2nd game confirmed to be played in UK in 2010!
by Ninerfromacrossthepond on Dec 14, 2009 8:25 AM PST
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I have been a member of this fantastic site for over a year now, but this is my first fanpost cos I am totally useless with computers so I hope this goes OK!
Anyway, am putting this post up cos, whilst watching the NFL games shown here on British TV yesterday, both the networks-both Sky TV and Channel 5-interviewed the director of NFLUK who confirmed that there will be a 2nd regular season game played in England from next season onwards!
It was mentioned that both games are likely to be played at Wembley Stadium in London and, whilst the teams involved could not be confirmed, the Niners were seriously mentioned as being one of them!
Obviously, I would be over the moon if this was the case as it would be the only chance I have of getting to see them live - since the came over in 1989 anyway to play the Dolphins in a pre-season game-and will therefore be doing everything possible to obtain a ticket. However, I was writing this to see what your opinions would be if the Niners decided to come here to play a regular season game - especially if it was a home game that they up!
I've attached a poll to see the level of support for and against either way, and would appreciate it if you could give your reasons why.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.
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weird
last night there was something on the SNF broadcast that said the reports about there being 2 games in London next season were not true.
A hearty thank you to Rich Aurilia for all the good memories, and to the Niners for finally getting the uni's (mostly) right.
It's true
I haven’t done a link for a while so I hope it works. Here It looks like the 2 home teams have already agreed.
Don't trust this guy. He lies.
Didn't work. Let's try it again.
You add one extra letter and all of a sudden it won’t work. Link
Don't trust this guy. He lies.
I would definitely support a Niners trip to London!
I’ve been wondering, though, if anybody else thought that it was a little (or, okay, a lot) tacky of the NFL to send the NEW ENGLAND Patriots to play in OLD ENGLAND this year?
I don't know about that, to the groin.
You know I didn't even think about it until you brought it up
I wonder how the the revenue is divvied up for these UK games.
Normally the home team gets 60% of the gate receipts since they own the stadium. However the “home” team in the UK games isn’t really the owner of the stadium. Do they still get 60% since they had to forfeit a regular home game? Do they split it evenly between both teams since both had to travel? Or is there another financial incentive that they get?
Yes Drew K, Tim Tebow will get picked in the first round.
I wouldn't mind if the 49ers played a game in Hawaii, but...
London is nearly a 13 hour flight and I think that is way too long of a flight!
Agreed.
And I voted no because I don’t like these gimmicks that are all about marketing an dmoney instead of the intergrity of the game as it impact players and coaches. Pre-season is fine but teams should not have this much additional travel, plus lose a home game.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
The one plus is that teams have to agree to go
The NFL won’t force a team to go. Plus, the teams that go also always have their bye week after the game so that helps with the added travel. What I find hard to imagine is actually starting a new franchise in London. I’ve read that the NFL would like to have a team in London in about 10 years but I don’t see how that could work. One game followed by a bye week is one thing, but to have a team travel across the Atlantic 8 times just doesn’t seem feasible.
Don't trust this guy. He lies.
I didn't know about the agreement
I recalled reading a few years back that the plan was for every team to take part in this twice, once as a home team and once on the road, to make it equal for all.
I very much agree about having a team in London. That would almost be like having a pro football team in Alaska.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
I think Alaska does have a pro team.
Alaska is a state, dammit! Can I get a Niner game on TV up here?
If it's always a bye week after they go...
That would be kind of annoying to have a bye week the third week of the season.
Other kids may be sayin' hi-ho, but The Gooch just says yo.
If there was a franchise here...
it would mean 8 teams making one single trip, not 1 team making 8 trips as you have just implied. As long as no more than that occurs then there really shouldn’t be a problem. In terms of distance alone, it is about the same to travel from the east coast to London as it is from San Fran to the east coast.
This does not mean I am in favour of a franchise being set up over here, I just think that some people are trying to put up obstacles to it where they don’t necessarily exist.
by Ninerfromacrossthepond on Dec 15, 2009 6:12 AM PST up reply actions
Actually it would be both
Eight teams would each make one trip to London, but the London team would also have to make eight trips to the US. I’m assuming they wouldn’t be allowed to play exclusively home games…
by RoyaleWithCheese on Dec 16, 2009 2:02 PM PST up reply actions
I don't see how this is a gimmick
Wembley stadium sells out each game that’s played over there. Thats’s 85,000 fans, plus however many are watching it on tv.
I’m all for expanding the popularity of the game and this is a great way to do it. Like urnext says, the NFL doesn’t force any team to go, it’s a strictly volunteer thing and each team that goes has it’s bye week following so they get a chance to rest.
Yes Drew K, Tim Tebow will get picked in the first round.
I would be in favor of it (or favour for those on the other side of the pond)
I wouldn’t even mind if it were a home game as long as it wasn’t against a good team. The way the 49ers are right now, if they lost their home field advantage against a good team, it could be the difference between winning and losing. But if they played someone like the Rams, I’ld be fine with it.
Don't trust this guy. He lies.
I was kinda hoping
they’d be fortunate enough to play someone like Liverpool or Arsenal. Surely those fellas can’t play American Football worth a lick and the 49ers would not only get International exposure, but an easy “W” also.
