NFL London Fog
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Last Sunday the NFL played their first ever regular season game outside of the country. In conditions ideal for soccer, fans in attendance at London’s Wembley Stadium saw the poorest played game in the NFL this year.
The New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins, already suffering from jet lag, could barely keep their footing, much less complete a pass over 20 yards though the mud and rain.
Although they won’t admit it, I think the actual game fell short of the league’s expectations.
NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell has been open about his plans to globalize the NFL. Last week, he kicked around the idea of holding a Super Bowl in London, as well as adding expansion teams overseas.
Various media reports from London said the fans welcomed the game, but had little idea what was actually going on.
I admire Goodell’s ambitious attitude, but question what appears to be a move similar to the NBA’s backing of the WNBA. It seems the league has done little market research to determine attitudes and opportunity for bringing american football to London.
Prior to the game, the London Time’s quoted Goodell as saying, “Whenever you do something like this, you don’t know what the reaction will be.” In marketing 101, students learn that research comes before product development.
If Goodell is going to be successful, I think the league is going to have to be patient and be ready to make a big investment. It will take time for a society a half world away to adopt a game as complex football.
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