Why Not Canada?

[Mighty NorCal]

It seems that ALL we hear about in near-future NFL expansion is their desire to take the league interntional, over to Europe....Namely London.

What is entirely baffling to me, is why Canada is never so much as MENTIONED as a possibility....

Last time checked, Canada is not America. It also has a VERY successfull football league which thrives in it, as opposed to Europe, were a football league failed, even with NFL financials propping it up. It also has what would be the third largest city in America (Toronto) as well as two other massive markets, in Vancover and Calgary.


What is the obsession with London, a place that seems fairly disinterested in American football? Why not Canada, were you have a built in familuarity and passion for the game, along with wealthy, modernized markets to sell to?

 

[One Punch Doug Crashin]

Because you already have a fanbase for the CFL and I don't believe the NFL wants to intrude on that. I'm assuming (I could be wrong) that the NFL wants a new fanbase in other countries that don't have american football.

 

[Reflection]

Plus Canada is the first country that comes to mind when you ask yourself the question- "lulz, these boring ass American 'sports', which other country could possibly be interested in playing them?"

We have American Football / NFL- a sport where you play for 10 seconds (maximum) and then do nothing, walk around and bend down for the rest of the 60 seconds. When you think of this sport's target audience, the image of fat American men with pot bellies sitting on the couch and drinking beer, comes to mind.
Next comes Baseball- the ultimate cure for insomnia. More boring than the most boring hour of a 5 days' Test Cricket match... You could fall asleep for 1 hour, and when you wake up, nothing will have changed, so you will most likely go back to sleep for another hour. If Golf fixes the continuity problem, then Baseball will be the only game that is more boring than it.
Basketball / NBA- Ah, another game with more talking, walking around, arguing with the referee, and "strategy-making" than actual gameplay. This has America written all over it. The target audience for this would be trashy women that get into each others' faces and shove each other while delivering all the cuss words they know- the type we see getting arrested on C.O.P.S.
Ice Hockey / NHL Here we go again... Since our players are jacked-up guys with no stamina, let's replace the grass/turf with ice so that they can just slide across the field instead of having to run. Finally, the target audience for this are dickpuncture crybabies like CM Punk that will go home whining if things don't go their way, because they are too weak to do things the traditional way- just like NHL players.

So coming back to the topic, it comes as no surprise that American games have failed to gain interest in places where people are used to watching more competitive and less sleep-inducing games. Canada is a country that follows/imitates America in almost everything, so the people there would definitely accept these sports. Japan is also worth giving a try. Rest of the world- not so much.

 

[The Butcher]

Plus Canada is the first country that comes to mind when you ask yourself the question- "lulz, these boring ass American 'sports', which other country could possibly be interested in playing them?"

We have American Football / NFL- a sport where you play for 10 seconds (maximum) and then do nothing, walk around and bend down for the rest of the 60 seconds. When you think of this sport's target audience, the image of fat American men with pot bellies sitting on the couch and drinking beer, comes to mind.
Next comes Baseball- the ultimate cure for insomnia. More boring than the most boring hour of a 5 days' Test Cricket match... You could fall asleep for 1 hour, and when you wake up, nothing will have changed, so you will most likely go back to sleep for another hour. If Golf fixes the continuity problem, then Baseball will be the only game that is more boring than it.
Basketball / NBA- Ah, another game with more talking, walking around, arguing with the referee, and "strategy-making" than actual gameplay. This has America written all over it. The target audience for this would be trashy women that get into each others' faces and shove each other while delivering all the cuss words they know- the type we see getting arrested on C.O.P.S.
Ice Hockey / NHL Here we go again... Since our players are jacked-up guys with no stamina, let's replace the grass/turf with ice so that they can just slide across the field instead of having to run. Finally, the target audience for this are dickpuncture crybabies like CM Punk that will go home whining if things don't go their way, because they are too weak to do things the traditional way- just like NHL players.