Alex Smith may have been the #1 overall pick but he still can’t tell why kids love Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
by Andrew Davidson on Dec 14, 2009 10:08 AM PST up reply actions
Sure, why not? Rather it were a road game though...
I don’t see the significant advantage of being a “home” team across the Atlantic, although perhaps the Brits would like our crimson looks. I don’t know how the crowd over there would be partial to a certain team in the game (maybe you could enlighten us on that NFATP), but a team on the other side of the U.S. from them, named after a mad historic American event in the mid 19th century, just might not be as appealing as, say, the Giants or Dolphins.
I don’t know – just going out on a limb: guess I’d be happy even if the Niners did play there as a home team. Just so long as it gets on local TV in Upstate NY too. ; )
I can answer that one ...
… (and by the way, good stuff to NFATP for getting this up …)
To answer your question, ranger89, the Wembley crowd generally gets behind the designated home team. When the Saints and the Chargers came over, the stadium was bedecked in Saints banners and every seat was given a Saints flag to wave. The crowd really got into it and made a lot of noise on San Diego third downs. This season was a little different because the Bucs were the home team but, as Bitter Fan rightly says, the Pats are the most popular team here, so it felt more like a New England home game.
If the Niners came, they would have a lot of fans here, because of the success of the 1980s as Bitter Fan also says. The Dolphins are also popular because of the 1980s Marino effect. The game was so big here in the 80s, and anyone or any team from that era still carries a lot of resonance.
"This could be another Very Special Team" ... Superbowl winning Niners lineman Dan Audick ...
Thanks LondonNiner for answering this one
In response to ranger89’s last comment all 3 Int’l Series games thus far have been broadcast by CBS nationally with there first commentating crew of Nantz+Sims so I would imagine the same would apply for the 2nd game as well.
by Ninerfromacrossthepond on Dec 15, 2009 6:23 AM PST up reply actions
I'd rather it be a road game vs. the Rams
The 49ers seem to be terrible on the road this season (maybe it will carry on to 2010).
I really don’t want them to give up homefield advantage.
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
How about playing some games in Europe
during the week of the draft? I’d watch those for sure.
Alaska is a state, dammit! Can I get a Niner game on TV up here?
Thanks man
"This could be another Very Special Team" ... Superbowl winning Niners lineman Dan Audick ...
What time?
What time would it be on in the Pacific?
Other kids may be sayin' hi-ho, but The Gooch just says yo.
The games have started...
thus far to coincide with your 1pm east coast start times.
by Ninerfromacrossthepond on Dec 15, 2009 6:26 AM PST up reply actions
Knowledge time
I live in London, though I’m from the City, which is why I have John Brodie for an avatar.
There are many loyal and devoted NFL fans in Britain, some who have been fans for over a quarter-century. Channel Four began showing the NFL in a highlights package in 1982, and it was an unexpected hit. The Super Bowl has been live on British television continuously since Super Bowl XVII and over 700,000 watched the game on BBC Two last year. Sky Sports, an expensive pay channel, achieve very good ratings for the NFL (compared to other non-soccer sports). The Wembley game has sold out 3 straight years. That’s 85,000 fans paying VERY expensive tickets.
The 49ers are among the most popular teams in Britain due in large part to the success of the Niners in the 80s during the Channel Four era. The Patriots are the most popular, which is why it was cold, hard money and not schmaltz that they played at Wembley this year.
There are two good non-I live here of course I want to see them in London reasons to want them in London.
1: Candlestick is the lowest revenue stadium in the NFL. Wembley has 15,000 more seats plus way more luxury boxes and club seating, which Candlestick doesn’t even have. Tickets ain’t cheap, depending on the arrangement the 49ers could come out with significantly more money than a Candlestick home game, which is important since the agreement to share revenue with the league’s poorest teams (which we unquestionably are) will not be in effect next year.
2: There’ll be huge numbers of 49er fans at the game. I feel bad for the people who show up every week, but let’s be honest. The Niners play in front of 30,000 empty seats every week. It’d be nice to have a home game with a full stadium.
Also, the game would be at 10 am (6 pm here in ol’ Blighty) and it’s an 11 hour, not a 13 hour flight. It’s rough but you get over it in a day or two, particularly if you’re flying first class like the Niners will.
A few more things
The Giants won the Super Bowl after participating in the first game, so no complaining about how it will ruin our season to go. Getting fourteen days off will cure anyone’s jet lag.
Every game has been week 8. It’s unknown as of yet what two games, if it happens, will do to the schedule. But I’d be surprised if it’s much different. I think having your bye week after the game and having it as close as possible to the middle of the season is a big carrot for teams.
The Niners play in front of 30,000 empty seats every week.
This is just untrue.
The 49ers have sold out every single home game for a LONG time now (over 20 years straight right?)
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Dec 14, 2009 9:39 PM PST up reply actions
just because you sell out
doesn’t mean all the tickets are used. But I agree – there are not 30,000 empty seats for any of the games. Maybe 5-10 thousand at most go empty, from what I can tell
A hearty thank you to Rich Aurilia for all the good memories, and to the Niners for finally getting the uni's (mostly) right.
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