NFL talks about pulling plug on NFL Europa

[skinsfan_nn]

The End?

NFL to shut down European league - NFL Experts Blog - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

[GusFrerotte]

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.

[MTK]

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

[dmek25]

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

[EARTHQUAKE2689]

Originally Posted by dmek25

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

I love american gladiatiors

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by GusFrerotte

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.

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.

[djnemo65]

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.

[GusFrerotte]

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.

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by GusFrerotte

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.

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.

[djnemo65]

Originally Posted by GusFrerotte

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.

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.

[EARTHQUAKE2689]

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

[jdlea]

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

[GusFrerotte]

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.

[mlmpetert]

NFL.com - NFL News

looks like the plugs pulled

[Mc2guy]

Originally Posted by GusFrerotte

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.

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.