So coming back to the topic, it comes as no surprise that American games have failed to gain interest in places where people are used to watching more competitive and less sleep-inducing games. Canada is a country that follows/imitates America in almost everything, so the people there would definitely accept these sports. Japan is also worth giving a try. Rest of the world- not so much.

This will probably not end well for you.



As for expansion, hell, why not Los Angeles, San Antonio, or any of the other cities in the US that could sustain a franchise? To me there's no immediate need for the NFL to expand overseas or even over borders when there are cities here salivating for a team of their own.

I can think of a few reasons why Goodell and co. would want to expand to the UK over Canada, though. Since Canada already has its own football league, many Canadian fans would likely be resentful of, or at least resistant to, the NFL encroaching on CFL territory. There's no such direct competition in the UK. Plus the Canadian football fans who are also NFL fans are already watching/attending. The game and league have full exposure there, and a lot of Canadians live close enough to the US border to go see teams like the Seahawks, Packers, Bears, and Bills if they want to. The UK also has nearly twice the population of Canada. Being a large, untapped, English-speaking market with no established American Football league of its own is attractive for obvious reasons.

I think that the NFL would be wise to leave well enough alone. They're tinkering a little too much. The playoff format and season length are perfect. The division alignment is as well. The league's popularity is through the roof, and they're making a shit ton of money. The goose isn't just laying golden eggs; it's shooting them out like a broken slot machine. Greed is driving Goodell and the owners, and they're threatening to kill that goose eventually. I get their thinking-- if a little football is making them a lot of money, then a lot of football will make them even more. While that may be true up to a point, eventually there will come a time where the games won't feel special because they'll be on every night of the week, the regular season will matter less because teams with .500 or below records will routinely make the playoffs, and the rule changes will change the game too much.

I'm sure the NFL has done market analysis or whatever. There certainly haven't been any sign of the league's momentum slowing down. They know what they're doing better than I do, but just as an observer I can certainly see a point in my lifetime where the league oversaturates. In the meantime, though, if they want to throw another jabroni team in the mix to get stomped by the Ravens then go for it. Sucks for the players to have to take that long flight across the pond and back, but that's why they're paid the big bucks.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Plus Canada is the first country that comes to mind when you ask yourself the question- "lulz, these boring ass American 'sports', which other country could possibly be interested in playing them?"

We have American Football / NFL- a sport where you play for 10 seconds (maximum) and then do nothing, walk around and bend down for the rest of the 60 seconds. When you think of this sport's target audience, the image of fat American men with pot bellies sitting on the couch and drinking beer, comes to mind.
Next comes Baseball- the ultimate cure for insomnia. More boring than the most boring hour of a 5 days' Test Cricket match... You could fall asleep for 1 hour, and when you wake up, nothing will have changed, so you will most likely go back to sleep for another hour. If Golf fixes the continuity problem, then Baseball will be the only game that is more boring than it.
Basketball / NBA- Ah, another game with more talking, walking around, arguing with the referee, and "strategy-making" than actual gameplay. This has America written all over it. The target audience for this would be trashy women that get into each others' faces and shove each other while delivering all the cuss words they know- the type we see getting arrested on C.O.P.S.
Ice Hockey / NHL Here we go again... Since our players are jacked-up guys with no stamina, let's replace the grass/turf with ice so that they can just slide across the field instead of having to run. Finally, the target audience for this are dickpuncture crybabies like CM Punk that will go home whining if things don't go their way, because they are too weak to do things the traditional way- just like NHL players.

So coming back to the topic, it comes as no surprise that American games have failed to gain interest in places where people are used to watching more competitive and less sleep-inducing games. Canada is a country that follows/imitates America in almost everything, so the people there would definitely accept these sports. Japan is also worth giving a try. Rest of the world- not so much.

Thats what I mean, I dont get why the NFL wants to force feed the league to places that clearly aren't very interested in them, when football already exists in Canada, and is wildly popular.

