NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

The End?

[url=http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/nfl_experts/post/NFL-to-shut-down-European-league;_ylt=AjPgyZ.YSb.bP.jiHjIPnfdDubYF?urn=nfl,37603]NFL to shut down European league - NFL Experts Blog - NFL - Yahoo! Sports[/url]

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

All they had was basically Germany in terms of teams and fans, and a lot of those fans probably were US servicemen/women who missed seeing AMerican football. I watched some games when it was still the WFL with Barcelona and the Scotland Monarchs still around. It was OK, but nothing too spectacular. The NFL has to be taking a real hit also paying out NFL contracts with only half filled soccer stadiums. FIFA is king in Europe anyway, just like the NFL is king here in the States, which is why MSL is probably going to fade away within 5-10 years.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

I'm actually surprised it's lasted as long as it has.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

its been around ten years? i might have watched a total of one half. now more time to watch reruns of American gladiators:)

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

[quote=dmek25;322078]its been around ten years? i might have watched a total of one half. now more time to watch reruns of American gladiators:)[/quote]


I love american gladiatiors

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

[quote=GusFrerotte;322057]All they had was basically Germany in terms of teams and fans, and a lot of those fans probably were US servicemen/women who missed seeing AMerican football. I watched some games when it was still the WFL with Barcelona and the Scotland Monarchs still around. It was OK, but nothing too spectacular. The NFL has to be taking a real hit also paying out NFL contracts with only half filled soccer stadiums. FIFA is king in Europe anyway, just like the NFL is king here in the States, which is why MSL is probably going to fade away within 5-10 years.[/quote]

Good points. I just wanted to add a little tid bit. Another contributing factor to money lost in the league is due to the drastic downsizing of the Military in Europe. As you pointed out alot of the fans we servicemembers and those numbers are taking hits. There are only going to be two Military bases in Germany by 2010 occupied by the Army and Air Force. I also believe that the installations in Italy and the UK will stay open, but that is hardly enough fan base for American Football in Europe.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

Well I don't think the EL was ever really meant to be a huge profit maker. Rather, it was meant to cultivate an interest and understanding in the sport overseas while also functioning as a minor league. I think it accomplished that to an extent.

But from what I've heard the NFL is ready to start marketing its actual product to Europe, while maybe setting up a minor league in the states where it would have a chance of actually making money. I think JLC talks about this on his blog.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

I think it is a colossal waste of time(marketing NFL stateside to Europe). If you can't get the butts in the seats, you aren't going to get the butts in front of the tubes. Why would someone from Munich want to watch a NFL game in Chicago when Bayern Munich is playing a match the same day? The interest is not there and they will lose revenue. Greed is going to take both the NBA and NFL down the tubes eventually. The US market is not fully tapped out yet, damn even LA still needs a team or two. The NFL needs to drop the pursuit of parity and go back to the pre salary cap days where excellent teams were built and dynasties made. Would you rather see a shitty close SB like we have had for the past few seasons or watch a nice oiled machinge ala Montana Rice light up the scoreboard? Games are getting boring as the league interferes too much via the refs, same with the NBA. The greed is killing the leagues.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

[quote=GusFrerotte;322232]I think it is a colossal waste of time(marketing NFL stateside to Europe). If you can't get the butts in the seats, you aren't going to get the butts in front of the tubes. Why would someone from Munich want to watch a NFL game in Chicago when Bayern Munich is playing a match the same day? The interest is not there and they will lose revenue. Greed is going to take both the NBA and NFL down the tubes eventually. The US market is not fully tapped out yet, damn even LA still needs a team or two. The NFL needs to drop the pursuit of parity and go back to the pre salary cap days where excellent teams were built and dynasties made. Would you rather see a shitty close SB like we have had for the past few seasons or watch a nice oiled machinge ala Montana Rice light up the scoreboard? Games are getting boring as the league interferes too much via the refs, same with the NBA. The greed is killing the leagues.[/quote]


While I did enjoy the pre-salary cap days (because we were winning) I do not think that it would be wise to go back to that. Only the teams with alot of money would win. If other teams are not capable of putting a winning product on the field, then fans of that team would lose intrest. Talk about NFL going down the tube. It would be a step backward. If fans lose intrest the league loses money. Not only that, but it would be too easy to predict who goes to the playoffs year in and year out and who gets the first 10 draft picks.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

