The San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos are used to long road trips. They are two of the NFL's just six franchises not located in the Eastern or Central time zones.
Neither of these teams, however, has ever had to travel nearly 5,000 miles to play a football game. That is, until last Sunday, when the Niners and Broncos flew across the pond and rolled into Wembley Stadium to play a type of football where players can use their hands, scores are worth six points and contact with other players is encouraged.
It was the fourth straight season in which the bohemian Wembley, equivalent to a place of worship for England soccer fans, hosted an NFL regular season game as part of the league's effort to increase its popularity and visibility outside of the United States.
The game itself was not particularly interesting. Both teams struggled early on, with San Francisco taking a 3−0 lead into halftime. Midway through the third quarter, Denver quarterback Tim Tebow plowed over the left side of the line to score the game's first touchdown from 1 yard out. It was the former Florida Gator's second career touchdown in the NFL.
After the Broncos added a 32−yard field goal to take a 10−3 lead, San Francisco's newly appointed starting quarterback Troy Smith led his team back, contributing to two of the squad's three fourth−quarter touchdowns. Frank Gore, who paced the San Francisco offense with 118 yards on 29 carries, scored the final 49ers touchdown from 3 yards out. Despite a late touchdown catch from Denver's Brandon Lloyd, it was San Francisco that got to enjoy the 13−hour flight back home after their 24−16 win.
What's more important than the result of the game, however, is the NFL's continued success in its efforts at globalizing itself.
The NFL began its International Series in 2005 with a regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco played at Mexico City's Azteca Stadium. The league finally moved across the pond for the first time in 2007 and has since played one regular season game each year at Wembley.
On Sunday, the stadium was sold out for the fourth consecutive year. Once again, over 85,000 enthusiastic European fans flocked to London to experience the excitement and pageantry of NFL football. Thousands more came out for an NFL parade and celebration in the days preceding the game.
The league's popularity overseas does not seem to be limited to just its one game at Wembley. Television ratings for NFL games in England went up 50 percent in 2009 and have already increased another 50 percent in 2010.
Regular season games are now being shown on England's Channel 4, one of the country's main television stations. To promote its growth, the NFL now deploys a 10−person staff to manage operations in the UK, along with a group of cheerleaders that travels to British NFL pubs on Sundays.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has taken notice of his league's success across the pond. "Bringing a regular season game has had a great impact," the commissioner told BBC News. "It makes us think we should grow the series, not only in the UK, but across Europe." He then added, "That growth could lead to a franchise in the UK."
While the NFL should be applauded for trying to make football a global phenomenon, Goodell should be careful not to expand too quickly. England has already had a professional football team, NFL Europe's London Monarchs, which folded after six seasons of poor attendance and financial problems.
NFL Europe itself ceased operations in 2007 after the league's four remaining teams, all German, went bankrupt. Of course, the league served as a minor league system for the NFL and featured lower−caliber players than the ones regularly coming to Wembley each year.
Goodell has done a tremendous job increasing the global appeal of tackle football, and the league will look to continue its International Series in different venues across the world — not just England.
The question still remains, however, as to whether the world is ready to fully support an NFL franchise outside of the United States.
