: local fan misses one game.

Positives:
local fans have one less game they have to pay for.
Team makes as much or more money playing the game.
Team gets opportunity to sell more merchandise
Team get opportunity to build bigger fan following
City of NOLA free EXPOSURE in Europe

Its done so deal with it and move on!!!!!!

I dont know how much you know about the Saints fan base, but I think you're forgetting some important people here. Local businesses, especially the little Mom & Pop ones, which depend on tourism. Not just in New Orleans but all through the state, as every game day weekend there is a mass migration from all over the Gulf South. Nothing "selfish" about thinking about those people.

to paraphrase myself from another thread: "Dont give me this "we're getting exposure" bull. Its not a Super Bowl. There wont be a red carpet with Paris and Brittany and paparratzi and balloons. Its not even likely to be shown in most markets-- ... In Europe, it'll be a footnote at the end of the sportscast, after the highlights of the days big SOCCER matches.

"Exposure?" (the world) already knows where New Orleans is. Reggie was last years biggest selling jersey--- NATIONWIDE.

Its a useless trip for a one day deal that nobody in Europe really cares about. Meanwhile, New Orleans business loses a valuable home game event, the team loses a home field advantage, and season ticket buyers lose their most attractive game.

No "whining" here, just thinking about the little people, and the big picture.

 

[4saintspirit]

I say everyone needs to quit whining over missing one freakin home game. The argument is selfish.

Negative: local fan misses one game.

Positives:
local fans have one less game they have to pay for.
Team makes as much or more money playing the game.
Team gets opportunity to sell more merchandise
Team get opportunity to build bigger fan following
City of NOLA free EXPOSURE in Europe

Its done so deal with it and move on!!!!!!

my sentiments exactly --