[QUOTE=GusFrerotte;322232]I think it is a colossal waste of time(marketing NFL stateside to Europe). If you can't get the butts in the seats, you aren't going to get the butts in front of the tubes. Why would someone from Munich want to watch a NFL game in Chicago when Bayern Munich is playing a match the same day? The interest is not there and they will lose revenue. Greed is going to take both the NBA and NFL down the tubes eventually. The US market is not fully tapped out yet, damn even LA still needs a team or two. The NFL needs to drop the pursuit of parity and go back to the pre salary cap days where excellent teams were built and dynasties made. Would you rather see a shitty close SB like we have had for the past few seasons or watch a nice oiled machinge ala Montana Rice light up the scoreboard? Games are getting boring as the league interferes too much via the refs, same with the NBA. The greed is killing the leagues.[/QUOTE]

You bring up a lot of points here GF. I think that the NFL is looking to baseball and basketball as two sports that have been able to develop revenue sources overseas through satellite distribution and wants a piece of that. The difference is that both of those sports are played at a high level abroad, while football is unique to the homeland. Still, I do think the potential is there to find a niche market, much like European soccer has in the states. This is a low risk endeavour that I doubt they could lose much money on.

As for your second point, I think parity in the NFL has as much to do with it's soaring popularity as the product on the field. They get it just right. It's the only sport where every single team has a legit shot to make a run every single season. There are websites like this in every NFL city with people predicting honestly and earnestly a 13-3 season. You are certainly entitled to your opinion but I don't know many other Americans who are dissatisfied with the NFL's product. I for one can't get enough.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

I don't see why it has lasted this long. I dont really think everyone follows it like that.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

If Goodell's plan is to truly make football into a global sport, this makes me very nervous if he intends to cut NFL Europa. It makes me wonder if he's thinking about having an NFL team in England (as Tagliabue had hinted). I don't like this idea one bit, I don't like the thought of sending guys over to play a team in London, or anywhere in Europe.

However, I wouldn't mind having NFL Europa become a more serious league and having some form of "World Championship" or something like that, after the Super Bowl. It would be interesting to see a format for football similar to what we see in soccer.

P.S. This is all just brainstorming and the feasibility is probably not there, just a pipe dream

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

Not totally dissatisfied with the product DJ, but I think it has been tainted because of the push for parity. I rather see a top echelon of teams with some decent teams in the middle then ones that are horrible. I have to disagree. Pre cap football was more exciting as you did have at least half a dozen teams in each conference that had a legitimate shot at the big dance. Depending on how old you are , which playoff rivalries were more exciting to watch The NE vs Indy rivalry or the Denver vs Cleveland rivalry of the early to mid 80's? The officials have effectively become a part of the game much more so than the pre cap days and the gazillion $$$$$$$ TV contracts, etc. The big money and push for parity will eventually take its toll on the game.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

[url=http://www.nfl.com/news/story/10240829]NFL.com - NFL News[/url]

looks like the plugs pulled

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

[quote=GusFrerotte;322450]Not totally dissatisfied with the product DJ, but I think it has been tainted because of the push for parity. I rather see a top echelon of teams with some decent teams in the middle then ones that are horrible. I have to disagree. Pre cap football was more exciting as you did have at least half a dozen teams in each conference that had a legitimate shot at the big dance. Depending on how old you are , which playoff rivalries were more exciting to watch The NE vs Indy rivalry or the Denver vs Cleveland rivalry of the early to mid 80's? The officials have effectively become a part of the game much more so than the pre cap days and the gazillion $$$$$$$ TV contracts, etc. The big money and push for parity will eventually take its toll on the game.[/quote]

I think it depends on your perspective. If your only benchmark is quality of play, then yes, the salary cap has lowered the overall quality of the teams because units simply cannot stay together long enough with the same personnel to reach their maximum potential. No longer do you have the same O'line for example jelling together for a 6-8 year run of excellence, or QB/Reciever combos developing the long-term chemistry of Montana-Rice. The drop off is not, contrary to popular sentiment, huge from the previous era since players are stronger, faster, and better conditioned today that they used to be.

On the other hand, the quality of overall league competitiveness is much better today. In the pre-salary cap era, turn-around took years and sometimes never (tampa bay or new orleans come to mind). Today's league allows a good coach and a few key acquisitions really make a difference in overall competitiveness, which is what keeps seats in Cleveland, Buffalo, Arizona, New Orleans, Tennessee and other small market teams filled.

