The NFL will be in London to stay.
It was announced yesterday that the National Football League had reached a 10-year agreement to play at least two games per season at the new home of Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham received approval for the construction of its new stadium back in March, which is adjacent to its current home at White Hart Lane and is scheduled to open in the summer of 2018.
The blatant space on either side for "Naming Rights" is a subtle move, Mr. Levy. Well Done. Photo: @footballgrounds | Twitter
The NFL began playing regular season games in London at Wembley Stadium, the home of the English National Team, in 2007, with the games drawing huge crowds. This season, there will be three games in London, which will all air starting at 9:30 a.m. EST, providing American football fans with the same type of early-morning action experienced by actual, true football fans: an excuse to start drinking and eating unhealthy foods early in the morning.
The 10-year contract demonstrates that the NFL is committed to continue the growth of its game in England. There are persistent rumors that the NFL's eventual plan is to place a team in London full-time and this agreement should make Londoners increasingly familiar with this foreign sport, which they call "gridiron" in the UK (which is SO much better than what we call it).
It is interesting that the NFL came to the agreement with Tottenham specifically. Obviously Coach Lasso's overwhelmingly successful transition from NFL coach to EPL manager had a lot to do with bridging this cultural divide.
Masterful coach, diplomat, and gentleman. Photo: MANSIONLboro | Twitter
The agreement also forced me to wonder who is the NFL equivalent of Spurs. In Tottenham, you have a team whose owner is not afraid to spend a bunch of money to chase success, changes managers every 1.5 seasons, is located in the nation's capital, yet continually finishes behind its top rivals and perpetually crushes the spirits of its fans. Tottenham also has a transcendent talent who took the league by storm this past season and has convinced fans of his deity-like qualities and his ability to lead his team to the promised land that the club has been seeking for decades. Who could this be in the NFL?
Easy. The Washington Redskins.
As a Redskins (and Chelsea) fan, this is especially painful for me to acknowledge, but the similarities are too numerous to ignore. Especially since Redskins owner Daniel Snyder once attempted to buy Spurs. For all you Spurs fans out there, let's hope that Harry Kane is the real deal and not 2012 Robert Griffin III-incarnate. Just to be safe…watch that knee, Harry.
Looks like RGIII got nutmegged here. Photo: bleacherreport.net
Follow Mike Smith @thefootiegent
Comparing his favorite NFL team to Spurs will require at least three large cocktails to process
