Goodell says the NFL and the teams that have played at Wembley over the last two seasons have been blown away by the response of UK NFL fans.

The Commissioner now says that a second regular game could be moved overseas, and could be in London or another UK venue due to the success of the Wembley games.

“The fan reaction we’ve had in London has been extraordinary. We would like to feed that passion,” Goodell said after speaking at the Charlotte Touchdown Club.

“We have a great fan base in the UK. There have been discussions of taking the second game and playing it in another market in the UK. That’s something that we’ll evaluate.

“Whether it’s two consecutive games in the same stadium, we don’t necessarily know. But we have a great foundation.”
Games

The New York Giants beat the Miami Dolphins on the way to their Super Bowl success in 2007, while the New Orleans Saints beat the San Diego Chargers 37-32 in an entertaining game last year.

The New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face off at Wembley in October this year, and fans have already gobbled up the majority of the tickets to another sell-out.

Although reports of a possible Super Bowl in London or even a future team based in the UK still appear far fetched, a second regular season game in the UK in 2010 does seem an option.

Plans will be discussed at next week’s league meeting, as the NFL also look at extending the season from 16 to 18 games, which would give more room to include a second overseas game.

Goodell says that teams that have played at Wembley have all thought the process to be a worthwhile exercise.

Experience

“I think the teams have had a great experience that have gone over,” Goodell said.

“We’ve been able to build on that and I think teams recognize it’s an honour and a privilege to go over and play there. And it can be done without impacting the team negatively.”

This year’s game will go down as a home clash to Tampa Bay, meaning they lose a game staged at Raymond James Stadium – but that is the only negative according to Goodell.

“The negative is taking the home game away from the fans,” Goodell said.

“It’s another reason why potentially restructuring the season and changing two preseason (games) into regular-season (games) can be something that we find is beneficial to the fans.”
Sourced via skysports.com

Popularity: 7% [?]