I think there has been a trade-off, but I think long-term viability is based on both competitiveness and play quality. A small drop off in play quality has resulted in a huge advancement in competitiveness, so the net is a better, healthier league. The results are hard to argue with...look at Hockey, Basketball, and Baseball. Their respective ratings have tumbled, while the highly competitive sports (NFL/Nascar) have not.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

It's official. They folded. Here's the link:

[url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2920738]ESPN - Passport expires: NFL Europa folds after 16 years - NFL[/url]

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

they should be glad that they got 16 years out of it. the quality was really bad

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

Seems to me like this is the right opportunity for Mark Cuban to swoop in with his proposed football league and go to the owners and say "Look, I've got the money. I'll bankroll a developmental league in the springtime here in the US for you guys"

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

Yeah, spring football in the US would probably work. The USFL was making a game of it until they tried to directly compete with the NFL. If the NFL actually encouraged rather than fight a new spring league - I bet it would flourish.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

HI Guys,

I
Hi Guys,

I stay in Scotland and attended many a games in Scotland and Europe (okay Germany) It is fair to say that the crowds were bigger in Germany than Scotland or Spain but if you look at the population of Scotland, we have 5 million (give or take a few) we are big in soccer (american terms) the two top team in Scotland average 50-60 thousand the next in attendance in soccer is 13 Claymores were 10 thousand which is not to bad. What killed us of was the travel expenses.
I was born and bred in Scotland brought up playing football all through my youth and teens (scottish terms) MSL has just got David Beckam (LA Galaxy) surly you don't spend $120 million on something that will be gone in 5-10 years. BTW I was watching the tv some 25 years ago when our local tv station showed an american football game (redskins dolphins), since then i have been hooked and i would say that i prefer it to soccer


[quote=GusFrerotte;322057]All they had was basically Germany in terms of teams and fans, and a lot of those fans probably were US servicemen/women who missed seeing AMerican football. I watched some games when it was still the WFL with Barcelona and the Scotland Monarchs still around. It was OK, but nothing too spectacular. The NFL has to be taking a real hit also paying out NFL contracts with only half filled soccer stadiums. FIFA is king in Europe anyway, just like the NFL is king here in the States, which is why MSL is probably going to fade away within 5-10 years.[/quote]

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

Good idea Smootie. Cuban wants in football bad and being stuck watching baseball in the spring sucks. Spring sports up here in Detroit usually is good with the Wings and Pistons in the playoffs, but I can see a drop coming with both franchises, Tigers are cool, but not a big baseball guy. Spring football would be nice.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

[quote=GusFrerotte;322782]Good idea Smootie. Cuban wants in football bad and being stuck watching baseball in the spring sucks. Spring sports up here in Detroit usually is good with the Wings and Pistons in the playoffs, but I can see a drop coming with both franchises, Tigers are cool, but not a big baseball guy. Spring football would be nice.[/quote]

I honestly can't even watch a baseball game. It's so damn boring it's ridicules. I can't even watch Sports Center cause it's all baseball highlights. Thank god for NFL Network cause that's all I watch.

But I agree. I would watch some spring football in the US. Anyhone know why Danny boi isn't on to this already?

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

I hope the NFL makes plans for a developmental league here in the states in the spring, I would support that idea because it would give fans football to watch from here in the states during the spring and it would also develop younger players that could be great provided they put the work in.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

[QUOTE=mooby;322798]I hope the NFL makes plans for a developmental league here in the states in the spring, I would support that idea because it would give fans football to watch from here in the states during the spring and it would also develop younger players that could be great provided they put the work in.[/QUOTE]

There's always Arena Football!

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

Yes it is finally over. I could not be happier with that. I hated NFLE because people go over there and the media tries to hype up someone who sucks.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

[quote=SmootSmack;322799]There's always Arena Football![/quote]


And the Candian league as well.[IMG]http://www.thewarpath.net/images/icons/icon7.gif[/IMG]

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

I would love for the NFL to have spring minor league teams delegated through the US, kind of like how the MLB does with minor league baseball.

With the thoughts of expanding the league globally, that would be great business for the NFL, but think about the jet lag for the players.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

[QUOTE=SmootSmack;322799]There's always Arena Football![/QUOTE]

The AFL is not football.

I love the CFL and would like to see the NFL adopt some of the rules used in the CFL. Obviously the CFL is not the NFL but at least its real football.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

[QUOTE=irish;323593]The AFL is not football.

I love the CFL and would like to see the NFL adopt some of the rules used in the CFL. Obviously the CFL is not the NFL but at least its real football.[/QUOTE]

How is the AFL not football, but the CFL is? If you're going to hate on one (which I don't know why you would), hate on them both

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

[QUOTE=SmootSmack;323596]How is the AFL not football, but the CFL is? If you're going to hate on one (which I don't know why you would), hate on them both[/QUOTE]

Why do I have to like both or hate both? That's idiotic. I like the CFL and dont like the the AFL.

The CFL is played on a real field with a full compliment of players. AFL is played on a hockey rink with what 5 or 6 guys, thats not real football.

I dont hate the AFL any more than I hate monster trucks or poker. They are all interesting but not real sports.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

It's 8 players per side in AFL. Field is 50 yards long. As opposed to 12 and 110 for CFL. Either way, I think AFL is a lot of fun to watch. Several NFL players have come from the AFL and I consider it real.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

The AFL is real whatever that means exactly. What does the size of the field matter? There's still passing, running, blocking and tackling. That's football to me.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

Well, as a German Football player myself I think I can say some things about marketing and standing of NFL/NFLE here in Germany.

