London wants the Super Bowl

Nobody told Mike Shanahan or Lane Kiffin, either.

 

London sits around 51 degrees North latitude. About the same as Calgary.

 

Let's compromise. Give 'em the Pro Bowl.

 

I apologize if this has already been written.
Am I crazy? Or is the NFL's denial of the London report buried in this AP/ESPN thing? Isn't that the lead? Or the second graph at worst?

 

If denials ever meant anything, sure.

But what's the league going to say? Yes, we're doing it? You got us? Of course they'll deny it, right up until the moment they announce it.

I thought of the Pro Bowl, too, though pairing it with the Super Bowl would seem to stand in the way there.

 

What caught my attention was they were asked about London and denied London and Mexico City. Exactly where did that come from?

 

Swine flu panic.

 

Spoke with our NFL writer about this today, said the NFL spokespeople he talked to said the entire thing was made up.

I think a representation of the quote he gave me was 'They have slightly looser journalistic standards over there'.

The NFL reps are right.

 

I hear the source was the Page 3 girl.

 

Whether or not they are honestly interested in taking the dollars away from a US city -- which would be a huge PR hit -- they wouldn't do it in the next several years. Even the mighty NFL can't afford to piss off New York (which badly wants a Super Bowl) or any of the other major markets that have been requesting it.
It would be a huge mistake for Goodell.

 

I hope nobody takes offense (particularly my girlfriend, if she reads this) but Wembley just doesn't have the grandeur needed for a superbowl. I've lived over here a long time and saw the Giants play the Dolphins in the first regular-season overseas match. It's actually a great place to watch football. Good sightlines everywhere and even sitting on the upper level down one end zone, the players looked like human beings and not ants.

That being said, it just isn't big enough. You need a stadium built like an oversized Roman coliseum for the big game. Something big. Something imposing. Something - gosh darn it - American! And Wembley, sad to say, doesn't cut it in that department.

 

Well, to be fair, Wembley does have a capacity of 90,000.

Compare that to this year's site, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, 65,657. I think Wembley, or even something like the Allianz Arena in Munich, 69,901 capacity, hosted the 2006 World Cup final, would be just fine for hosting the event.

It's just not going to happen though.