St. Louis Rams Announce Withdrawal of Plans to Play London Games in 2013, 2014

Apparently Jeff Fisher, Les Snead and the rest of the St. Louis Rams organization didn't enjoy the London Olympics as much as the rest of us did. 

Back in January, the NFL announced the Rams had given a three-year commitment to London, agreeing to play one game there in each of the 2012, '13 and '14 seasons. 

The Rams will still "host" the Patriots in late October of this year, but the remaining two Wembley contests are now out (via the Rams' official Twitter):

"

The Rams announced today that the Club will not play home games in London in 2013-14 to better focus on First Tier Process in St. Louis.

— St. Louis Rams (@STLouisRams) August 13, 2012"

The "First Tier Process," of course, refers to the potential renovation of St. Louis' stadium, the Edward Jones Dome. 

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, if the Dome doesn't become "first-tier" (that is, get a lot nicer) by 2015, the lease on the stadium can be broken. 

So, yeah, you could call the First Tier Process incredibly important for the entire city of St. Louis. Focusing on that development is understandable.

There are plenty of other factors that likely went into this decision as well.

The Rams' fanbase, and season-ticket holders in particular, weren't 100 percent happy about losing a home game to London each season, not to mention the competitive disadvantage that comes from having to play eight road games, seven home games and one neutral game.

Still, American football is gaining international steam. The games played in London, which started in 2007, have been a huge success.

Becoming a popular mainstay overseas can do wonders for marketing, popularity and just the franchise in general.

Nonetheless, it's clear the Rams organization decided the positives of staying home far outweighed those of traveling to London every year.

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