Many players I know, and myself too, weren´t too interested in NFLE. This had several reasons.
Most say and said, that if they wanted to see really high quality football, they watch NFL.
If they want to see football of lower quality, but with players they were able to identify with and that played without the real big money (well, mostly for no money) they watch the regular German Leagues like GFL or lower.
Many people just watched NFLE for the show, not the game itself.

Another problem was the chance to watch it on TV. Last year, NFLE and even NFL (except the Superbowl and the Championship Games) were not to be seen in free-tv but only in pay-tv. And not in our biggest pay-tv-channel but in a small one that only about 100.000 people here have. So it is clear, that that was a major problem in aquiring new fans or interested people.

Best thing NFL could do imho would be to support GFL a bit (not much money needed there in the big view what you´re spending in your home country) with marketing experts and a little bit sponsoring and that will make football much more interesting and before all known over here, which also will increase the number of people buying stuff from NFL-Teams or watching them on TV etc.

Grüzze,
TGfoT

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

[quote=TheGuyFromOverThere;323656]Well, as a German Football player myself I think I can say some things about marketing and standing of NFL/NFLE here in Germany.

Many players I know, and myself too, weren´t too interested in NFLE. This had several reasons.
Most say and said, that if they wanted to see really high quality football, they watch NFL.
If they want to see football of lower quality, but with players they were able to identify with and that played without the real big money (well, mostly for no money) they watch the regular German Leagues like GFL or lower.
Many people just watched NFLE for the show, not the game itself.

Another problem was the chance to watch it on TV. Last year, NFLE and even NFL (except the Superbowl and the Championship Games) were not to be seen in free-tv but only in pay-tv. And not in our biggest pay-tv-channel but in a small one that only about 100.000 people here have. So it is clear, that that was a major problem in aquiring new fans or interested people.

Best thing NFL could do imho would be to support GFL a bit (not much money needed there in the big view what you´re spending in your home country) with marketing experts and a little bit sponsoring and that will make football much more interesting and before all known over here, which also will increase the number of people buying stuff from NFL-Teams or watching them on TV etc.

Grüzze,
TGfoT[/quote]

Were you able to watch any SKINS games via pay-per-view. Or even free at a local pub or somewhere free by any chance?

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

Only way for me to watch all Skins games was by the (in my opinion) very expensive Yahoo-streaming-channel. Even with the pay-tv channel there were only the thursday game, two at sunday and monday night, so not even all games were available.

Well, so I decided for the streaming from yahoo. Not the best solution, but the only chance for me to watch all the Skins games.

At pubs or bars you only can watch soccer (German Bundesliga or English Premier League) or sometimes a World Championship in Handball, Basketball and such.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

[quote=TheGuyFromOverThere;323678]Only way for me to watch all Skins games was by the (in my opinion) very expensive Yahoo-streaming-channel. Even with the pay-tv channel there were only the thursday game, two at sunday and monday night, so not even all games were available.

Well, so I decided for the streaming from yahoo. Not the best solution, but the only chance for me to watch all the Skins games.

At pubs or bars you only can watch soccer (German Bundesliga or English Premier League) or sometimes a World Championship in Handball, Basketball and such.[/quote]

Good for you man! Glad you at least got to catch the games, even if it wasn't the best case scenario. Way to support the team! WELL DONE!

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

[quote=SmootSmack;322799]There's always Arena Football![/quote]


I do consider AFL to be football, I just don't like it. I don't like the whole 50 yard field, plus the high scoring games. Maybe if the AFL changed it's regulations n whatnot to the same as the NFL I would like it more.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

[QUOTE=skinsfan_nn;323679]Good for you man! Glad you at least got to catch the games, even if it wasn't the best case scenario. Way to support the team! WELL DONE![/QUOTE]

Yeah, that´s good for me, but it doesn´t help to get new fans or people interested in the sport.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

Hallo TheGuyFromOverThere, was Sie oben tuend bei 1030 morgens sind? Nicht haben Sie die Arbeit, zum zutun? Sowieso Willkommen zum Warpath.
Kippte es Sie um, daß sie NFLE entfernten? Ich stelle vor mich, daß es Sie nicht wegen der anderen Ligen dort stört. Ich mochte NFLE, während ich dort zwar war. Ich jubelte immer für die Frankfurt Galaxie.

Re: NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa
 

Redskins washington будут командой одно в NFL будущий год. Я гарантирую его. What, you guys dont speak Russian?

Translation. The Washington Redskins are going to rule the NFL next year. I guarantee it