The NFL dominates the American sporting landscape.
Football is king and that should come as a surprise to no one.
The fact the league’s championship is known as the “Super Bowl” says it all.
But the NFL is always looking to expand its reach and that is why there is yet another game in London this Sunday.
Playing in the United Kingdom has become an annual tradition.
The league has also played down in Mexico City, before the days of COVID-19.
Yet further expansion seems to be on the horizon, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Significant: Next week, the NFL is taking another critical step toward playing a regular season game in Germany — possibly in 2022. On Tuesday, it will unveil 3 finalist cities. The league says it is committed to multiple games in London each season, plus a game in Mexico City.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 9, 2021
Adding Germany to the slate of international games would be interesting and opens up yet another opportunity for fans in Europe to take in an NFL game.
Further Expansion Into Germany
Germany does have an American football league, so the interest should be there locally to attend an NFL game.
A large American military presence also means plenty of Americans over in Germany would have interest in attending such an event.
Fans who live in America can also use this as an excuse to take that German vacation they have always been dreaming about.
Growing the game is a good thing and it would be fascinating one day if another country, outside of North America, had a legitimate league.
Or if the NFL could restart its European league again as a sort of minor league system.
Downsides Of International Games
As always, there are negatives with any such situation.
The @nfl plans to expand the internal series…Germany here we come! @nflnetwork @gmfb pic.twitter.com/UNyA9vJHZt
— melissa stark (@melissastark) October 9, 2021
One is the fact the upcoming London game starts at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Those on the West Coast have to get up extremely early to watch as the NFL makes it a full day of viewing instead of having the international game rival the games happening at home.
One possible solution would be to play the game on a Saturday, however, that would go up against college football.
But the early starts are still a downside.
Fans with season tickets may also be upset when a home game is sent overseas.
Saving the money is nice, but those with season tickets usually like to take in every single game and wait all offseason to do so.
Yet in the league office, the extra money that comes internationally is all they care about.
And with the expanded schedule, one game in Germany a year is not too much of a hassle for fans.
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