There are a lot of NFL football fans ‘across the pond’… over in London town. Every time there has been an exhibition game played over there it has been a sellout and a roaring success. The most recent contest saw over 83,000 ‘American Football’ fans jammed into Wembley Stadium to see the Minnesota Vikings take on ‘Big Ben’ Roethlisberger and his Pittsburg Steelers at the time both teams had yet to win a game!
But the Vikings and the Steelers put on a great show and the fans went away happy and asking for more and why not? The final score was 34-27 Vikings with the action going non-stop from start to finish. Exciting performances by Adrian Peterson and Greg Jennings made it a memorable afternoon of action for the British fans. The next game, scheduled for Week 8 in the NFL, will feature Jacksonville back in London this time to play the San Francisco 49ers before yet another sell-out crowd.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, “Our fans in the UK have continued to demonstrate that they love football and want more. Both of this year’s games in London sold out quickly. The fan enthusiasm for our sport continues to grow. By playing two games in the UK this year, we are creating more fans. We hope that with three games in London next year we will attract even more people to our game.”
2014 will indeed see three NFL games of ‘American Football’ played in London. Remember that over in Europe they call Soccer ‘Football’ so it is important to make the distinction. No specific dates or matchups have been announced to date but we do know that the Atlanta Falcons, the Oakland Raiders and, once again, the Jacksonville Jaguars will all make the crossing.
Jaguar’s owner Shad Khan has connections in England and his influence there is apparently responsible in part for this new cooperation between the two countries’ sporting communities. Jacksonville has already committed to playing games in London through the 2016 season.
There has even been quite a bit of talk about actually locating an NFL franchise over in London but the commissioner’s office has down-played the idea for now. What is obvious is that the National Football League does have an international appeal and a fan base that stretches across the ocean.
Khan told the press, “The experience the Jaguars have had already in London has been every bit what we anticipated and more.”
