ShareThisWe can now put those "Super Bowl in London" rumors to rest.
Although it was suggested recently that talks to ship the NFL title tilt overseas were legitimate, commissioner Roger Goodell insists they aren't.
"We have not ever looked at London as a site or Mexico City as a site," Goodell said. "There is interest in other sites hosting the Super Bowl, so it gets spun inaccurately."
Case closed.
But now Goodell is talking about adding an extra regular season game in London, beginning as early as 2010.
"This is a great growth opportunity for us," he said. "We believe our sport can be popular well beyond our boundaries."
Here's my question.
What are the chances that the National Football league will one day become the International Football League, if not in name at least in practice?
Already the league has 32 franchises, and has cornered every major media market in the United States except Los Angeles. With that area building a sparkling new stadium, L.A. will have a big league football team sooner than later, probably getting an existing franchise from an owner itching to relocate.
Yet when the economy improves -- and hopefully it will one day -- the NFL will likely expand. If it increases its number of franchises to 36, it could very well step outside the Lower 48.
A team in London, of course, would create a logistical nightmare. To keep expenses in check a British team would likely have to have a weird scheduling format that would feature four consecutive home games then four straight on the road, with an American city serving as its United States base.
It might seem far-fetched (and probably is), but the NFL seems to have grown quite fond of the Mother Country.
Mexico City would be workable. It has a huge population base that enjoys both American football and association football (soccer), so an NFL team at the 105,000-seat Estadio Azteca would be a sure-fire hit.
If the NFL decides to invade Canada, I imagine the troops will land in Toronto and Vancouver.
Toronto is already flirting with the Buffalo Bills, and that city is regarded as the one non-U.S. market that has the best chance to land a team.
Vancouver has a quality stadium and would add to the league's West Coast presence.
The bottom line is that the NFL will expand. It might be 10 years down the road or longer, but such a lucrative business isn't going to simply run in place. And since the world grows smaller every day, I can't imagine the organization limiting itself to our borders.
A regular season matchup between the New England Patriots and London Knights might be a long shot, but all NFL teams won't be confined to the United States forever.
Count on it.
(Contact Scott Adamson of the Anderson Independent-Mail in Anderson, S.C., at adamsons(at)indpendentmail.com.)
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