As for concerns of some in this thread that they do not want to infringe upon the CFL, this isn't really a factor since the CFL happens in the summer, for the most part, wereas the NFL is in the fall. Plus, just one or two teams up in Canada wont put the CFL entire league out of buisness.

Butcher, my point was international expansion. I agree San Antonio and LA should be looked at first, but the NFL, on their part, seems much more interested in going international. The San Antonio thing baffles me most of all, since its a top ten market, in football crazy Texas, with a fan base that is live and die by their pro sports team (The NBA's Spurs)

 

[Барбоса]

As for the obsession with establishing a team in London, I personally think it is a mistake. Not because it is overlooking other American or Canadian cities but because I feel that the NFL is being blinded by the numbers of fans that pack into Wembley every year for the one/two offs.

Make it 17 or 18 games a season and keep it at the ridiculous prices - I had tickets for the first couple of games had I wanted to pay for them but I found it prohibitively expensive ( something like £85 each plus whatever it would cost to travel, stay and eat) - and you might quickly find that there is not the popularity.

 

[The Butcher]

Butcher, my point was international expansion. I agree San Antonio and LA should be looked at first, but the NFL, on their part, seems much more interested in going international. The San Antonio thing baffles me most of all, since its a top ten market, in football crazy Texas, with a fan base that is live and die by their pro sports team (The NBA's Spurs)

I know what your point was. I was just bringing up my own frustration with the NFL for seemingly putting international expansion ahead of domestic expansion.

I think the CFL conflict is legitimate, not because of when they play, but because the NFL moving into Canada could be seen as an affront to the CFL by CFL fans. Not all, maybe not even most, but enough to make a dent in what is already a small-ish fanbase to begin with. Fans can be territorial that way. A lot of folks in the south weren't too pleased when they turned on WTBS one day and saw Vince McMahon standing there. It didn't stop the WWE's eventual takeover of that market and the whole industry, of course, but it's not as if all the fans just went along with it.

Plus, as I said, the UK is a larger market (not quite twice the size, but significantly larger) that the NFL would have to its own. Think of it like a mine or a well. Why go to one that is claimed and that you yourself have partially depleted when there's an untouched one with more resources sitting right there?

I also said that the NFL has probably done some market research. They'd know how much interest there is and where better than anyone here would. I could be wrong, I guess, but I doubt a billion dollar organization would just blindly dive into something.

Am I a fan of the idea? Not at all. I can just see a few reasons that justify it.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

As for the obsession with establishing a team in London, I personally think it is a mistake. Not because it is overlooking other American or Canadian cities but because I feel that the NFL is being blinded by the numbers of fans that pack into Wembley every year for the one/two offs.

Make it 17 or 18 games a season and keep it at the ridiculous prices - I had tickets for the first couple of games had I wanted to pay for them but I found it prohibitively expensive ( something like £85 each plus whatever it would cost to travel, stay and eat) - and you might quickly find that there is not the popularity.

While we are on the subject, what about Dublin? They are an expansion option in the video games, and it looked like there was a fair amount of interest when Notre Dame and Navy played there two years ago (it WAS Notre Dame, though)

 

[Барбоса]

If London is a poor option, Dublin is even worse.

Too many sports to detract attention and the population is not big enough.

 

[Tastycles]

When it becomes apparent that the West Ham idea has gone tits up, and they can't pay for things with free child tickets they might put an NFL franchise in the Olympic Stadium to balance the books.

NFL is popular, and they have sold out two games in a season, so 8 may not be that much of a stretch in the first season, but if the team was shit, as it almost certainly would be, that's not sustainable.

I remember seeing somewhere that they can't put a franchise in Toronto because it would kill the Bills, unless the Bills moved there, does that sound right?

I think London is a more attractive market because it's a bigger city than anywhere in Canada, but they're being blinded by potentials rather than the actuality.

 

[braveh]

There is only one really big market in canada and that is toronto and for all purposes and intents they already have a nfl team, the bills

I dont think nfl are intersted in europe and european cities. They are interested in london because its almost a 10 million city. That makes sense