Kick-starting NFL dreams in the U.K.
The Miami Dolphins and New York giants will play their first regular-season game at Wembley Stadium in London. Jeremy Hobson reports this could be a way to invite U.S. football overseas.
An animatronic model of Miami Dolphins player Jason Taylor pictured against the backdrop of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London. The New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins will play the first ever regular National Football League (NFL) held outside the Americas. (Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images)
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Scott Jagow: The Colts beat the Jaguars on Monday night football last night. Ho-hum. But things could get interesting this weekend. The NFL will play its first regular season game in London -- the Miami Dolphis versus the New York Giants. More now from Jeremy Hobson.
Jeremy Hobson: London's mayor expects 10,000 Americans to fly over for the sold-out game. Wembley stadium is asking fans to dress in Dolphins or Giants colours -- spelled "COLOURS" on the website -- to show the NFL there's a market in the U.K.
Good idea, says Vanderbilt University Sports Economist John Vrooman:
John Vrooman: Everything the National Football league does has some sort of capital investment mentality to it. They're always looking for the payoff in something, and rarely do they want the payoff to be immediate.
Vrooman says that means the NFL may be dreaming about a team in the U.K. down the road -- and all the TV revenue that would go with it.
So what do Americans think? Outside a sports bar in downtown Washington, D.C., the reaction was mostly positive.
Sports Fan Guy #1: Um, it's good for the world, I mean to get football global like soccer. 'Course football is better than soccer.
Sports Fan Guy #2: I'd like to see it catch on in Europe, yeah. Because I hate soccer.
In Washington, I'm Jeremy Hobson for Marketplace.
